Okinawa - Rendez-Vous In Space - 2001

On January 1st, 2001, considered by some as the true first day of the new Millennium, Jean Michel Jarre, together with the Japanese mega-artist and producer, Tetsuya "TK" Komuro, gave a concert in Okinawa. The concert, entitled Rendez-vous in Space, was a tribute to the science-fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke, who was a close friend of Jarre’s. Prior to show, Jarre visited Clarke in Sri Lanka and recorded him on video. At the concert the recordings were used as an introduction to each number. Clarke could be seen on the big screen where he talked about such matters as the possibility of life on other planets and sex in a weightless state. None of Jarre’s classic hits were performed at the concert, but exclusively new material created by The Vizitors, which Jarre and TK had decided to call themselves for the occasion. The opening sequence of the concert was based on the theme from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is one of Arthur C. Clarke’s literary classics, for which Clarke acknowledges to have been greatly inspired by Jarre’s music.

Acropolis - 2001

Jarre gave two charity concerts in June 2001 at the Herodion Atticus amphitheatre next to the Acropolis in Athens, for Elpida, a foundation to help children with cancer initiated by Jarre’s fellow UNESCO ambassador, Mrs. Marianna Vardinoyannis. The final dress rehearsal was reserved specially for all the children and carers from Elpida. The setting for these concerts was the extremely beautiful, the ancient stone of the amphitheatre overlooked by the magnificent columns of the Acropolis was a most prestigious canvas for Jarre’s talent. On stage with Jarre were his musicians, a female soprano and a symphonic orchestra.

No new music was presented though a much reworked Give Me A Sign sounded almost like a new composition and had also been given a new title; Acropolis.

Bourges - 2002

Jarre's most confidential performance to date took place at Bourges, France in April 2002. It was in the context of the very hype electronic music festival called Le Printemps de Bourges.The concert, more in the lines of a Master Class, was shared by a full house of no more than 100, in the historic setting of Palais Jacques-Coeur.

For the occasion Jarre had taken along his Theremin and synthesisers of both older and newer generation. The theme of this singular performance was the development of electronic music, and Jarre also played a piece, Blue, from one of his very first works, Aor, which he composed while he was studying with Pierre Schaeffer at GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales).

Aalborg - 2002

Jean Michel Jarre’s first open air concert in Scandinavia was staged in a rainy windmill field in Denmark, close to Gl. Vrå. The inspiration for the show was wind, first and foremost as an alternative energy source but also the wind as natural force. It was rain, however, that stole the show and turned the windmill field into a regular mud bath during and especially after the concert when the audience tried to make their way home. Despite the tough weather conditions the concert was an artistic success with good live-renditions from Jarre. Apart from two new quality compositions most of the tracks played had been rearranged for the show, some even quite a lot. The sound quality of the concert was one of the best Jarre has achieved for an open air show to date, and bearing in mind the difficult weather conditions and the location of the show, far away from everything and anything, this was simply impressive.

Visually the show focused mostly on the stage with impressive colourful and surreal computer images. The windmills also served as pillars of light and added a touch of futurist aesthetic to the concert while fireworks battled the heavy wind and rain.

Beijing - 2004

Jarre was invited to return to China in October 2004 to launch The Year of France, a cultural exchange between both States. Jarre’s history with China over the years, made him the most obvious ambassador to introduce French culture. For the concert setting, Jarre was offered the historic Forbidden City for the main part, and Tian’Anmen Square for the encore, and for those who could not see him within the walls of the Forbidden City which has limited space.

The concert's major breakthrough was the fact that the music was played live in 5.1 surround, which allowed for some impressive effects and the audience to be totally immersed in the music. Jarre deployed his entire range of artistic effects, excluding fireworks due to the invaluable wooden architecture of the magnificent ancient City. Jarre thrilled the Chinese audience with Laser Harp, Theremin, HD video and two ensembles comprised of a symphonic orchestra and a traditional Chinese orchestra accompanied Jarre who presented some spectacular arrangements of his compositions to include the particularities of traditional Chinese instruments.

Chinese national television’s broadcast went live around the country and across the globe to a record audience of over a billion.

The last part of the concert was outside the walls of the Forbidden City at the Tian-Anmen Square in front of the non-VIP audience. The concert was broadcast live on Chinese TV to more than one billion viewers, and the dvd release of the show was the first ever THX-certified concert.

Monaco - 2005

On August 6 and 7, 2005, Jean Michel Jarre staged two mini concerts in Monte Carlo, more specifically in Salle des Étoiles in Sporting-Monte Carlo Casino, for approximately 1000 dining guests.

The set list consisted mainly of tracks from the Aero album and the sound was in 5.1 surround. Since the concert was an indoor event there were naturally certain visual limitations, but the mobile walls and roof allowed Jarre to play his famous laser harp during Rendez-Vous II.

Gdansk - 2005

2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the Polish workers' movement, Solidarnosc. It was given its rightful grand celebration with a large-scale Jarre concert on August 26, as wished by Nobel Peace Prize, and founder of Solidarnosc, Lech Walesa.

The setting was the Gdansk shipyards, where the Solidarnosc movement was born. Over 170,000 paying audience attended the concert, and in addition, the concert could be watched on giant screens around the city and live on National TV.

Within the concert repertoire, Jarre performed an uplifting and moving arrangement of Mury, an old Polish worker's hymn. Quite appropriately in the old docks environment, Jarre chose Industrial Revolution as the opening track.

Synchronised to the music, the concert featured a lavish display of fireworks. The old ship's cranes were lit in many colours and were used to move the giant screens around.

Morocco - Water For Life - 2006

To put the spotlight on one of the planet’s crucial issues, the protection of clean drinking water, Jean Michel Jarre conceived and performed the concert "Water for Life" as part of UNESCO's campaign to increase awareness of this problem.

The concert was commissioned by the Kingdom of Morocco and took place on December 16, 2006 in the Moroccan desert near the city of Merzouga.

Jarre invited the best of Moroccan musicians and singers to join him on-stage with special musical arrangements of his work to include their talent.

Jarre imagined giant-doors to stand in the dessert around the stage upon which he deployed lavish lights and images to accompany the main them of Water…quite surrealist in such a barren, but most enchanting environment.

Oxygene in Concert - 2007-2008

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his seminal album, Jarre re-recorded the original score with the very best of today’s sound and studio technology, giving birth to a new digital master of his most renowned work.

The album was recorded on all of the original synthesisers in total respect of the very singular mood of this entire score.

To launch the new master recording and showcase all the rare vintage synthesisers, Jarre gave a series of concerts at the prestigious Theatre Marigny in Paris : a beautiful old-world traditional theatre. The repertoire was solely Oxygene and the staging was minimalist, leaving all the attention to the music and the living museum of rare instruments.