Le Carnet de Karine: Jean Ravel, almost 40 years living with his golden voice

Every week, columnist and journalist Karine Gagnon invites you to a major interview with a notable personality from the Capitale-Nationale.

Discovered by singer Marie-Denise Pelletier in the 1980s, singer Jean Ravel, from Quebec, played in mega productions such as Starmania, Notre Dame de Parisand can boast of making a living from his voice for almost 40 years.

Those who have had the chance to hear a Jean Ravel performance, whether in a restaurant, a bar or in a production like at the Capitole, know how impressive his voice is. He can interpret a very wide repertoire, always accurately.

Without wanting to take anything away from the stars he was surrounded by, during a show in December at the Capitole, he was our team’s unanimous favorite. And yet, the singer has gone under the radar of star systemas he puts it, for questions of timing.

Very young

As a child, Jean Ravel already loved music and singing. His parents quickly understood that he had talent the day he began, at a very young age, to perform The birda song that made René Simard famous.

Then, without ever having taken lessons, he formed a group with friends from the neighborhood. He was both a drummer and a singer. They performed on ice rinks and baseball fields.

Then they presented shows at the Duberger and Neufchâtel polyvalente, where he studied. At 15 or 16, he didn’t think he would become a singer, but rather an engineer.

The song never stopped calling to him despite everything. One day, at 17, he saw an ad in The Quebec Journal: a group from Beauport was looking for a singer. He called, auditioned and was hired. They performed many shows in bars.

A little later, studying at Cégep de Limoilou, he decided to respond to another classified ad, still in The newspaper. He auditioned again and was recruited by the band Zane.

So music took more and more space, and he realized that it would be his life. He was always grateful to his parents for not trying to dissuade him from pursuing a career in the field.

Decisive meeting

But it was during a show at the Dagobert in 1989 that a meeting occurred that would change Jean Ravel’s life. In the crowd, he spots singer Marie-Denise Pelletier, with her orange hair. Impressed by her interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsodyby Queen, she comes to see him after the performance.

“She asked me my name and told me she was looking for a backup singer for her tour in the summer,” he remembers.

They also performed together in the duo Survive. Accompanied by the singer’s manager, Allan Katz, he signed with Musicor and produced an album. He plans to work with Mr. Katz for the future, but he dies.

Then Marie-Denise Pelletier introduced him to a great person, the producer and lyricist Luc Plamondon, who approached him for a role in The legend of Jimmy.

Blockbusters

The commitments then followed one another. He replaced his friend Bruno Pelletier in Starmaniaa show in which he participated for five years.

He had the chance to live in Paris and tour France, Switzerland and Belgium. It was the dream!

Then by chance he and Bruno Pelletier lived in apartments very close to each other in Paris. He invited him to go see Notre Dame de Paris, in which he played one of the main roles. “I got what I got, it was grandiose, magnificent, extraordinary,” he remembers.

He met Richard Cocciante who invited him to audition. He landed the role of Pheobus, and participated in the tour in Quebec and Europe.

After this incredible adventure, the singer decided to return to Quebec. He had two daughters and wanted to come home. He then had the idea of ​​creating a musical magazine, Rock Storyhomage to the great rock classics.

The success story has continued for 20 years now, a Source of great pride for him.

With his idol

Jean Ravel also had the opportunity to sing regularly with his idol, Dennis De Young, one of the founding members of the group Stx. Called to replace Éric Lapointe for an English-French duet in Trois-Rivières, he took over from the singer during the show, whose voice had died out due to health problems.

“It connected with him and with his whole team, and I found myself singing with him for 12, 13, 14 years,” he rejoices.

He became his guest artist when he visited Quebec.

More recently, he decided to create a tribute show to Claude Dubois, with the artist’s agreement, and which is presented in several venues. “It’s a project that takes me somewhere else,” he says.

Considering himself semi-retired, Jean Ravel enjoys life, plays sports, walks with his dog in the countryside on the south shore, where he lives.

“I thank life, I find that I have a good life,” confides the artist. I’m not a millionaire, but I lack for nothing and I do what I love.”

Not to be missed, Wednesday evening at 8:30 p.m., on MAtv (channel 9 [Hélix et illico]609HD [illico]), the show Karine’s Notebook about Jean Ravel.