Daniel Mège

Since: 2026 | Position: Contributor | Reviews Albums | Location: Berne | Page Views: 1,435

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About Me

Scientists search by day, musicians find by night.

I am a planetary scientist working on deformation and volcanism of solid planets, covering only a fraction of Sun Ra's planetary procession (for instance, Saturn is gaseous). While I was an undergrad in Strasbourg, France, I played jazz piano two to three times per week during two years, reaching over 400 one-hour sets. Today I am impressed by this number. Then I moved to science.

I obtained a PhD in Geophysics and Geodynamics at Paris-Sud University in Orsay. Since then, I have been wandering wherever funds and inspiration have taken me: the University of Nevada in Reno, the German Aerospace Centre in Berlin, NASA's Regional Planetary Image Facility in Orsay, University of Clermont-Ferrand, Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, the University of Nantes, Addis Ababa University, the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institut de Physique du Globe in Paris, the International Research School of Planetary Sciences in Pescara, and currently the Physics Institute at University of Bern.

I enjoy my work a lot, but have never really given up on the idea of doing things in music. I have found it surprising how much keeping an open mind opens up unforeseen directions. For instance, in the last several years I have been more and more involved in the interpretation of data being collected by the Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft around Mars.

My interest in trace gases (gases which exist in extremely small quantities in the atmosphere) has been a trace itself for most of my life; today these gases fill most of my daytime, and I must admit that I enjoy it quite a lot. The unpredictable happens more often than it should. This is a beautiful transition to jazz. Jam sessions are illustrations of the unpredictable becoming the rule. Is this why I am addicted to jazz….?

Writing stuff and sharing pictures on AAJ is quite different from writing science papers, but sharing my own discoveries, in jazz as in science, and perhaps some thoughts, is pure joy. I have a profound admiration for musicians, in particular jazz musicians.

Scientists spend their time trying to get close to understanding the universe. For a single moment, jazz musicians achieve it. We try to explain. They explain nothing: they simply are, elegantly. They open the doors of infinity for us and let us glimpse its blinding light. All we can do is pack up our tools.

To this day, I cannot believe that one evening of my life I drank champagne with Cecil Taylor. Yet, my passion today is not to chase after the past. Today's jazz is teeming with incredible musicians who continue to show us that the world is beautiful. This is what I try to show here.

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Advocate

Points Earned

5,931

Favorite Musicians / Bands

Abdullah Ibrahim

Alabaster DePlume

Alex Ventling

Amalie Dahl

Anthony Braxton

Arne Torvik

Arvo Pärt

Åsne Fossmark

August Glännestrand

Ávéd János

Benjamín Gísli

Camila Nebbia

Cecil Taylor

Christian Jaksjø

Cosmic Swing Orchestra

Dafnie EXTENDED

David Six

Eivind Aarset

Guro Kvåle

Hubert Zemler

Ingeborg Gravem Sollid

Jenny Frøysa

Joachim Kühn

Julien Herné

Jørgen Bjelkerud

Jørgen Fiske

Kertu Aer

Kit Downes

Lina Langendorf

Mari Boine

Momoko Gill

Moon Inhabitants

Motif

Mulatu Astatke

Orchestra for Jazz Composers in Oslo / Orkesteret for Jazzkomponister Oslo (OJKOS)

Soyr

Sølvtrå

Torgrim Sollid

Trond Kallevåg

Trondheim Jazz Orchestra

Trym Saugstad Karlsen

Tuva Halse

Tuva Halse and Arne Torvik

Tuva Halse Quintet

tuvahalseband

Veslemøy Narvesen

MORE FAVORITES

My Jazz Story

I have been exposed to jazz since my childhood, when my father was playing his bebop, hardbop and West Coast jazz albums... though my first interests were more Fats Waller and Sun Ra-oriented! I met Cecil Taylor, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Linda Sharrock, Mal Waldron... The best show I ever attended was one of Tuva Halse in November 2024 in Oslo, when the Oslo Jazz Composers Orchestra played her amazing suite Reconnection! The first jazz record I bought was... in 1983 probably? Was it by Keith Jarrett (Standards vol. 1) or Pat Metheny (Watercolors)? The albums which changed my life were Trio Music by Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes, then Nothing Is... by the Sun Ra Arkestra. The first seconds of the first side of the LP were enough to do the job. Then, Distant Thunder by Manfred Schoof and the Yosuke Yamashita Trio. My advice to new listeners... that's a tough question.... jazz has always been with me, I do not know what it makes discovering jazz! Perhaps my advice would be, go to hear a great concert live! Albums are just what is left when we were not lucky enough.... which is unfortunately the rule... But yes, go to concerts, before all. Hear and look! And come back the day after.