Jean-Michel Defaye

Jean-Michel Defaye (18 September 1932 – 1 January 2025) was a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré. Defaye was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, near Paris, on 18 September 1932. At aged ten he entered the Paris Conservatoire and completed his musical training in theory, piano and composition, taking in Nadia Boulanger's accompaniment class. In his early years, he was interested in jazz. Defaye's primary instrument was the piano, but he also played trombone and trumpet. He attended the composition classes of Darius Milhaud and Tony Aubin. In 1952 he won second prize of the Grand Prix de Rome; and the following year he won the Lili Boulanger Prize of H...