After honing his chops writing for Edith Piaf and paying his dues in Paris's infamous Montmartre district, Claude Nougaro emerged as the lead voice of France's swinging '60s. Drawing equally from French chanson tradition and the American jazz vanguard, Nougaro's music matches the sass and swagger of the era's most unruly rock 'n' roll. Whether saluting the student protests of '68 or simply making charmingly inebriated passes, these songs are the musical equivalent of smoke rings—effortlessly cool and eternally transfixing.