he did release two EP’s under the adopted persona of Mr. Quite remarkable to see the reactions for what must have been for the majority of the audience, their first steps into the new world of electronic music.Īlso, before Perrey moved to the U.S. Now be sure to watch the online footage of Perrey demonstrating his incredible musical vocabulary on the Ondioline, which was televised on the American I’ve Got A Secret show in 1960 and also in ’66. in March 1960 and stayed there for 10 great years. Bratman responded immediately, sending plane tickets to Perrey with one word marked on the envelope: “Come!” He moved to the U.S. But Piaf’s biggest contribution was to send one of these tapes to Carroll Bratman, a music contractor in New York City. They would bond, perform and record together, and she would pay for studio time that enabled Perrey to record his own compositions. Piaf was already really interested in the sounds of the Ondioline, and took Perrey under her wings. He asked for my phone number and told me he would hand it to somebody that he knew who could help me find the sponsor in New York I needed. “He said there would be more possibilities and an audience for my approach to music. The influential poet gave Perrey the advice to go to the U.S. To his surprise this person was Jean Cocteau (and by the way, myself having a huge adoration for that artist, when this fact was revealed, my brain exploded a just a little bit). One night after a presentation of the show, Perrey received the notice that someone wanted to talk to him at the bar. Working the nightclub circuit, Perrey became acquainted with singer/songwriter Charles Trenet and also legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhart, who he ended up recording several songs with, one of which, The Soul of a Poet, became a major hit in Europe. Titled Around the World in 80 Ways, the show was quite popular and Perrey took it on tour throughout western Europe. Out of these demonstrations grew a cabaret act in which Perrey played piano and Ondioline, at times simultaneously. Perrey ditched his medical studies and Jenny hired him as a salesman and demonstrator of the new instrument. On the return, Jenny was quite impressed, and probably never heard anyone play it like he did. Upon that first meeting, Jenny must have enjoyed Perrey’s excitement towards this new instrument and actually gave him one to take home for six months, to see what someone with Perrey’s mind and talent could do with it. Perrey, who at the time was a student of medicine, must have realised that it was actually the science of electronic sound, that was really giving him a buzz, as opposed to the science of medicine. The result was a beautiful, almost human-like expressive vibrato. In 1941, the Frenchman had come up with the Ondioline, a very unique vacuum-tube powered electronic keyboard, suspended on special springs which made it possible to introduce a natural vibrato if the player moved the keyboard from side to side with their playing hand. Perrey must have had some sort of epiphany in Paris in 1952, after meeting inventor Georges Jenny. He would go on to teach himself to play the piano by ear, although he did once attempt to study music at the Amiens Conservatory, but was kicked out for violating school rules by performing in public. Jean-Jacques Perrey, was born in a little village in northern France, on January 20 1929, and received his first musical instrument, an accordion, when he was just 4, as a Christmas present.
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