Gael Rakotondrabe

Last updated
Gael Rakotondrabe
Born (1984-07-20) 20 July 1984 (age 39)
NationalityFrench
EducationBill Evans Piano Academy, Nadia and Lily Boulanger Conservatory
Known for Jazz Pianist, composer
Style jazz, neo-classical

Gael Rakotondrabe (born 20 July 1984) [1] is a French pianist, composer, and jazz musician. He achieved recognition by winning the First Prize in the piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2008. [2]

Contents

Biography

Gael Rakotondrabe was raised on the island of Réunion in a musically inclined family (he is René Lacaille’s great nephew). At the age of 11, he commenced took up the piano. He acquired his diploma from the Regional Conservatory at the age of 17,[ citation needed ] simultaneously securing the 3rd Prize in the "Pian'Austral Jazz" competition—a regional piano competition featuring participants from Indian Ocean countries. Alain Jean-Marie presided as head of the jury for the competition. [3]

In 2001, Gael Rakotondrabe enrolled in the Bill Evans Piano Academy in Paris, where studied with Bernard Maury, the academy's founder, and a close friend of Bill Evans. [4]

In 2004, he graduated from both the Bill Evans Piano Academy and the jazz department of the Nadia and Lily Boulanger Conservatory. [ citation needed ]

Concurrently, he pursued studies in classical composition and harmony under Isabelle Duha at the Issy-les-Moulineaux Conservatory.[ citation needed ]

Rakotondrabe's musical pursuits encompassed various jazz formations, including a quintet dedicated to the tribute of Horace Silver, featuring David Sauzay and Fabien Mary. [5] The quintet's won the Sunside Trophy in 2005. [6]

Additionally, he established his own jazz trios and delivered solo performances.[ citation needed ]

In 2007, Gael received the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of a carte blanche event hosted by David Byrne. He performed with artists such as Devendra Banhart, CocoRosie, Animal Collective, and Vashti Bunyan. [7]

Gael Rakotondrabe assumed the roles of pianist and arranger for the group CocoRosie. This collaboration led to international tours from 2007 to 2011, including performances at Coachella in the United States, the Sydney Opera House, [8] and the Olympia in Paris. [9]

In 2008, Gael collaborated with Jules Buckley to arrange CocoRosie’s songs for a unique performance with the Royal Concertgebouw Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Suzanna Mälki. [10]

The same year, he won the first prize in the international piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival, with Fazil Say presiding as head of the jury and Quincy Jones as the honorary president. This achievement propelled him into the "Montreux Jazz Winner" tour, where he opened for Jamie Cullum and the CTI Jazz All-Star Band at the Miles Davis Hall in Montreux. [11] In 2009, Gael collaborated with Sierra Casady, designer Gaspard Yurkievich, and set designer Nadia Lauro for the show Transhumance at the Centre Pompidou. [12]

In 2011, he contributed as arranger, composer, and co-producer [13] to CocoRosie's album Grey Oceans . [14]

Subsequently, he undertook the role of musical director for Robert Wilson's opera, The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, [15] featuring Anohni (Antony & the Johnsons) , Matmos, Marina Abramovic, and Willem Dafoe. [16] Gael also participated in the theater production Edda alongside CocoRosie. [17]

Simultaneously, Gael Rakotondrabe became a member of "Antony and The Johnsons" [18] and started a worldwide tour featuring philharmonic orchestras in the cities they traveled to. [19]

He was invited by Marina Abramovic to partake in a performance with Anohni at the Guggenheim in New York City as part of her 70th birthday celebration. [20]

Gael's involvement in the world of cinema extended to composing and contributing to the scores of feature films, including Afterschool (2008) directed by Antonio Campos, Mystery (2012) directed by Lou Ye, both of which competed in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, and Mr. Leos caraX (2014) by Tessa Louise-Salomé, presented at the Sundance Film Festival.

He also composed the score for the animated film University of Disaster (2017) [21] by the painter Radenko Milak, featured at the Venice Biennale. [22]

Rakotondrabe produced and recorded for artists such as Yasmine Hamdan (2012), [23] CocoRosie (2007–2010), Mélanie Pain (2016), [24] Thomas Roussel (2018), and Woodkid (2020).

In 2022, he undertook the composition of the score for Other People's Children (2022), nominated at the Venice Film Festival and Sundance.

In 2023, he composed the score of The Wild One (2023) [25] by Tessa Louise-Salomé, [26] which earned the Best Cinematography Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, [27] and of On the Edge (2023) [28] by Nicolas Peduzzi, [29] presented in the ACID section at the Cannes Film Festival and receiving a special mention from the jury at CPH:DOX, [30] as well as the Grand Jury Prize at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival. [31]

Discography

Albums

2024  : On the Edge (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

2024  : Elevator Angels Cocorosie Featuring Gael Rakotondrabe

2024  : Shadow

2023  : The Wild One (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

2022  : Other People's Children co-composed with ROB – Robin Coudert (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [32]

Collaborations

2022  : collaboration on the album Ad Astra by Maud Geffray

2022  : collaboration on the album Bomboloni by Aurélie Saada

2022  : collaboration on the album Madeleines by Anne Sila

2021  : collaboration on the soundtrack of Rose by Aurélie Saada

2020  : collaboration on the album Royal by Ayo

2019  : collaboration on the album Sainte-Victoire by Clara Luciani

2018  : collaboration on the album Who's Happy by Hugh Coltman

2018  : collaboration on the album Si Vous Saviez... by Salvatore Adamo

2018  : collaboration on the album Ed Banger 15 Ans by l'Orchestre Lamoureux & Thomas Roussel

2016  : collaboration on the album Untouchable / Between The Bars by Hugh Coltman and Camelia Jordana

2016  : collaboration on the album Morituri by Jean-Louis Murat

2016  : collaboration on the album Why by Dani Siciliano

2016  : collaboration on the soundtrack by Imany for the film Sous les Jupes des Filles by Audrey Dana

2016  : collaboration on the album Shadows Songs Of Nat King Cole & Live at Jazz A Vienne by Hugh Coltman

2015  : collaboration on the album Soeur Nature by Bonnie Banane

2014  : collaboration on the album Paris Tristesse by Pierre Lapointe

2014  : collaboration on the album Morning Star by Hugh Coltman

2014  : collaboration on the album Sometimes Awake by Charles Pasi

2013  : album Tales of a GrassWidow by CocoRosie

2013  : collaboration on the album Ya Nass by Yasmine Hamdan

2011  : collaboration on the album Bécaud, Et Maintenant

2010  : collaboration on the album Une vie Saint Laurent by Alain Chamfort

2010  : album Grey Ocean by CocoRosie

2008  : collaboration on the album Stories From The Safe House by Hugh Coltman

2007  : collaboration on the album Affaire Classée by Hubert Mounier

2007  : album The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn by CocoRosie

2006  : collaboration on the album She was a girl by Spleen

Related Research Articles

Oren Bloedow is an American singer, guitarist and bassist. He founded the band Elysian Fields in 1995 with Jennifer Charles. His father, Jerry Bloedow, was a playwright, poet, and film editor whose theater, the Hardware Poet's Playhouse, participated in the New York avant-garde scene in the 1950s and 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CocoRosie</span> American musical group

CocoRosie is an American musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Sierra Rose "Rosie" and Bianca Leilani "Coco" Casady. The group's music has been described as folktronica, freak folk and "New Weird America", and incorporates elements of pop, blues, opera, electronica, and hip hop. The group has released seven studio albums, La Maison de Mon Rêve (2004), Noah's Ark (2005), The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (2007), Grey Oceans (2010), Tales of a GrassWidow (2013), Heartache City (2015), and Put the Shine On (2020), and two EPs, Beautiful Boyz (2004) and Coconuts, Plenty of Junk Food (2009). They released their sixth album Heartache City on their own record label, Lost Girl Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anohni and the Johnsons</span> American band featuring British singer Anohni

Anohni and the Johnsons is a music ensemble originally based in New York City that presents the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2000. Their second album, 2005's I Am a Bird Now, was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland; it also was awarded that year's UK Mercury Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Cincotti</span> American singer-songwriter

Peter Cincotti is an American singer-songwriter. He began playing piano at the age of three. While in high school, he regularly performed in clubs throughout Manhattan. In 2003, Cincotti's debut album, produced by Phil Ramone, reached No. 1 on the Billboard jazz chart, making Cincotti the youngest musician to do so. This led to performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, L'Olympia, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Montreux Jazz Festival where he won an award in the piano competition. Cincotti's style blends pop, rock, blues, and jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anohni</span> British singer (born 1971)

Anohni Hegarty, styled as ANOHNI, is an English-born singer, songwriter, and visual artist. She has presented solo work and as the lead singer of the band Anohni and the Johnsons, formerly known as Antony and the Johnsons.

<i>Noahs Ark</i> (album) 2005 studio album by CocoRosie

Noah's Ark is the second studio album by American musical group CocoRosie, released by Touch and Go Records on September 13, 2005. The album features collaborations with various musicians, including Anohni, Devendra Banhart, and Spleen.

<i>The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn</i> 2007 studio album by CocoRosie

The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn is the third studio album by American musical group CocoRosie, released by Touch and Go Records on April 10, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim Maalouf</span> Lebanese-French jazz musician

Ibrahim Maalouf is a French-Lebanese trumpeter, producer, arranger, and composer. In 2022, he became the first Lebanese instrumentalist nominated at the Grammy Awards for his album Queen of Sheba in collaboration with Angélique Kidjo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">God Has a Voice, She Speaks Through Me</span> 2008 single by CocoRosie

"God Has a Voice, She Speaks Through Me" is a single by American music group CocoRosie, released by Touch and Go Records on May 13, 2008. Touch and Go initially produced 3,000 pieces on vinyl, which included an untitled B-side track consisting of noises and distorted singing. On July 8, 2008, the label began releasing 7" picture disc versions of the single. Since 2012, the single has been sold only on digital platforms.

<i>Grey Oceans</i> 2010 studio album by CocoRosie

Grey Oceans is the fourth studio album by American musical group CocoRosie. It was released by Sub Pop Records on May 3, 2010 in the United Kingdom and on May 11, 2010 elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemonade (CocoRosie song)</span> 2010 single by CocoRosie

"Lemonade" is a single by experimental band CocoRosie, released on April 17, 2010, from their album Grey Oceans. The B-side of the CD contains a cover of the Beach Boys' song "Surfer Girl". While both sisters of CocoRosie wrote the single, the music for the album was also contributed to by keyboardist/composer Gael Rakotondrabe.

François-Eudes Chanfrault, also credited as François Eudes and Francois Eudes, was a French composer and laptop musician. Chanfrault's film music composition work in 2003 included the movie Haute Tension by filmmaker Alexandre Aja and Who Killed Bambi? directed by Gilles Marchand. He released his first music album, Computer-Assisted Sunset, on compact disc in 2005 via the label MK2, which received a positive reception from publications including Fnac and Les Inrocks. The same year, his music was used in the film Beyond Hatred, which was directed by Olivier Meyrou, and received a favorable review in Variety. In 2006, he worked with director Alexandre Aja again, this time on the film The Hills Have Eyes. His work on the music for this film inspired director Jeremy Forni for his 2011 documentary film Après la gauche.

<i>Tales of a GrassWidow</i> 2013 studio album by CocoRosie

Tales of a GrassWidow, sometimes stylized as Tales of a Grasswidow, is the fifth studio album by American musical group CocoRosie. It was released by independent record labels City Slang and Republic of Music on May 27, 2013 in the United Kingdom and May 28, 2013 in the United States. The album's sound has been described as "indie pop" and "indie folk".

Nicolas Julliard better known by his stage name Fauve is a Swiss musician and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillaume Poncelet</span> Musical artist

Guillaume Poncelet is a French musician, composer, trumpet and piano player, born in Grenoble, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mette Henriette</span> Norwegian saxophonist and composer

Mette HenrietteMartedatter Rølvåg is a performing artist, saxophonist and composer from Norway.

Jean-Michel Bernard is a French pianist, composer, educator, orchestrator, and music producer. He is well known for regularly writing, performing, and scoring for films, such as The Science of Sleep, Hugo, Paris-Manhattan, Ca$h, and Be Kind Rewind.

Damien Jalet is a Belgo-French freelance choreographer, dancer and performer working internationally. His work is often collaborative, creating intricate bounds between dance and other artistic media such as visual art, fashion, theater and music.

Joseph Omicil, Jr, known professionally as Jowee BasH! Omicil, is a Haitian-Canadian jazz musician. He has worked in the past with artists such as Randy Kerber, Ibrahim Maalouf,Tony Allen, Jacob Desvarieux, Roy Hargrove, Michel Martelly, Glen Ballard and Francisco Mela. Born in Montreal, Omicil spends his time between Miami and Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Diaz (musician)</span> Musician

Daniel Diaz is an Argentinian bass player multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer known for his work for films and television, along with his fusion of different styles and genres of Argentinian music, jazz and experimental music. He has lived in Paris, France since 1997.

References

  1. ↑ "Gael Rakotondrabe | Composer, Music Department". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  2. ↑ "Festival de Jazz De Montreux : and the Winner Is Gaël Rakotondrabe". Réunionnais du monde. 9 September 2007.
  3. ↑ "BIO". www.gaelrakotondrabe.com.
  4. ↑ "7 Lezards – Septembre 2007". www.7lezards.com.
  5. ↑ Gransac, Jérôme. "Karim et Abdès Gherbi". Citizen Jazz (in French).
  6. ↑ "Karim Gherbi – Les Musicales de la Vallée-aux-Loups". lesmusicales92.fr.
  7. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (2007-02-05). "Free Spirits in a Groove That's Folky and Tribal". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331.
  8. ↑ Olding, Rachel (2011-01-26). "CocoRosie". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ↑ à 00h00, Par Louise Colcombet Le 27 septembre 2007 (2007-09-26). "Le monde enchanté de CocoRosie". leparisien.fr (in French).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "CocoRosie : liverecensie op KindaMuzik". www.kindamuzik.net.
  11. ↑ "And the winner is Gaël Rakotondrabe". Témoignages.RE (in French). 2008-08-04.
  12. ↑ "Sierra Casady et Gaël Rakotondrabe de CocoRosie / Nadia Lauro / Gaspard Yurkievich – Transhumance". Centre Pompidou (in French).
  13. ↑ "CocoRosie – Grey Oceans". The Line of Best Fit.
  14. ↑ Fact (2010-02-25). "CocoRosie sail the Grey Oceans". Fact Magazine.
  15. ↑ "Musical director Antony Hegarty on The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic". The Globe and Mail. 2013-06-13.
  16. ↑ "The Life and Death of Marina Abramović". MIF t/a Factory International.
  17. ↑ "Theater". cocorosie.
  18. ↑ Clarke, Betty (2013-07-26). "Antony and the Johnsons – review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077.
  19. ↑ "Antony and the Johnsons "Cut The World" | Philharmonie de Paris". philharmoniedeparis.fr (in French). 2012-07-03.
  20. ↑ Brown, Angela (2016-12-14). "'Friends and Enemies' Gather Amid Silence and Gold for Marina Abramovic's 70th Birthday". ARTnews.com.
  21. ↑ "It all looks bleak". Deccan Chronicle. 6 March 2019.
  22. ↑ "Radenko Milak & Roman Uranjek at Christine König Vienna - Artmap.com". artmap.com.
  23. ↑ Wright, IO Tillett (2011-05-23). "Notes from the Underground | Gaël Rakotondrabe". T Magazine.
  24. ↑ Benjamin (2016-10-04). "Mélanie Pain sort son Parachute !". 24matins.fr (in French).
  25. ↑ contact@cinezik.org, Benoit Basirico-. "Gael Rakotondrabe ( compositeur de "The Wild One" / ""... – ) :: Cinezik.fr". www.cinezik.org.
  26. ↑ "Rencontre avec Howard Shore, compositeur phare du 7ème art". FIP (in French). 2023-05-28.
  27. ↑ "The Wild One by Tessa Louise-Salomé". The Party Film Sales.
  28. ↑ "Cannes 2023 : « Etat limite », un médecin à l'écoute des âmes blessées". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-05-19.
  29. ↑ contact@cinezik.org, Benoit Basirico-. "État limite (2023) – la BO • Musique de Gael Rakotondrabe • Soundtrack • :: Cinezik.fr". www.cinezik.org.
  30. ↑ Kiang, Jessica (2023-03-25). "'On the Edge' Review: Nicolas Peduzzi's Galvanizing, Artful Hospital Doc Asks Who Will Care for the Carers?". Variety.
  31. ↑ "Palmarès 2023 du Champs-Élysées Film Festival: 'État Limite' et 'Kokomo City' triomphent". www.sortiraparis.com (in French).
  32. ↑ "Les Enfants des autres de Rebecca Zlotowski (2022) – Unifrance". www.unifrance.org.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.