JACQUES BREL (ABO #128)

JACQUES BREL
30 ANS DEJA...

Jacques Brel (April 8, 1929 - October 9, 1978) was a Belgian French-speaker author-composer with such a strong power of expression in his lyrics that many consider him a poet as well. He was also an actor and directed two movies. He was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium, a small city north of Brussels.
In the early 1950s he went to Paris, writing music and singing in the city cabarets and music-halls, where on stage he expressed his songs with grand physical gestures. By 1956 he was touring Europe and he recorded the song Quand on n'a que l'amour that brought him his first major recognition.
His themes are extremely diverse, exploring love, society but also spiritual concerns amon others. His work is not limited to one style. He was as proficient in funny compositions as in heart-breaking ones.
Brel's acute perception made him an innovative and creative painter of daily life with rare poetic ease. He was a master poet. His intelligent use of words was striking and simple, exhibiting a very visual and meaningful vocabulary. Few of his peers are considered to match his skill in fitting as much novelty and meaning in a sentence from a few words of common use.
He composed and recorded his songs almost exclusively in French, and is widely recognized in French-speaking countries as one of the best French-language composers of all time. But he occasionally included parts in Flemish as in Marieke, and also recorded Flemish versions of a few songs such as Le Plat Pays and Les bourgeois.
In 1973 he retreated to French Polynesia, remaining there until 1977 when he returned to Paris and recorded his well-received final album.
Brel died of lung cancer and was buried in the Altuona Cemetery, Altuona, Hiva-Oa, Iles Marquises, French Polynesia only a few yards away from painter Paul Gauguin.
English versions of his songs have been recorded by artists as varied as David Bowie, Scott Walker, Terry Jacks, Alex Harvey, Jack Lukeman, and Marc Almond.
Today is the 30th anniversary of his death.

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