Jean-Michel Jarre is a French composer, performer, music producer, and designer. He is regarded as a pioneer in the electronic, synth-pop, ambient, and New Age genres, as well as an organizer of spectacular outdoor events and concerts featuring the latest in lights, laser displays, fireworks, 3D animation, and sound.
Jarre has always been at the forefront of innovation in his music and art, which has led to numerous Guinness World Records for the largest outdoor concert audiences in the world. He has sold over 70 million albums, making him one of the most successful entertainers in the world.
Jarre's first mainstream success was the 1976 album Oxygene, which was recorded in a makeshift studio at his home and went on to sell an estimated 12 million copies, making it the best-selling French record of all time. In 1979, he performed to a record-breaking audience of over a million people at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, setting the stage for many more spectacular concerts and ultimately three more world records.
By the time he released his third album, "Magnetic Fields," in 1981, Jarre was invited to be the first Westerner to perform in the People's Republic of China. His concerts in Beijing and Shanghai made cultural history in China and were shared by over 500 million people via Chinese radio and television.
In 1983, Jarre auctioned off the unique copy of his new album "Music for Supermarkets" at a charity event, destroying all master tapes and presses to guarantee that there was only one copy in existence. The album remains one of the most desirable collector's items in the world.
Jarre has continued to push the boundaries of his music and art, staging memorable concerts and events around the world. In 1986, he collaborated with NASA and Houston City Hall to turn the city into a spectacular event, earning him a second Guinness World Record. In 1990, he broke his own record again, playing to an audience of 2.5 million people in Paris-La-Défense.
In 1993, Jarre embarked on his Europe in Concert tour, becoming the first and only French artist to play sold-out concerts in some of the biggest stadiums in Europe. The following year, he opened the brand new stadium in Hong Kong and brought some of his Chinese musical souvenirs back to China.
Jarre has been a UNESCO Spokesperson and Goodwill Ambassador for over 15 years and has staged numerous concerts and events to promote peace, tolerance, and cultural understanding. In 1995, he staged his Concert for Tolerance at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which was attended by 1.2 million people. He was awarded the prestigious "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur" by the French government that same year.
In 1997, Jarre released a long-awaited sequel to his masterpiece Oxygene with Oxygen 7-13. The ensuing tour sold out 25 dates across Europe, and Jarre was invited to stage a concert in Moscow celebrating the 850th anniversary of the city. This turned out to be his biggest concert yet, with an audience of 3.5 million people.
On December 31st, 1999, Jarre was commissioned by the Egyptian government to create and perform a historic Millennium concert at the foot of the Great Pyramids near Cairo. He succeeded in catalyzing a realm of talent and instruments from different ages and civilizations, traditional Arabic, symphonic orchestra, and electronic. An audience of 120,000 people attended the event on-site, while over 2 billion people followed the concert on world television.
In October 2004, Jarre returned to China for a historical concert in Beijing at the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City and a performance on Tian'Anmen Square. An audience of over a billion people followed the events live on four CCTV channels, NHK Japan, and French national TV.
In 2006, Jarre staged an amazing concert in the middle of the Sahara Desert at Merzouga, Morocco, to promote the UN program "Water For Life." Over 60 of Morocco's finest musicians joined Jarre on stage.
In 2009-2010, Jarre embarked on his first-ever World Tour, inviting the audience to journey into his singular universe, to immerse themselves totally in his world of timeless music and vision, in place and time. He promised to share the energy of his macro concerts with the emotions of an arena experience.
With the fusion of analogue synthesizers, cutting-edge digital technology, oversized HD video projections, spectacular laser design, and lighting choreography, Jarre has conceived a show that encapsulates his signature expression and talent for creating milestone events.
