Jacques Loussier

French jazz pianist and composer (1934-2019)

Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer. He was well known for his jazz works in trio formation of many of Johann Sebastian Bach's works, such as in the Goldberg Variations. He was born in Angers, France.

Loussier worked in movies and television such as Heaven on One's Head (1965), Living It Up (1966), The Killing Game (1967), Dark of the Sun (1968), Monique (1970) and The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (1980). He was known for creating the theme tune for the popular 1960s French TV series Thierry La Fronde.

In March 2002, Loussier filed a $10 million lawsuit against rapper Eminem and The Marshall Mathers LP executive producer Dr. Dre, claiming that the beat for the track "Kill You" was stolen from his composition "Pulsion". The case was settled out of court.[1]

Loussier died on 5 March 2019 at the age of 84.[2]

References

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  1. Finn, Robin (May 25, 2007). "A Defender of the Controversial, and Now of Imus". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  2. Hommage à Jacques Loussier (in French)

Other websites

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  • Review of his "Bach and more" disk on Sky Arts website
  • Review of his Vivaldi disk on Sky Arts website