Jacques Bertin

Singer and poet Jacques Bertin was born in Rennes on October 17, 1946. Trained as a journalist, he turned to song, winning the Prix Jeunesse organized by the daily newspaper La Voix du Nord in 1966. After his first album was awarded the Grand Prix du disque de l'Académie Charles-Cros in 1967, his chanson d'auteur career continued with a series of albums recorded with avant-garde jazz musicians such as Michel Graillier, Didier Levallet, François Rabbath, Daniel Potet, Michel Roques and Siegfried Kessler. Several untitled albums were followed by Permanence du Fleuve (1975), Domaine de Joie (1977), Enregistrement 29.IX.1978 (live, 1979), Les Visites du Bout du Monde (1980) with flautist Raymond Guiot, Changement de Propriétaire - Chez Bertin (1982, live at the Olympia and 2nd Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros), with his usual partners, guitarist Marc Ducret and keyboardist François Couturier, then Ma Vie, Mon Œuvre (1984), featuring Roger Guérin and Jean-Louis Chautemps. In 1988, Jacques Bertin adapted texts by Luc Bérimont for a collection in his honor, Bertin Chante Bérimont, before heading the cultural pages of Politis magazine from 1989 to 2000, where his column "Malin plaisir" appeared. The author, composer and performer did not give up singing, however, and between 1989 and 2019, he released a dozen albums for Disques Velen, which also published a complete set of his previous albums. Author of a book dedicated to Félix Leclerc, Le Roi heureux (1987), Jacques Bertin performs regularly in Quebec, and after Du vent, Gatine! unveils a second novel, Une affaire sensationnelle (2010). In addition to his work as a poet and singer, in 2007 he created the Prix Jacques-Douai, dedicated to French-language song.