Évariste is one of the rare specimens of artist-cum-scientists. Among his kind stand others like Pierre Schaeffer, a Polytechnique graduate (an engineer but also the father of musique concrète) and the eccentric Boby Lapointe (graduate of the École centrale and inventor of the Bibi-binaire system, patented in 1968). Évariste’s songwriting, joyful and full of energy (albeit extremely critical), shrouds an original tragedy: born in 1943 among résistants, Joël Sternheimer (aka Évariste) grew up without a father, lost to Auschwitz. In 1966, the young Joël sports Princeton’s colorful paraphernalia, freshly returned from the country is in the midst of the Vietnam War. Joël, who’s under the supervision of a rebellious physician, is dismissed. He regardless keeps following the prestigious seminaries of the Institute for Advanced Study, chaired by Oppenheimer, inventor of the atomic bomb. Likely inspired by the hippie movement and music, Joël buys a guitar and starts playing in Washington Square. Morisse is blown away by Lucien Morisse’s tape and signs him onto the label right away. Michel Colombier, arranger for Serge Gainsbourg, contributes some of his original ideas to the 7″ E=mc2. The organist Eddy Louis, who is to participate, in 1969, to the success of Claude Nougaro’s Paris Mai (1969), also appears on the record. It’s 1966 and the Antoine phenomenon (signed on Vogue) storms through France. Success comes around swiftly and in 1967 Évariste launches into a second 7″, Wo I Nee, again arranged by Michel Colombier. Quantum mechanics fans finally get their anthem with „La Chasse Au Boson Intermédiaire“ (Intermediary Boson Pursuit). A few months later, it’s May ’68 and everything’s turned upside down. Évariste writes a series of songs inspired by the events, which he immediately submits to Lucien Morisse. When he hears the song „La Révolution“ — a father and son dialogue — he can’t take any more: AZ simply cannot release this. But there and then Lucien Morisse makes a gesture which will remain engraved in French music’s history: sorry to be unable to officially stand by the singer, he encourages him to self-produce the record, but with his tacit support. Évariste keeps singing at the Sorbonne with „Jussieu’s Gang“ and „the young Renaud“ he nicknames „le p’tit gavroche“ (street urchin). Renaud volunteers to type the lyrics of the song „La Révolution“ so that the chorus can be sung and recorded. The self-released 7″ La Révolution/La Faute À Nanterre is sold under the table and door-to-door for half the price of a standard record, on and around the boulevard Saint-Michel; and it runs out fast. When the theater director Claude Confortès decides to adapt Wolinski’s drawing series titled „Je Ne Veux Pas Mourir Idiot“ (I don’t want to die a fool), he asks Évariste to write the original soundtrack. Dominique Grange (writer of the song „Nous Sommes Les Nouveaux Partisans“) soon joins the team. After 150 performances, Évariste leaves his place to Dominique Maurin (brother of Patrick Dewaere). Évariste composes the songs for Claude Confortès‘ next play, Je Ne Pense Qu’à Ça („That’s all I think about“), co-wrote with Wolinski in 1969. The comedians of the play record the songs on a 7″. 1970 is the beginning of a decade in the course of which Évariste is to make a decisive discovery in the musical and scientific domains. Following this breakthrough, he moves away from self-produced music and gaucho magazines to focus on science.
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Come with uncle and hear all proper! Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are invited.