Juliette Greco l Essentielle

Muse to the Parisian literary scene of the '50s, godmother of songwriter-led '60s French pop, and a self-reinventing torch singer from the '70s into the 2010s, Juliette Gréco was one of the great French recording artists of the 20th century. Born in Montpellier in 1929, Gréco was classically trained at the Paris Opera as a youngster. Forced to flee Paris at the outbreak of the Second World War, and practically orphaned when her mother was jailed for her resistance to the Nazis in 1943, Gréco sought refuge with her former French teacher in the St. Germain des Prés quarter of Paris. In the later years of the war, the literary and artistic world of the Left Bank was flourishing, and Gréco became a fixture in this world, befriending Sartre and other writers of renown, and appearing in the theater and on a literary radio show. Her experiences of hardship in the war had influenced her politics and sowed the seeds for the great liberation she flaunted after the war, becoming the pinup for the so-called bohemian scene.

Muse to the Parisian literary scene of the '50s, godmother of songwriter-led '60s French pop, and a self-reinventing torch singer from the '70s into the 2010s, Juliette Gréco was one of the great French recording artists of the 20th century. Born in Montpellier in 1929, Gréco was classically trained at the Paris Opera as a youngster. Forced to flee Paris at the outbreak of the Second World War, and practically orphaned when her mother was jailed for her resistance to the Nazis in 1943, Gréco sought refuge with her former French teacher in the St. Germain des Prés quarter of Paris. In the later years of the war, the literary and artistic world of the Left Bank was flourishing, and Gréco became a fixture in this world, befriending Sartre and other writers of renown, and appearing in the theater and on a literary radio show. Her experiences of hardship in the war had influenced her politics and sowed the seeds for the great liberation she flaunted after the war, becoming the pinup for the so-called bohemian scene.

"Juliette Gréco - Saga All Stars: Jolie môme (The EPs 1961)" is a collection of tracks from the iconic French singer Juliette Gréco. Known as a muse of the existentialist movement, Gréco's deep voice and emotional delivery made her a central figure in the French chanson tradition. This album, part of the Saga All Stars series, highlights her work from 1961, featuring EPs that showcase her talent in interpreting songs with a mix of passion and melancholy.

An emblematic figure of French chanson, Juliette Gréco is an artist who left her mark on the whole of the second half of the 20th century. There is no shortage of superlatives to describe her: égérie of the cabarets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés since the late 1940s, muse to an unspeakable number of artists and intellectuals, fashion icon, ambassador of the French art de vivre.

Tout destinait Juliette Gréco à enregistrer un jour un disque de chansons de Jacques Brel. Mais Gréco connaissait et aimait trop la musique de Brel pour que l'enregistrer fut une simple formalité ou une évidence. Au contraire, elle en a fait à la fois une ouvre de fidélité, par amitié pour l'auteur qu'elle a connu, mais aussi une véritable interprétation. On retrouve dans cet album les incontournables que Gréco interprète sur scène : "J'arrive", "Ne Me Quitte Pas". renouvelées par les arrangements de Bruno Fontaine - il suffit d'écouter la déchirante "Chanson des Vieux Amants" qui clôt l'album, accompagnée du seul violoncelle de Sonia Wieder Atherton.

Produced by husband and former Jacques Brel pianist Gerard Jouannest, Ca Se Traverse et C'est Beau sees legendary French chanteuse Juliette Greco pay tribute to the bridges of Paris on 13 poetic tracks written by the likes of Philippe Sollers, Marie Nimier, and Francois Morel. The follow-up to 2009's Je Me Souviens de Tout features collaborations with Melody Gardot ("Sous les Ponts de Paris"), Marc Lavoine ("C'est La La La, Seule Avec Toi"), and former Saian Supa Crew MC Fefe ("Paris Se Reve"), alongside a rare self-penned contribution, "Le Miroir Noir," and a celebration of her career performed by actor Guillaume Gallienne ("Le Pont Juliette").