One of my favorite French jazz composers and performers is Alain Chamfort. The first song of his was that we heard was his number one hit, "Clara (veut la lune)" which came out in the mid-1990s and won several awards. He's got a few concerts coming up; I definitely wouldn't mind going to those.

http://www.alain-chamfort.net/

Coco, thanks, of course it's Pascal - must have been half asleep when I wrote that!

P.S. Pascal Obispo actually an anagram of Pablo Picasso :-B

you're welcome! and thanks for the anagram precision.
What about Rita Mitsuko? I like them a lot, she's got a great voice.
I found a link to their best of album
http://tinyurl.com/8ejkm
M, Louis Chedid (M's father) Laurent Voulzy, Michel Jonasz, there are so many. I'm sure you can listen to them all on the fnac website.

My brother had a French Pen Pal in the mid-eighties. She sent him a cassette tape that she recorded off the radio. There are some really good tunes on there, but I have no idea who any of them are. Anyway, it planted an early appreciation for other cultures for both of us. I'll have to check out that website. Maybe I can find some of the artists on that tape. (Or some new ones.) I also like Paris Combo. Heard them on Link TV.

I just spent way too much time on FNAC listening to excerpts of the many singers recommended on this thread. And way too much money ordering a few. Many of these are available from Amazon, so it is not necessary to wait and buy them in France.

I saw Paris Combo near Boston recently. Great concert. The trumpet player is Australian, but the singer/songwriter is a French woman, the drummer and guitar player are French, and the bass player is I believe from Magdagascar.

Come on Nikki, tell us what you bought!
I think I'm about to buy M (Qui de nous deux) only 8,99€.
Honestly I didn't know Paris Combo, only the name, but I just listened to the 45 sec per song and I really liked it! it sounds a bit like Pink Martini with a French touch.
I like Sanseverino as well.
Happy listening!
coco

Coco, I ordered CDs by Enzo Enzo and Francis Cabrel, and Serge Gainsbourg. Put a lot more on a "maybe" list.

It was listening to Sanseverino that got me started exploring French music. I listen to his CDs over and over, the way I used to listen to music I loved thirty years ago but not the way I usually do any more. I love his wry sense of humor, but a lot of it escapes me. I feel like half of it is going over my head. It is hard enough for me to understand French when it is spoken at the speedy rate used by native speakers, but at his speed it's even more challenging. And even reading the lyrics isn't entirely satisfying, because I think there's a lot of colloquial usage that I'm missing entirely. Also true of Paris Combo. Still fun to try.

Don't worry, I'm not sure to understand all what he says as well! And it is worse with Mylène Farmer who sort of whispers and swallows her words, terrible!
I feel the same with English speaking groups (Gorillaz, Black eye peas...)
We should try to start a dictionary here :-B

Well Coco, I feel much better. But I would love to sit down with you and a Sanseverino CD and a lyric sheet and figure out what the heck I'm laughing about.

Someday maybe...
à bientôt
coco

Thanks all for your help! You've given me alot to discover.

Nikki, I think you'll love Enzo Enzo. I have her CD's playing all day long.
When we were in France last year I think, she was doing concerts, but we couldn't get to one.

Are the prices better at the Virgin store than at FNAC stores?? It looks like that may be the case, looking at the web sites.

Check the prices at Amazon.com, especially the prices at the Amazon marketplace for new and used CDs available from independent sources. Much less expensive than buying in France.

I'm enjoying the CD's I bought in Paris last week. They are all excellent, but Chimene Badi "entre nous", Natasha St.-Pier "De l'amour le mieux" and Roch Voisine "l'album de Noel" really stand out.

The prices at the Virgin store and FNAC were the same. Individual CD's were 8.99€ each last week.