As promised yesterday, here are more photos straight from Jean Michel Jarre. After Memorial Day weekend, we'll be moving these to the "Latest News" section of the site to make room for posting features from the June issue of Keyboard here, so that's where you can find 'em!
Jean Michel Jarre with Moog Liberation synth - essentially a Rogue in a shoulder-strap format.
Click here for huge image.
Closeup of one of the four (!!!) EMS Synthi A briefcase synthesizers that are onstage at Jean Michel's keyboard station. This was the synth made famous by the burbling bass sequence in Pink Floyd's instrumental "On the Run" from The Dark Side of the Moon.
Click here for the huge image, and you'll be able to see the pin matrix really well. That central "pegboard" area is where the Synthi handled patching and modulation. Inserting a pin in one of the holes connected a source (you can see sources labeled across the top - i.e. on the right in the picture) to a destination (labeled down the left side - i.e. on the top in the picture). This synth was an evolution of the VCS3, two of which Jean Michel has behind him onstage, sandwiched in between his pair of ARP 2600s!
Francis Rimbert's station (leftmost), clockwise from left: Roland Jupiter-8 atop Eminent 310U organ (far left, barely in the shot); Roland D-50 atop Elka Synthex, Minimoog D, Roland JD-800 atop Korg PE-2000 PolyEnsemble.
Jean Michel's station (center), clockwise from downstage left: Roland SPD-S, Nord Lead 3 atop Roland JD-800; two of the Synthi A synths behind/above Memorymoog; column stand with single Synthi AKS with two Boss RC20XL LoopStation pedals on Synthi's blue touchplate keyboard above Roland JP-8080 virtual analog rack synth; Roland HandSonic drum pad; another Synthi, next to a Minimoog Voyager, both sitting on top of an incredibly rare RMI Harmonic Synthesizer; HP computer monitor, behind which we can see a bright yellow Dave Smith MoPho; backs of ARP 2600, two EMS VCS3's, and another ARP 2600; Roland JP-4 atop Eminent 310U organ, Haken Continuum Fingerboard controller atop Elka Synthex.
Claude Samard's Station (right), clockwise from left: Roland Juno-106 atop Eminent 310U organ: Roland SPD-S sampling pad; Memorymoog atop Roland VP-330 Vocoder Plus; several Roland V-Drums pads with TD-20 sound module; Minimoog D atop Moog Taurus bass pedals. Click here for huge image.
A stunning shot of the complete stage plot. Left to right are Dominique Perrier, Francis Rimbert, Jean Michel Jarre, and Claude Samard at their respective keyboard stations. Want to know what all the gear is in this photo? Pick up the July issue of Keyboard and turn to our back page.
Okay, we'll let out that the BIG synths along the back wall are (left to right) a Moog 55 modular, a MacBeth M5N, and an ARP 2500 - the same model used in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
We're planning a much bigger feature on Jean Michel when his IN-DOORS tour hits the states, including an interview and a track-by-track breakdown of what he uses each of these rare synths for. When is it gonna happen? Be the first to find out by checking Latest News on this website, or joining the Keyboard Corner online forum.
Click here for huge image.
Hope you enjoyed the photos, and happy Memorial Day weekend from all of us at Keyboard!