Meeting between Philippe Katerine and Philipp Catherine
“I present to you Philippe Katerine!“
“And I’m Philip Catherine!”
“But it’s not the same spelling. And we're not alike.”
“No, but we’re still human beings, and we have two ears.”
To see them laughing like kids, throwing flowers at each other and finishing each other's sentences like an old couple, you'd think they'd known each other for years. But no, the 55-year-old French singer Philippe Katerine (with a K) and the 82-year-old Belgian jazz guitarist Philip Catherine (without an E and with a C) met for the first time in November 2024 in the premises of Moustique during a promotional visit by the singer who came to present “Zouzou”, his new album.
The opportunity was too good not to seize. Two phone calls and a few text message exchanges managed to convince Philip Catherine, the Belgian, to attend. “I listen to Philippe Katerine with great pleasure. Good ideas, calm, original, creative. Very nice”, he told us a few days before the meeting, after looking at his discography.
A banana story
At his side that day, Marianne, his wife, who also wanted to get to know “the one that everyone thinks is my husband.” “It was my grandchildren who introduced me to Philippe Katerine a few years ago. They were watching a clip with a banana story and naked people. I found it funny”, she remembers.
It was also by chance that the Belgian guitarist discovered the existence of the French singer. “I was at home, I turn on the radio and I hear: “And now, Philippe Katerine will play you his most beautiful love song”. I wondered what a mess this was. And then I hear someone singing who has nothing to do with me. That's how I found out there was someone else named like me”, lance Philip Catherine. “And then one day in a good restaurant in France, the waiters pampered me when they learned my name. But, at some point, they realized that I wasn't you and they stopped taking care of me.” “Oh the garbage! It doesn't matter”, retorts the Frenchman.
Most beautiful melody in the world
For his part, the French singer learned of the existence of his namesake during a visit to Brussels. “I was amazed then I listened to the music and I found it fabulous. There is in particular a song that obsesses me and that you composed called Nayram. Did you really compose it? It is a splendor. One day a newspaper called me saying “so you composed for Robert Wyatt? (the British singer has covered, under the name Maryan, the title Nayram, composed by Philip Catherine for his wife – Editor's note) and I had to say “Hey no, it’s not me who composed the most beautiful melody in the world.” I love it, but the melody is very difficult to memorize. You have to get up early but I would like to try to sing it, humbly.”
”But there she is, Marianne! You have it in front of you.”, says Catherine, delighted, pointing to her wife with her chin. “Ah OK ! Delighted ! So the most beautiful melody in the world is you. I didn't know it.”
If their worlds seem light years apart, the two artists share many things, starting with a sincere self-deprecation and an unconditional love of jazz. “I played with a lot of jazz people. I'm not at that level musically but they gave me a lot. The first time I heard Chet Baker sing, so feminine, it really spoke to me. And then I listened to all his records, including one recorded with Philippe Catherine on the Grand-place in Brussels in 1985 where he sings My funny Valentine”There is also Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk. I'm crazy about this music.”
Banquet
But all this still doesn't tell us who the real Philip/pe K/Caterine is. It is the singer who ultimately decides the question. “I am a tourist. It's not my real name, my name is Philippe Blanchard in reality. But it's you, your real name. When I hear Philippe Katherine, I turn around but I look at you. We should have a banquet with everyone else, there would be lots of people.”
