Jean-Michel Soupraya
Encyclopedia
Jean-Michel Soupraya is a French
record producer, music
conductor, musical arranger, film composer and musician
. Often referred to as "The Next Quincy Jones." Soupraya is noted for his talent at piano and keyboard and unique eclectic musical abilities. He has been heavily influenced by his time spent in the West Indies where he was surrounded by percussions, marimbas, singers, dancers, carnivals, etc. Using his extensive composition skills throughout his earlier years in Paris
, France
, Jean-Michel Soupraya became much in demand as a keyboardist for Zionbar, an international reggae band; and collaborated on many projects with the brilliant bassist Guy Nsangue; Lenny Waronker
, popular rappers Tonton David
and MC Solaar,Tim Young, Mick Guzauski
of Barking Doctor Recording, Henri Gravier, Luck Mervil
, Greg Calbi, Malcolm Pollack, Dave Aron
, Curtis King
and Abraham Laboriel
.
In his early teens, Soupraya attended boarding school in Le Mans, France where his popularity grew with self-inspired concerts. Discovering another passion, Soupraya also taught himself how to read, write, and compose music
Soupraya began work with a French singer Jenny Zana, seventeen at the time, in 1998. The large scale production of the song "Tenderness," performed by Zana in the Eurovision competition (2000), shaped the musical direction of Soupraya's work and prompted the French media to begin comparing him to music great, Quincy Jones.
In 2000, Jean-Michel discovered and partnered with Sofie Mazeyrat, a Parisian born singer of Italian Descent, who gained recognition and an international following, singing in English, French, Italian and Spanish. After Lea appeared in the Eurovision television contest at"L'Olympia," the largest concert hall in Paris, Jean-Michel produced her debut album "I Can Do It", featuring hit single "Desire", to glowing reviews pairing her with top musicians in New York, Paris, and Montreal.
With Hollywood beoning, Soupraya moved to Los Angeles in 2004, where he founded JMWest Records USA (2004), and produced the Lea Jones album, "Lucky Boy," which was critically received encouragingly well.
Inspired by the American music scene, Soupraya has amassed a music library of more that 600 unencumbered titles in genres that include: pop, jazz, bossanova, electronic, ambiance, rock, hip hop, orchestral, jingles, scores. Soupraya currently splits his creative time between composing music and film scores, collaborating with existing artists and producers, and developing signed talent.
Soupraya created JMWest Entertainment label (www.jmwestentertainment.com) in 2006, devoting himself to the development and production of multiple artists. Including, pop recording artist Citlalii, (2009) and Kazakhstan born alternative pop recording artist RuZANNA (2010).
Soupraya settled in Beverly Hills, where he currently resides and operates JMWest Entertainment, LLC and JMWest LIVE!.
, Luis Conte, Tom Walsh, Franck Gelibert, JD Daniel, Dave Aron and others. Title song lyrics were by Solomon J. LeFlore, for the documentary produced by Solomon J. LeFlore and Susan Gee to benefit the Mary Ellen Gerber (M.E.G.) Foundation about the devastating 1999 Orissa, India cyclone and the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and the foundation started by Mary Ellen Gerber to "nurture children in need."
Frequently applauded for his unique ability to recruit top talent Soupraya began JMWest LIVE! in 2010. JMWest LIVE!'s altruistic effort to provide up and coming artist (musicians, singers, songwriters, AND production team) with an affordable forum with which to introduce themselves to the industry has hosted events at venues throughout Los Angeles including the Roxy, VIP Lounge and The House of Blues, Foundation Room.
Jean-Michel Soupraya creates
JMWest Records
1998
Joint Venture with the Canadian Label “Black Light Production”
1999
First Realization of “Children of the World” with Canadian and French Artists
2000
Eurovision contest. Jenny Zana with Sofie Mazeyrat
2001
Production agreement with Patrick Geindre to develop and internationalize the company and the artists
2002
Realization of the album “Desire” for Lea Jones in New York
2004
Creation of JMWest Records USA.
2004
Joint Venture with Solomon J. LeFlore
2005
Development of what would later become the JMWest Entertainment Duplication Division
2005
Realization of the song “HOPE” with Lea Jones, Abraham Laboriel for the Katrina victims through MEG Foundation.
2005
Produced and composed music for "Mothering Children in Need", a documentary produced by Vision Quest Entertainment - Burbank CA for the Mary Ellen Gerber Foundation.
2006
Creation of JMWest Entertainment LLC.
2006
Arrangements, compositions, songwriting, CD/DVD Duplication
2007
Development & creation of JMWest Entertainment Duplication Division www.jmwestentertainment.com
2007
Creation of Lea Jones’ New album LUCKY BOY
2008
Development of Music Library to over 400 songs.
2009
Development of Music Library to over 500 songs.
2009
Entered development contract with Citlalii
2010
Creation of JMWest LIVE! http://www.jmwestlive.com.
2010
Signed pop artist Citlalii.
2010
Signed Artist RuZANNA.
2010
Entered development contract with Stephanie Quartararo
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
record producer, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
conductor, musical arranger, film composer and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Often referred to as "The Next Quincy Jones." Soupraya is noted for his talent at piano and keyboard and unique eclectic musical abilities. He has been heavily influenced by his time spent in the West Indies where he was surrounded by percussions, marimbas, singers, dancers, carnivals, etc. Using his extensive composition skills throughout his earlier years in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Jean-Michel Soupraya became much in demand as a keyboardist for Zionbar, an international reggae band; and collaborated on many projects with the brilliant bassist Guy Nsangue; Lenny Waronker
Lenny Waronker
Lenny Waronker is a record producer for Warner Bros. Records.-Career:He produced recording sessions for Nancy Sinatra, The Everly Brothers, Van Dyke Parks, The Beau Brummels, Harpers Bizarre, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Arlo Guthrie, Maria Muldaur, Gordon Lightfoot, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, ...
, popular rappers Tonton David
Tonton David
Tonton David is a French Reggae singer born in Réunion with a turbulent childhood in a suburb of Paris. He left his family at 14, and managed to make a career in music with powerful and political lyrics.-References:...
and MC Solaar,Tim Young, Mick Guzauski
Mick Guzauski
Mick Guzauski is a multi-platinum Mixing Engineer and sound engineer.Guzauski's work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, and easy listening...
of Barking Doctor Recording, Henri Gravier, Luck Mervil
Luck Mervil
Luck Mervil is a Haitian-Canadian actor and singer-songwriter. He is known for his belief in Quebec independence, and was named Patriot of the Year by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in 2005....
, Greg Calbi, Malcolm Pollack, Dave Aron
Dave Aron
David Royce Aron is a multi-platinum recording engineer, live and studio mixer, record producer and musician. He has worked with some of the most influential icons of the past decades including 2 Pac, Snoop Dogg, Sublime, Wu-Tang, Prince, Nate Dogg, Perry Farrell, Bobby Brown, Dr. Dre and U2...
, Curtis King
Curtis King
Curtis Albert King is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals.-External links:...
and Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...
.
Early life
During his youth, Soupraya was a dedicated soccer player. But at the age of twelve he sustained a paralyzing injury that nearly disabled him permanently. Jean-Michel had to be sent to a special children's hospital in Paris where his mother introduced him to music by bringing him keyboards, believing in the power of music to heal him. During this two year convalescence, Jean-Michel became a self-taught master of the keyboard and walked out of the hospital despite a grim initial prognosis.In his early teens, Soupraya attended boarding school in Le Mans, France where his popularity grew with self-inspired concerts. Discovering another passion, Soupraya also taught himself how to read, write, and compose music
Musical career
Soupraya spent five years under contract at television channel France 2, composing music for several popular television shows. In addition to composing popular music, he has created music for film, stage, orchestras, and video games. A song he composed called "Tenderness" (sung in French) made it to theEurovision 2000 competition finals. Soupraya then began working internationally, between London, Paris, New York, and Montreal, as he worked to debut his first multi-cultural album, "L'enfant du monde." The album, produced in Montreal, united musicians from four countries.Soupraya began work with a French singer Jenny Zana, seventeen at the time, in 1998. The large scale production of the song "Tenderness," performed by Zana in the Eurovision competition (2000), shaped the musical direction of Soupraya's work and prompted the French media to begin comparing him to music great, Quincy Jones.
In 2000, Jean-Michel discovered and partnered with Sofie Mazeyrat, a Parisian born singer of Italian Descent, who gained recognition and an international following, singing in English, French, Italian and Spanish. After Lea appeared in the Eurovision television contest at"L'Olympia," the largest concert hall in Paris, Jean-Michel produced her debut album "I Can Do It", featuring hit single "Desire", to glowing reviews pairing her with top musicians in New York, Paris, and Montreal.
With Hollywood beoning, Soupraya moved to Los Angeles in 2004, where he founded JMWest Records USA (2004), and produced the Lea Jones album, "Lucky Boy," which was critically received encouragingly well.
Inspired by the American music scene, Soupraya has amassed a music library of more that 600 unencumbered titles in genres that include: pop, jazz, bossanova, electronic, ambiance, rock, hip hop, orchestral, jingles, scores. Soupraya currently splits his creative time between composing music and film scores, collaborating with existing artists and producers, and developing signed talent.
Soupraya created JMWest Entertainment label (www.jmwestentertainment.com) in 2006, devoting himself to the development and production of multiple artists. Including, pop recording artist Citlalii, (2009) and Kazakhstan born alternative pop recording artist RuZANNA (2010).
Soupraya settled in Beverly Hills, where he currently resides and operates JMWest Entertainment, LLC and JMWest LIVE!.
Social Activism
In 2005 Jean-Michel Soupraya produced the new CD single—HOPE—for JMWest Records, performed by Lea Jones with Abraham LaborielAbraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...
, Luis Conte, Tom Walsh, Franck Gelibert, JD Daniel, Dave Aron and others. Title song lyrics were by Solomon J. LeFlore, for the documentary produced by Solomon J. LeFlore and Susan Gee to benefit the Mary Ellen Gerber (M.E.G.) Foundation about the devastating 1999 Orissa, India cyclone and the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and the foundation started by Mary Ellen Gerber to "nurture children in need."
Frequently applauded for his unique ability to recruit top talent Soupraya began JMWest LIVE! in 2010. JMWest LIVE!'s altruistic effort to provide up and coming artist (musicians, singers, songwriters, AND production team) with an affordable forum with which to introduce themselves to the industry has hosted events at venues throughout Los Angeles including the Roxy, VIP Lounge and The House of Blues, Foundation Room.
Timeline
1997Jean-Michel Soupraya creates
JMWest Records
1998
Joint Venture with the Canadian Label “Black Light Production”
1999
First Realization of “Children of the World” with Canadian and French Artists
2000
Eurovision contest. Jenny Zana with Sofie Mazeyrat
2001
Production agreement with Patrick Geindre to develop and internationalize the company and the artists
2002
Realization of the album “Desire” for Lea Jones in New York
2004
Creation of JMWest Records USA.
2004
Joint Venture with Solomon J. LeFlore
2005
Development of what would later become the JMWest Entertainment Duplication Division
2005
Realization of the song “HOPE” with Lea Jones, Abraham Laboriel for the Katrina victims through MEG Foundation.
2005
Produced and composed music for "Mothering Children in Need", a documentary produced by Vision Quest Entertainment - Burbank CA for the Mary Ellen Gerber Foundation.
2006
Creation of JMWest Entertainment LLC.
2006
Arrangements, compositions, songwriting, CD/DVD Duplication
2007
Development & creation of JMWest Entertainment Duplication Division www.jmwestentertainment.com
2007
Creation of Lea Jones’ New album LUCKY BOY
2008
Development of Music Library to over 400 songs.
2009
Development of Music Library to over 500 songs.
2009
Entered development contract with Citlalii
2010
Creation of JMWest LIVE! http://www.jmwestlive.com.
2010
Signed pop artist Citlalii.
2010
Signed Artist RuZANNA.
2010
Entered development contract with Stephanie Quartararo
Discography
- 1998: Single song Fleur De Carcassonne
- 1999: Children of the World
- 2002: Sofie Mazeyrat - Album "I can Do It
- 2002: Sofie Mazeyrat - single "Desire
- 2005: Hope (For Katrina)
- 2005: Celeste Lear - Live Passionately
- 2007: Lea Jones - Lucky Boy