TRAFICOS

CLAUDE GUILHOT + Georges Arvanitas Trio

TRAFICOS (Owl 02, France, 1975)

Hello everyone, I hope you have enjoyed Paul Piot and his Orchestra, We continue today with French Jazz but in  a different style. A small combo playing modal jazz. 

I do not think this album has ever been posted in the blogosphere.  It was the second album issued on the highly-respected OWL label (OWL 01 was African Nite by Randy Weston).  A great deal of the original OWL catalogue was reissued on CD in the 90s but, for unknown reasons, this one never made it to the CD format.  And for once, there is a good reason to try and find a copy of this album beside its relative rarity. The music is outstanding!

Claude Guilhot (September 2, 1929 - December 15, 1990) was a French jazz vibraphonist and drummer.

Guilhot was born in Toulouse to a family of music pedagogues. Initially a professional drummer, he worked with Charles Barrié, Jacques Gauthé, and Mezz Mezzrow before switching to vibraphone late in the 1950s. He and Michel Roques shared leadership of an ensemble which included appearances from

Don Byas, Buck Clayton, Bill Coleman, Sonny Grey, and Lucky Thompson. In 1962 he relocated to Paris, where he played with Kenny Clarke, Alix Combelle, Champion Jack Dupree, Pierre Dutour, Jimmy Gourley, Henri Renaud, and Hal Singer.  In 1970, he taught music in St. Germain-en-Laye, and in the 1980s worked with Georges Arvanitas and in his own ensemble with a.o. Sylvain Beuf and Stéphane Belmondo as sidemen.

(source: Wikipedia)

Track list:

A1         Traficos             9:06

A2         Old Days            6:03

A3         Pepita  5:09

B1         Xyxophoiles     6:50

B2         Ballade A Genève         5:58

B3         Blues For Pele 6:00

Recorded in Paris, France, May 13 to 25, 1975 Studio Palm

Engineer – Jeff Gilson

Credits

Vibraphone – Claude Guilhot

Piano – Georges Arvanitas

Bass – Jacky Samson

Drums [Hollywood] – Charles Saudrais

(covers and label shots taken from DISCOGS)

Discography as leader (tentative):

1965     Claude Guilhot              Bach on Vibes               (Columbia UK / Pathe Canada)
same as “Claude Guilhot joue Bach au vibraphone” (Music for Pleasure, France & Benelux)
and “Das temperierte Vibraphon” (Columbia, Germany)

1967     Claude Guilhot Quartet  Serenade de Mephisto
(EP 45 rpm Pathe, France)

1969     Claude Guilhot              Belbology         (LP VEGA  (France)

1975     Claude Guilhot + Georges Arvanitas Trio       Traficos          (LP OWL 02, France)

1979     Claude Guilhot - Patrice Caratini - Charles Saudrais - Marc Fosset  Petit Voyage
              (LP Open OP13, France)

1986     Georges Arvanitas / Claude Guilhot     Qu'est-Ce Qu'on Joue ?    (LP Sign, France)

With thanks to my good friend Paul P. for lending me his copy to rip.