Jean-Michel Jarre : Rendez-vous , electronic

Jean-Michel Jarre : Rendez-vous , electronic

Rendez-vous is the eighth studio album by electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre released on Disques Dreyfus, licensed to Polydor, on 5 April 1986. It sold some three million copies worldwide and remains Jarre's longest-running chart album in both the U.S. and UK, with a 20-week run in the U.S. and a 38-week run in the UK. It is his last studio album to date that topped the French charts. The album art of the album was created by long-time collaborator Michel Granger.[2]

The last track on the album was originally scheduled to include a saxophone part recorded by astronaut Ron McNair on the Space Shuttle Challenger, which would have made it the first piece of music to be recorded in space. However, on January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after lift-off, the shuttle disintegrated and the entire Challenger crew were killed. The track was dedicated to McNair and the other astronauts on board Challenger.[3] On the album, the saxophone part is played by saxophonist Pierre Gossez.

The album reached no. 9 in the UK charts and no. 52 in the US, making it Jarre's highest-charting album in the country.[4]

The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1987, although it did not win the award.[5]

In April 1986, Jarre performed the large-scale outdoor concert Rendez-vous Houston in Houston, Texas, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of Texas. The show attracted a then-world-record live audience of 1.3 million people. The concert was originally to have included a video projection of Ron McNair's performance, recorded in space.

Jean-Michel returned to the stage in October for another performance, Rendez-Vous Lyon, marking Pope John Paul II's visit to Jarre's hometown of Lyon.