For sixty years, Michel Jonasz has crossed genres without ever losing himself. Blues, French chanson, funk, bossa: each influence has settled in him to the point where they no longer distinguish themselves. With “Soul,” his sixteenth studio album released in October 2024, the singer revisits his own songs in a soul and R&B spirit with Manu Katché on drums and Jean-Yves d’Angelo on keyboards. On tour until summer 2026, the magical trio from the 80s hits the road again with nine additional musicians.
For this album, it was Manu Katché who had the idea of a duo with Ben l’Oncle Soul. How did it come about? It’s true, the idea came from Manu. When he proposed it to me, the name naturally stood out, we are making an album called “Soul,” and Ben l’Oncle Soul embodies that since the beginning. I was already an admirer of his work, and our two voices blend really well. Singing “Joueurs de Blues” with him was a no-brainer.
How was the decision made to choose which songs to rearrange? We first decided on a color, a guideline. Once we had said soul and R&B, the selection process almost happened on its own: some …
