A LANDMARK IN SOUTH AFRICAN JAZZ !

JOHN MEHEGAN, HUGH MASEKELA, JONAS  GWANGA, KIPPIE MOEKETSI, CHRIS JOSEPH, CLAUDE SHANGE & GENE LATIMORE : JAZZ IN AFRICA vol.. 1 & 2 (SOUTH AFRICA, 1959). 

American pianist, John Mehegan toured South Africa in 1959 and recorded these seminal albums (vol. 1 & vol. 2) with most of the horn section of the Jazz Epistles. The line-up included John Mehegan and Chris Joseph on piano, Kippie Moeketsi on alto, Hugh Masekela on trumpet, Jonas Gwangwa on trombone, Claude Shange on bass and Gene Latimore on drums. On the first volume, there is a single track featuring Samson Slingo on mbira with a spoken introduction probably by Mehegan, who also pens the liner notes. According to Jonas Gwangwa, this "was the first LP made by black people in South Africa." (Ansell, p. 98)

Reportedly only 500 copies of the original album were pressed, making it exceptionally hard to find. Teal Records' African Heritage series reissued both volumes in the early 1990s on LP, cassette and CD (TEL 2304, TEC 2304, TELCD 2304, 1991) (TEL 2314, TEC 2314, TELCD 2314, 1992), but these are equally scarce. 

Jonas Gwanga

I bought this double CD about ten years ago at Johannesburg International Airport. There used to be an excellent record shop in the duty free area, carrying a good selection of South African Jazz .  The young shop attendant I talked too was very enthusiastic about jazz and made me listen to a whole bunch of albums.  I had a lot of time waiting for a connecting flight and eventually I left the shop with whole pile of CDs.  And right did I do so because most of them are now OOP. 

JOHN MEHEGAN - piano

KIPPIE MOEKETSI - alto sax

CHRIS JOSEPH - piano

HUGH MASEKELA - trumpet

JONAS GWANGWA - trombone

CLAUDE SHANGE - bass

RAY SHANGE - penny whistle

GENE LATIMORE - drums

SAMSON SINGO - mbira

Jazz in Africa – vol 1

Track I — Venda introduction (traditional) 1.48.

Samson Singo is a busker (a strolling street performer) who wandered into the studios during the session. The mbira piano is about eight inches long and four inches wide. It consists of a number of steel spikes of varying lengths attached to a wooden resonator; the spikes are plucked with the thumb nails.

Track 2 — "Delilah" (Victor Young) 6.06.

Splicing "Delilah" into the Venda introduction we thought might point up the light-years that exist between the "beginning" and the "present". Chris Joseph is on piano.

Track 3 — "Round Midnight" (Monk, Williams, Hanighen) 4.16.

This track features pianist Chris Joseph who was the only musician in the Union who knew the tune. In criticizing the musicians in Durban, I mentioned this fact — the next day, his phone rang three times.

Track 4 — "Lover Come Back To Me" (Romberg-Hammerstein) 3.38.

Kippie insisted this be "my" tune, but we finally compromised on adding some I6's by Kippie, Hugh and Jonas.

Track 5 — "Body and Soul" (Green, Sour, Heyman) 4.08.

This features Kippie, who really "plays" the tune rather than treating it as a virtuoso tour de force.

Track 6 — "Old Devil Moon" (Lane, Harburg) 5.30.

This tune came up at a jam session and Kippie, who was only vaguely familiar with it, insisted on working it over until hejcould call it his own. The G major chord in the bridge absolutely gassed him each time we went around. He considered it a "moment of truth" in the tune. He is right, of course, for who ever heard of anyone going from an F minor chord to G major? Surely a moment of truth.

Track 7— "Yesterdays" (Kern, Harbach) 5.25.

We seemed to run into meter trouble on this tune until we dis¬covered that Jonas was deliberately juxtaposing a "quote" of one part of the melody over the chords of another part. Of the three (Hugh, Kippie, Jonas) Jonas was the quickest "study" with a new tune and seemed to have the best facility for playing in the twelve keys.

Track 8 — "X-Ray's Friend" (Freddie Gambrell) 3.32

This track features Chris Joseph again. For all of his rather amazing familiarity with present-day idioms of jazz piano, Chris manages a lyricism that is quite his own.

Track 9— "Cosmic Ray" (Vernacular) 3.40.

This is Ray Shange playing the pennywhistle, or for that matter, two pennywhistles simultaneously as he does on this track. Playing the pennywhistle is only one aspect of this deeply sensitive man who draws magnificently and also plays credible jazz drums. The "pennywhistle," incidently, costs about five shillings, or about sixty cents in United States currency.

CD 2 Jazz in Africa Vol. 2

Track I — 12 x 12 (vernacular) 7.28.
Upon my arrival in South Africa, I quickly learned that the twelve-bar blues (called "the twelve") reigned supreme at the local "blows". Somehow, I became fascinated with the relationship of the two musical absolutes — twelve bars in twelve keys and my wife, Terry, decided it should be "twelve by twelve". As Kippie said, "keys are keys wherever you go".

Track 2 — "Mabomvana" (Mackay Davashe) 5.02.
"Mabomvana" literally means "little red" but a free translation would be "hot stuff ". One night at a session, the subject of the number of possible harmonic "solutions" to an original melody arose and I maintained there could be more than one until the composer designated his particular "solution". Kippie agreed, but some of the others doubted it so Kippie played this vernacular piece "Mabomvava" and asked me to work out a "solution." I had never heard the tune before and my solution was based upon a familiar chord chart in F sharp major. This broke Kippie up since he had played the tune for years on a chord chart in B flat major. We decided to record both solutions of the same melody— "Mabomvana" in B flat major and "Johnny's Idea" in F sharp major.

Track 3 — "Johnny's Idea" (Davashe, Mehegan) 3.46.

Track 4 — "Like Someone In Love" (Burke, Van Heusen) 3.31.
This one features Hugh. An advocate of the Beiderbecke — Davis-Baker school, Hugh has developed many of his own personal idioms which already mark him as an original thinking musician in contemporary jazz. His proposed trip to America this winter for study may be the beginning of a major jazz career.

Track 5 — "Angel Eyes" (Matt Dennis) 11.29.
We decided we needed a "fat" tune to stretch out with and here it is. Kippie's solo, I believe, is one of the great moments of the entire two volumes.

Track 6 — "Yardbird Suite" (Parker) 3.39.
Kippie again with a bow to Parker. Of all the Parker imitators, and they are legion, Kippie seems the most personal and the least imitative. Like Parker, he is short on repertoire and long on the blues, although living where he does justitfies an un-familiarity with tunes that is impermissible in America where fifteen - tune musicians flourish.

Track 7 — "These Foolish Things" (Strachey, Marvell) 4.16
Chris again with a ballad. One learns to really play a ballad last —the most difficult challenge for an improvisor. Chris handles this well with a nod to George Shearing.

NOMADISME MUSICAL

HENRI GUEDON - NOMADISME MUSICAL AUX CARAIBES (France, 1993).

And now something completely different ... This a very interesting album recorded in 1993 by French West Indian percusionnist Henri Guédon. It is a suite build around the traditionnal dance Mazurka, a  style that was once popular in the French West Indies. The album encompasses a whole range of musical styles: mazurka,  traditionnal French West Indian percussions, steel pan, salsa, biguine, classical and  jazz.  Amazing album!

Henri GUEDON (born May 22, 1944 in Fort de France in Martinique - died on February 12, 2006 in Paris, France after heart surgery) was a Martiniquan percussionist. His first band was called La Contesta and he organised it when he was 20. He was awarded a Maracas d'Or the first year the awards ran. In 1983, Philippe Langlais invited him to compose a mix of classical and jazz with his orchestra, the rsulting composition called Opéra Triangulaire. He was a judo champion 1963-65. Multiple albums fused Antillean rhythms with other music from around the world.[2] Guedon was instrumental in exporting the new sound of 60s and 70s Latin -guaguanco, boogaloo, salsa, descarga - to France and the rest of Europe. When Guedon began placing his percussion instruments at the front of the stage in the style of his great influence Ray Barretto, French audience members found themselves shocked and intrigued. Soon enough, greats like El Conde and Pacheco were touringFrance. Were it not for Henri Guedon, Europe could have conceivably taken years to move forward from mambo and cha-cha-cha. (source: Wikipedia).   Here is an obituary in English.

En 1993, avec la collaboration de la Ville de Courbevoie, il crée Nomadisme Musical aux Caraibes, suite de Mazurkas et diverses danses Caraibes avec la participation de l'ensemble instrumental “Parenthèses” avec la chanteuse Yoianda 

Hernandez el ie pianiste Georges Rabol (of Baroque Jazz Trio fame). 

Worth mentionning too is the contribution of caribbean jazz pianist / organist Georges-Edouard NOUEL.  Nouel has played with names such as Rufus Harley, Byron Pope, Bernard Lubat, Max Cilla, Kali, Pierre Vassiliu, Eddy Louiss, Mino Cinelu, Bobby Rangell, Sulhiman Hakim, Winston Berkeley ...

This album is OOP.  

PACIFIC JAZZ

TOM MAWI QUARTET - AT TOM'S PLACE (Fiji - Australia - 1999)

A couple of months ago I posted a big band from Mauritius, a small Indian Ocean country better known for sugarcane and tourism than for jazz music.  This time we go further east, to the mighty Pacifc Ocean  and another small island state known for sugarcane (a declining industry) and tourism but also, unfortunately, for military coups and ethnic tensions. 
I found this album not in Fiji but in Noumea, the capital of the French Overseas Territory of New Caledonia (I don't know if it still exists but Noumea had one of the best record shops in the South Pacific, at least for CD re-issues).  A few weeks later I found myself in Suva, capital of Fiji, and attended a conference hosted at the Holiday Inn.  After work we had a drink at the hotel bar where a trio was playing some smooth cocktail jazz as fits this kind of setting but the guitarist was obviously a good notch above average. He had a natural swing - even in this kind of setting where nobody really listens - and obviously he'd listened a lot to Wes Montgomery ,,, that guitar player was none other than Tom Mawi. 

This album was recorded in Australia in 1999, with financial assistance from the French Embassy ... I assume the Ambassador (or was it the Attaché Culturel?) was a bit of a jazz enthusiast.  They even sent Tom to a Jazz festival in France.  I know he also played in New Caledonia.  Merci la France!


Tom Mawi (born 1943) has been active in Fiji since the early sixties.  He names Les Paul and Chet Atkins as early influences. Then he discovered Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow, Tony Mottola and eventually Wes Montgomery, his greatest influence.  


As you can see the repertoire is mostly standards with two of his blues-based compositions thrown in for good measure. It's an enjoyable album, just plain, well-played jazz.  And when you're having a cocktail at a bar in Fiji, looking at the Pacific Ocean (actually looking at the extremely polluted Suva Bay ...), and Tom Mawi is playing in the background ... you can think for a while that you've reached Paradise.
Enjoy!

A more recent CD is still available and can be purchased here.
And if you wanna see Tom playing the Blues behind singer Michelle Rounds, in Suva , here it is ....

JUST ANOTHER OF BELGIUM (MANY) WELL KEPT SECRETS ... DON'T WAIT, ACT NOW!

ACT BIG BAND (Belgium, 1981)

If you've never heard ACT Big Band, prepare yourself to a major discovery!  One of the greatest "Deep Jazz" aggregation on the Continent ... and just another of Belgium's many well kept secrets!
ACT Big Band is drummer Felix Simtaine's dream come true. Almost a "who's who" of modern jazz in Belgium.  ACT second LP features exciting compositions by members and friends of the band.


Progressive writing and free improvisation are combined with these basic ingredients of big band jazz: intense swing and  richness of sound.


Four of the seven tracks were recorded Live at the Beursschouwburg, a theatre / concert hall in Brussels, in 1981.

A Who's Who of modern Belgian Jazz ?  Check this impressive roster of talents:


Felix Simtaine: drums and leader
Michel Herr: piano, conductor
Jean-Louis Rasinfosse : bass
Guy Cabay: vibes
Paolo Radoni: guitar
Steve Houben: alto & soprano sax, flute, conductor
John Ruocco: tenor, soprano sax
Robert Jeanne: tenor sax
Pierre Vaiana: tenor sax
Johnan Vandendriessche: baritone sax, piccolo
Alain Devis: trumpet, fluegelhorn
Nic Fissette: trumpet, fluegelhorn
Richard Rousselet: trumpet, fluegelhorn
Bert Joris: trumpet, fluegelhorn
Paul Bourdiaudhy: trombone
Andre Knapen: trombone
Jean-Paul Danhier: trombone, tuba


Tracklist:
Side A of the LP
A.1. Bad Fever     composed & arranged by Michel Herr
A.2. Song for Micheline     composed & arranged by Michel Herr
A.3. I remember Barney          composed & arranged by Bill Frisell
A.4. Alliz Dog     composed and arranged by Felix Simtaine


Side B of the LP
B.1. For Peanuts   composed & arranged by Michel Herr
B.2. 43, Joy Street    composed & arranged by Bill Frisell
B.3. Nose Drops  composed and arranged by Steve Houben


If you like modern big band, don't miss this one. It can't get any better!  And leave a comment  ... and say thanks to my friend JC who assisted me patiently in the conversion from LP to MP3.
To the best of my knowledge, this album is OOP and unavailable on CD.

BABS ROBERT & THE LOVE PLANET (Belgium, 1970)

Lotsa people have been trying to get hold of a copy of this very unique Belgian LP.  To the best of my knowledge, only one track had ever been posted in the blogsphere ("Extra Pol-Action").  Well, here is the whole album, eventually.
I've owned a copy since it was released in 1970.  A friend of mine was talking drums lessons with Johnny Peret and introduced me to the album.  It was released on a small label based in Jette (one of 19 communes making up the Brussels Region) which  specialised in Renaissance / Early Baroque Music.  Their only foray into jazz was The Cotton City Jazzband, a popular Dixieland outfit.
Babs Robert Quartet was something completely different and remained the only Alpha release in the field of avant-garde jazz.


The musicians:
The original quartet was made of Babs Robert (sax), Johnny Brouwers (piano), Paul Dubois (bass) and Johnny Peret or Robert Pernet (drums).  For this session the original quartet was expanded into a septet as Johnny Peret took the vibes (and percussions) chair while  John Van Rjimenant (saxes) and Michel Gobbe (bass) were added.  In addition to their main instrument(s), they all played a whole range of exotic, mostly percussions, instruments.

The sleeve notes were by Jo Dekmine, director of the famous Theatre 140 in Brussels, and by Marc Moulin.

Trivia:  did you know that it was Robert Pernet who designed the "Ball of Eyes" on the cover of Placebo's first album (titled "Ball of Eyes") ?

Top: Robert and Johnny - Middle: band - Bottom: Robert

Link in comments.

With thanks to JC!

RARITY # 2 – THE FREE FORM'S SEXTET (BELGIUM, 1966)

The Free Form's Sextet (1966) 

Contemporary Music 
Music by Paul Lambert and Francis Joan
7" - 45 rpm - METEOR GV1536

(POST UPDATED 19/07/2017)

 Titles:
Atomic No.1 b/w Atomic No.2 


Credits: 
Paul Lambert     piano (leader)


Christian de Greves    double bass
Andre Stordeur  vibraphone, drums
John Van Rijmenaent   alto sax
Claude Deron  trumpet
Ronald Lecourt  vibraphonne



This is a very strange and pretty rare 45 rpm.  I always wondered what these guys had in mind when they recorded these two sides of free improvisation on a single 7" ... it was the format to be played on a Jukebox ... But the music is everything but jukebox-friendly!

When I bought the 45 - in the early 70's for the modest sum of 5 Belgian Francs (12.5 Euro Cents), it did not have a sleeve.  Actually I did not even know there ever was one until I saw the picture (above) on Discogs. 
It's probably the best investment I ever did: it is now worth well over 200 EURO (with the sleeve).
According to Discogs, "Rarest Belgian free jazz 45" ... Fair enough but I do not know many other Free Jazz 45's, unless on counts the Brussels Art Quintet as "free".

BUT WHO WERE THOSE GUYS ????

The identity of Paul Lambert was for a long time a mystery to me.  There are two references to "Paul Lambert" in Robert Pernet's comprehensive Discography of Belgium Jazz, and it is assumed that it is the same person.  But is it conceivable that a pianist who recorded a couple of MOR novelty jazz sides around 1944 would pop up 22 years later at the head of a free improvisation aggregation with musicians half his age? Pretty unlikely to me.

Guess No.2 : could it be the same Paul Lambert who  was the keyboard (organ /piano) player in Belgian prog/hard rock band Irish Coffee?  Based on the info found in Discogs, yes, it is and his alias as a composer was ... Francis Joan.
Paul Lambert died in a car accident on 2 November 1974 on the E17 nearby Haasdonk (Belgium).

Christian de Greves : no info


Andre Stordeur : Belgian electronic music composer


John Van Rijmenant : Active as a jazz saxophonist during the 1960s (he was guest saxophonist on Babs Robert & the Love Planet)  Belgian John Van Rijmenant, joigned prog-rock bands Waterloo (along keyboard player Frank Wuyts, later in Aksak Maboul) and Necronomicon (pre-Univers Zéro) in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, he formed a duo with Kris Shannon called Pneuma Two. Later in the 1980s, Van Rymenant played saxophone on Geoff Leigh and Frank Wuyts‘ LP ‘From Here To Drums’, on No Man’s Land, Germany, 1988. US violinist and composer Michael Galasso, (1949-2009) became famous in the 1990s as a film soundtrack composer (In The Mood For Love, 2000), though he first composed stage music for director Robert Wilson in the 1970s, and later collaborated with choreographers Karole Armitage or Lucinda Childs. His first disc, Scenes,  was recorded in Germany in 1982 and released by ECM in 1983.


Claude Deron : a trumpet player who played with Alexander Von Schlippenback - Globe Unity Orchestra, was a member of prog-rock / Canterbury influenced bands such as Arkham, Necronomicon and Univers Zero. 


Ronald Lecourt : vibraphonist / free improviser, part of the important Flemish Free Jazz scene that developped in Antwerp and Ghent in the late sixties. Played with the likes of Fred Van Hove, Cel Overberghe, Steve Potts, Noel McGhie ...

Francis Joan, credited as composer , is an alias for Paul Lambert.

Link to new rip in comments (19/07/17). 

ALBERT IN GREEN

THE NEUFELD-OCCHIPINTI JAZZ ORCHESTRA - NOJO (Canada, 1995)


I found this CD in a second-hand records shop in Toronto about ten years ago.  I didn't know anything about the band but a 16-pieces modern jazz orchestra seemed something worth investigating.  


If you like adventurous modern jazz orchestras that are not afraid of stretching the borders (think FlatEarth Society, UMO Jazz Orchestra, Either/Orchestra just to name a few...), you'll dig NOJO.



Despite its size, the 16-member Toronto based Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra, or NOJO, is not a typical big band by any stretch of the imagination. Likened more to avant-garde and free jazz artists like Henry Threadgill, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk than to late jazz greats like Count Basie, Woody Herman, or Duke Ellington, the band is known for pushing the musical envelope with its visionary approach to sound and structure.


"Theirs is the most venturesome jazz orchestra in the city, if only for the example they take from writers such as Henry Threadgill and Kenny Wheeler and the influence they have found in the music of various African cultures," wrote jazz critic Mark Miller in the Globe and Mail. "It's tough, provocative jazz."


Formed in 1994 by York University classmates Paul Neufeld, a pianist, and Michael Occhipinti, a guitarist—both earned Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from the university in 1992—the pair was seeking a suitable venue to showcase their skills as composers, honed in a jazz composition/arranging class with David Mott. Both played with smaller ensembles on their own—Occhipinti under his own name, and Neufeld with the Rhythm and Truth Brass Band, among others. To their surprise they found that a big band environment, although typically associated with oldstyle, swing jazz, was the perfect forum in which to combine their multi-layered compositions, which incorporate elements of world-beat, country, blues and experimental music in addition to jazz. "This band started as a workshop for our own material, and it continues to be the place where we teach ourselves and each other about writing music," Neufeld explained in Words & Music.


And that music, as some jazz musicians might say, is way out. "Neufeld and Occhipinti obviously enjoy being fractious and unpredictable, filling their compositions with lurching figures, curious turns and sudden developments that have the effect of keeping the musicians perpetually off-balance," Miller wrote in a 1997 review of one of the band's live performances.


While more established musicians were invited to give the group a try when Neufeld and Occhipinti began their venture, the pair ended up going with lesser-known artists to achieve their desired sound. "I think what works to our advantage is that there's a real youth factor to NOJO," Neufeld said. "There's an energy that comes from younger musicians and an open-mindedness that might not exist if we had some mainstream players."


That youth factor has created a sound which has garnered accolades practically from day one. NOJO's first album, which is self-titled, earned the 1995 Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards. 
"A lot of time has passed since the mainstream of jazz tradition was established," Neufeld said. "We both have strong feelings about jazz as a living tradition that's got to be relevant to what's happening now. We're not just looking to 1950s' Miles Davis as an inspiration—there are a lot of things that happened in the 1960s and 1970s that changed the way we look at music. It's important to take those things into account so the music's not a museum piece or treated like classical music."


"I love playing standards and I'm glad there are people who do it, but I'm also glad there are people doing newer things," Occhipinti added. "There are other jazz voices that need to be heard, and I think we're one of them."

(source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3430000049.html)


NOJO 
 Tracks

1 Art of the Secret                          Occhipinti 10:16
2 Crime Fiction                                  Neufeld         10:17
3 Don't Hum (Slight Return)                  Occhipinti 11:42
4 Albert in Green                                  Neufeld           6:50
5 Warm Orange                                  Occhipinti 10:48
6 Somalia                                          Neufeld          7:04
7 MR.K.C. (For Keith Copeland)  Occhipinti   7:34
8 Moravagine (After Blais Cendrars)  Neufeld          8:32



Credits:
Joe "Public" Allen   Flugelhorn, Soloist, Trumpet
Rob Clutton           Bass, Soloist
Colin Couch           Soloist, Tuba
Stephen Donald   Trombone
Jeff Elliot                  Assistant Engineer
Kenny Kirkwood  Sax (Baritone), Sax (Soprano), Shaker, Soloist, Triangle
David Mott         Conductor
Mike Murley         Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Paul Neufeld         Fender Rhodes, Mixing, Piano
John Obercian         Drums, Soloist
Michael Occhipinti Guitar, Mixing, Photography, Soloist
Sean O'Connor        Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Phil Strong        Mixing
Roy Styffe       Clarinet, Clarinet (Alto), Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Alto), Soloist
Scott Suttie      Euphonium, Soloist, Trombone (Bass)
Ernie Tollar      Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Soloist
Kevin Turcotte      Flugelhorn, Soloist, Trumpet
André White      Engineer, Producer


Currently OOP.  Link in comments

THIS IS FOR ALBERT

NUEVA MANTECA - BLUESONGO (NL, 1992)

It's the drawings on the cover that first caught my attention when I saw this CD in a discount bin some fifteen years ago.  I would probably have bought the CD no matter what the music was, just for those superb cartoons by Joost Swarte, a Dutch cartoonist / comic strip writer who is recognised as a master of the "ligne claire", a style based on Hergé's classic strips (Tintin, Quick & Flupke ...).


I didn't know much what to expect but the music blew me!  What a superb band!  If you've been on this blog before you are probably already familiar with Nueva Manteca (see post dated January 11,2011).

My favorite tracks are the title track (Bluesongo), Speak Low, a standard that has a natural Latin feel, Victor Feldman's Seven Steps to Heaven and a great rendition of Joe Zawinul's Young and Fine. But the whole album is highly enjoyable. Awesome percussion section, the best in Europe by far.










Credits:
Toon de Gauw / Jarmo Hoogendijk: trumpet
Ben van den Dungen: tenor and soprano sax
Boudewijn Lucas: electric bass
Lucas van Merwijk: drums, percussions, Bata drums
Martin Verdonk: tumbadora, quinto, chekere, Bata drums
Nicky Marrero : timbales, timbalitos, bongos, guiro
Jan Laurens Hartong: leader, arranger, piano


Link in comments. 

Check them on YouTube, there are some superb moments (including a live version of Bluesongo).

THIS FRIDAY 27 January - Live Blues - Brussels

Un peu de pub' pour les amis / some publicity for musical friends / beetje reklame voor muzikante vrienden

SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC !

MISTER BLUE

ETIENNE VERSCHUEREN - Mr BLUE (Belgium, 1987)




In an ideal world, Etienne Verschueren would be recognised as one of the leading European altists, arrangers and bandleaders. 
The bio below comes from the Website of  Les Lundis d'Hortense , a goldmine of information on Belgian Jazz Musicians.


Etienne VERSCHUEREN was born in Ronse (Renaix), Belgium, in 1928, of a musical family. He studied piano at the Music Conservatory of Ghent in 1945, then harmony in his home town and taught himself to play the saxophone.

Soon after World War 2, he works with the most famous professional bands : Willy ALBIMOOR, Mickey BUNNER. He shares his activities between piano and saxophone. In the fifties, while playing with Belgian tenor sax legend Jack SELS, he moves towards the alto sax.

He joins Roger VAN HAVERBEKE's "Belgian Bluebirds" featuring trumpet player Janot MORALES.

Etienne VERSCHUEREN starts getting involved with the Belgian bebop scene : René THOMAS, Jacques PELZER, Jean WARLAND, SADI, etc.

He also plays accordeon in the recording studios and develops a carreer as an arranger. He writes for famous singers Catherina VALENTE, Charles AZNAVOUR, etc...

In 59, he joins the Belgian radio (INR) big band led by Henri SEGHERS. He composes for this ensemble the music of "Suite en seize", a TV program that receives the "Rose de Bronze" award in Montreux (63).

The same year, the BRT radio hires him and soon selects him in 65 to be the leader of the "BRT Jazzorkest". Under his leadership, this big band will become an important institution on the musical scene, as well in Belgium as in Europe. They will perform every year at the "Jazz Middelheim" Jazz Festival in Antwerp.

As a leader, composer/arranger or saxophonist, Etienne VERSCHUEREN had the opportunity to work with the greatest American jazzmen. But he also promoted, with the help of radio producer Elias GISTELINCK, the music of Belgian composers and arrangers : SADI, Francy BOLAND, Jean WARLAND, Bert JORIS, Bob PORTER, Michel HERR, Freddy SUNDER and many others.

In 77, Etienne VERSCHUEREN founds the "Bop Friends" with Nick FISSETTE (tp), Tony BAUWENS (p), Roger VANHAVERBEKE (b) and Freddy ROTTIER (drs). The group recorded 2 albums. Another album, "Early Spring", recorded in 83, after a first eclipse as a saxophonist, presents him with pianist Charles LOOS, Roger VAN HAVERBEKE (b) and Freddy ROTTIER (drs).

He also recorded a big band album with pianist Jack VAN POLL : "Injacktion" (September 5118).

In 85, Etienne VERSCHUEREN is forced to give up the saxophone for health reasons. He then concentrates on his writing, plays the piano and communicates his enthousiasm for music to musicians of all generations.

This generous musician leaves us with several recordings, in which he shows a brilliant talent as a saxophonist and as a composer/arranger.

He wrote many pieces for jazz big band, for symphony orchestra ans a few film scores (a.o. André DELVAUX's "Une femme entre chien et loup").

A musician of great feeling, he was nicknamed "Mister Blue" by his peers.

I have been very fortunate to see the BRT Jazzorkest in concert many times during the late sixties, early seventies, often with American guests (I have fond memories of a concert with Nathan Davis).  It was an awesome and inspired band which could rival any other big band in Europe (bar the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band but who else could ?). 

This album, which was originally released on vinyl in 1987 presents a good selection of the work ofd Etienne Verchueren as an arranger and a solist with the BRT JazzOrkest.  Those of you already familiar with Sixties/Seventies Belgian Jazz will recognised many familiar names as these guys were all over the place in the early Seventies. It was a great period for music and I do miss it!


Link in the comments as usual.  And don't forget to leave a comment!