Jacques Vassal
Jacques Vassal | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 13, 1947 |
| Occupations | Journalist, writer |
| Known for | Music journalism (blues, folk, chanson) |
Jacques Vassal (born 13 February 1947) is a French journalist and writer specializing in music, particularly French chanson, blues, and American folk music.
Biography
[edit]Born in 1947, Jacques Vassal became interested in music, listening to Georges Brassens.[1] As a teenager, he developed a passion for the blues and later for American folk music.[2] After his secondary education at the Lycée Charlemagne, Vassal earned a bachelor's degree in English. With a "Certificate of American Civilization" in hand, he studied Russian language and civilization at the École des langues orientales.[3] Vassal visited Morocco in 1964, the United States in 1966 and 1968, the USSR in 1967, and finally Quebec in 1969, where he pursued his research on traditional and contemporary music. In 1968, he took part in organizing Tom Paxton's first concert in France. From May to July 1970, he presented a history of American folk music on the Campus show on Europe 1.
Recognized as a specialist in French chanson, popular music, blues, and American folk music, Vassal contributed to Rock & Folk from 1967 to 1985,[4] where he hosted the column Les fous du folk for nearly 15 years.[2] He worked for Paroles et Musique during the 1980s before contributing to Politis and Chorus in the 2000s.[5] He also regularly visited the American Center, then located on Boulevard Raspail in Paris, where Lionel Rocheman organized an open mic night that helped create French folk music.[2]
He wrote on folk music[6], as well as biographies of Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, and Léo Ferré (all three of whom he had met). He also wrote about American singers (including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Woody Guthrie), whose works he also translated into French.[5]
Vassal is also a passionate enthusiast of car racing, and he contributed in the 2000s to the magazines Auto-Passion, Automobile Historique, and later Rétroviseur.[5] and co-authored with Pierre Ménard in the series Les légendes de la Formule 1 published by Chronosports.[7]
Biographies and Articles
[edit]- Folksong : une histoire de la musique populaire aux États-Unis, Albin Michel, Paris, 1971, 348 pages.
- Revised and expanded editions subtitled Racines et branches de la musique folk aux États-Unis, Albin Michel, 1977 and 1984 ISBN 0-8008-2382-6
- Published in English (translated by Paul Barnett) under the title Electric Children: Roots and Branches of Modern Folkrock, Taplinger Pub Co, 1976
- La Nouvelle Chanson bretonne, Albin Michel/Rock & Folk, 1973
- Revised and expanded edition under the title La Chanson bretonne, 1980 ISBN 978-2-226-00974-6
- Leonard Cohen, Albin Michel/Rock & Folk, 1975 ISBN 978-2-226-00115-3
- Français, si vous chantiez. À la patrie, la chanson reconnaissante, Albin Michel/Rock & Folk, 1976 ISBN 978-2-226-00335-5
- Jacques Higelin, Albin Michel/Rock & Folk, 1985 ISBN 978-2-226-02465-7
- Jacques Brel 2, De l'Olympia aux Marquises, le Club des stars : Seghers, 1988 ISBN 978-2-232-10118-2
- Jean Clouzet (update of the 1964 edition), Jacques Brel 1, De Bruxelles à Amsterdam, le Club des stars : Seghers, 1988 ISBN 978-2-232-10155-7
- Georges Brassens ou la Chanson d'abord, Albin Michel, 1991; reissued by Le Livre de poche, No. 9621, 1991 ISBN 978-2-253-06298-1
- Chanteurs à l'affiche : 100 artistes en scène, Albin Michel, 1996 ISBN 978-2-226-08161-2
- Preface for Anne Sylvestre, Sur mon chemin de mots, EPM/Le Castor astral, 1998, 2003
- Léo Ferré : l'enfant millénaire, Ed. Hors collection, 2003 ISBN 978-2-258-06236-8
- Jacques Brel : vivre debout, Ed. Hors collection, 2003 ISBN 978-2-258-06309-9
- Brassens, le regard de Gibraltar (with Pierre Onténiente), Fayard, Éditions du verbe (Chorus), 2006 ISBN 978-2-213-62813-4
- With Étienne Bours, Le Sens du son : musiques traditionnelles et expression populaire, Fayard, 2007
- Brassens, homme libre, Le Cherche midi, 2011 ISBN 978-2-7491-1859-8
- With Jean-Dominique Brière, Leonard Cohen par lui-même, Le Cherche midi, 2014 ISBN 978-2-7491-3485-7
Translations
[edit]- Woody Guthrie, En route pour la gloire : autobiographie, Albin Michel, 1973, 1991, 10/18, 1994, 2012 ISBN 978-2-226-24019-4
- John Howlett, James Dean, Albin Michel/Rock & Folk, 1975.
- Woody Guthrie, Cette machine tue les fascistes, Albin Michel, 1978
- Alan Lomax, Le Pays où naquit le blues, Les Fondeurs de briques, 2012
- Leonard Cohen, Le Livre du désir : Book of longing, Le Cherche midi, 2008, 2011 ISBN 978-2-7491-2249-6
References
[edit]- ↑ "Vassal, Jacques (1947-....)". IdRef (platform of the Agence bibliographique de l'enseignement supérieur) (in French).
- 1 2 3 Manuel Rabasse (13 April 2018). "Les années fastes du folk". Libération (in French).
- ↑ Presentation of Jacques Vassal by Albin Michel publishing, Folksong, op. cit., 1971, inside cover flap.
- ↑ Bruno Lesprit (3 July 2021). "Jacques Vassal, auteur de " Folksong " : " Aimer le folk, c'était être boy-scout"". Le Monde (in French).
- 1 2 3 "Jacques Vassal". Académie Charles-Cros (in French).
- ↑ C. F. (10 June 1971). "" Folk Song ", de Jacques Vassal". Le Monde (in French).
- ↑ Menard, Pierre and Vassal, Jacques (2004). Alain Prost: The Science of Racing [Formula 1 Legends]. Chronosports Editeur. ISBN 978-2-8470-7062-0.
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