16-page booklet with informative liner notes, photographs, and full details of the personnel and recording dates for each track.
This collection focuses on Robert Mavounzy’s pioneering bebop recordings made in Paris between 1947 and 1954, tracing his involvement in the development of modern jazz. From the historic 1947 sessions with his Be-Bopers to the sextet and septet recordings of 1954, these performances reveal his distinctive Carter-influenced sound, natural swing and exploration of the bebop language inspired by Charlie Parker.
The program is complemented by a rare live performance of “The Good Earth,” recorded at the Club Malesherbes in 1946, and eight earlier tracks from 1943 featuring Mavounzy as a member of American trumpeter Harry Cooper’s hot and swinging orchestra.
Tracklist
01. John Payne Was Here (Jack Carmen) 2:39
02. These Foolish Things (Strachey-Marvell) 3:17
03. Sèvres-Babylone (Allan Jeffreys) 3:00
04. Sweet and Bebop [Sweet and Lovely] (Alan Jeffreys) 2:35
05. Effervescent Blues (Charlie Shavers) 2:46
06. Easy Swing (Eddie Laguna) 2:58
07. The Way You Look Tonight (Kern-Fields) 3:26
08. Bop (Verstraete-Mone) 3:07
09. Pick Yourself Up (Kern-Fields) 2:49
10. Perdido (Juan Tizol) 2:53
11. Sonny's Bop (Sonny Grey) 2:52
12. Sid's Bounce (Jerry Kaminsky) 2:28
13. The Good Earth (Neal Hefti) 2:30 *
14. Inspiration (Harry Cooper) 3:05 *
15. Nuages (Django Reinhardt) 2:52 *
16. Blues 43 (Robert Mavounzy) 3:18 *
17. La Cigale [Undecided] (Robert Mavounzy) 3:17 *
18. Alegro (Harry Cooper) 2:08 *
19. Nos impressions (Harry Cooper) 2:48 *
20. Caprice en Ut (H.P. Chadel) 3:14 *
21. Lune Rousse (H.P. Chadel) 2:16 *
Album details
(*) Bonus Tracks
Sources:
Tracks #1 & 2, from the 78-rpm SWING SW 261
Tracks #3 & 4, from the 78-rpm SWING SW265
Tracks #5-8, from the 45-rpm PATHÉ EA 8
Tracks #9-12, from the 45-rpm PATHÉ EA14
Bonus Tracks sources:
Track #13: Recorded by Jacques Lubin on a Pyrolac disc at Club Malesherbes, 112 Boulevard Malesherbes, Paris.
Tracks #14 & 17 from the 78-rpm SWING SW 178
Tracks #15 & 16 from the 78-rpm SWING SW 155
Tracks #19 & 21 from the 78-rpm SWING SW 173
Tracks #18 & 20 from the 78-rpm SWING SW 191
Personnel
Tracks #1-4: ROBERT MAVOUNZY Be-Bopers
Alan Jeffreys, trumpet & arranger; Jack Carmen, trombone; Robert Mavounzy, alto sax; André Persiany, piano; Emmanuel Soudieux, bass; Benny Bennett, drums.
Recorded in Paris, July 4, 1947
Tracks #5-8: ROBERT MAVOUNZY’S Sextette
Sonny Grey, trumpet; Robert Mavounzy, alto sax; Raymond Lawrence, tenor sax; Claude Martial, piano; Buddy Banks, bass; Benny Bennett, drums.
Recorded in Paris, January 7, 1954
Tracks #9-12: ROBERT MAVOUNZY and His Orchestra
Sonny Grey, trumpet; Bill Tamper, trombone; Robert Mavounzy, alto sax; Sammy Walker, tenor sax; Art Simmons, piano; Buddy Banks, bass; Benny Bennett, drums.
Recorded in Paris, March 5 & May 6, 1954
Track #13: ROBERT MAVOUNZY’S Quartette
JAM Session au “Malesherbes Club”
R. Mavounzy, alto sax; André Persiany, piano; Georges Bellamy, bass; Ivan Levine, drums.
Live au “Malesherbes Club”, Paris, December 1946
Tracks #14-17: HARRY COOPER et son Orchestre
Harry Cooper, trumpet; Robert Mavounzy, alto sax & clarinet (#15); Sylvio Siobud, Felix Valvert, tenor saxes; Jacques Dieval, piano; Pierre Gérardot, guitar; Lucien Simoens, bass; Armand Molinetti, drums.
Recorded in Paris, January 14, 1943
Tracks #18-21: HARRY COOPER et son Orchestre
Harry Cooper, trumpet; Chico Cristobal, alto sax; Robert Mavounzy, tenor sax; Robert Castella, piano; Pierre Gérardot, guitar; Lucien Simoens, bass; H.P. Chadel, drums.
Recorded in Paris, May 11, 1943
Original Swing recordings produced by Charles Delaunay
Liner notes: Jordi Pujol
This CD release produced by Jordi Pujol
© & ℗ 2026 by Fresh Sound Records
Mono · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
Blue Moon Producciones Discograficas, S.L.
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