In the early 1950s, West Coast jazz took shape in California through the cool, luminous sound of musicians like Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, and Chet Baker. Characterized by clarity, contrapuntal writing, and a relaxed pulse, the style soon became a defining voice of modern jazz. Though it never achieved great popularity in France at the time, it left a deep impression on several musicians who found in it a fresh idiom—sophisticated yet lyrical—that resonated with their own sensibilities.
This compilation brings together some of the finest French jazz artists of the period—Christian Chevallier, Claude Bolling, Roger Guérin, William Boucaya, Bob Garcia, Raph Schecroun (Erroll Parker), Christian Bellest, Fernand Verstraete, Jean-Louis Chautemps, Jean-Claude Fohrenbach,Marcel Bianchi, and others—musicians who, each in their own way, absorbed and reimagined the Californian sound. From imaginative arrangements to relaxed and swinging improvisations, from quartets and quintets to larger ensemble textures, their work reflects both homage and originality.
Here, the western winds blow across the French scene, carrying the vibrant breath of West Coast Jazz—fresh and bracing, like a breeze from the Pacific that has crossed the Atlantic to mingle with the spirit of Paris.
—Jordi Pujol
Tracklist
01. Show Me A Rose (Thomas Hilliard) 2:25
02. Chet (Pierre Michelot) 3:04
03. Out of Nowhere (Green-Heyman) 6:22
04. Trinette (Toots Thielemans) 2:54
05. Too Marvelous for Words (Whiting-Mercer) 3:25
06. Golden Sky (Christian Chevallier) 3:02
07. Vline (Christian Chevallier) 2:44
08. Star Eyes (Raye-DePaul) 6:40
09. The Jockey (Steve Kirk) 2:27
10. Confucius (Christian Chevallier) 3:30
11. Gee Lee (Ted Sommer) 2:07
12. Lover Man (Davis-Sherman-Ramírez) 4:05
13. Pre’s Wiggins (Christian Chevallier) 3:08
14. Mythe (Pierre Michelot) 3:09
15. All the Things You Are (Kern-Hammerstein II) 2:57
16. Ménilmontant (Charles Trenet) 2:52
17. Buggy and Soul (Christian Chevallier) 3:52
18. I Remember You (Schertzinger-Mercer) 2:54
19. The Most (Billy Mure) 2:58
20. Rêve (Hubert Rostaing) 2:46
21.Broadway (Byrd-McRae-Woods) 6:24
22. À la Mulligan (Marcel Bianchi) 3:15
Album details
Sources:
Tracks #1, 4, 9, 11, 19, from the 12-inch LP Bally BAL 12003
Tracks #6, 10, 13, 20, from the EP Ducretet-Thomson 460V046
Tracks #3, 8, 21, from the 12-inch LP Arion ASV49
Tracks #5, 12, 15, 18, from the EP Ducretet-Thomson 460V215
Tracks #2, 7, 14, 17, from the EP Columbia ESDF 1139
Track #16, from the 10-inch LP Vogue LD.211
Track #22 from the 78rpm Vogue V3442
Personnel:
Track #1: PIERRE GOSSEZ-FERNAND VERSTRAETE Quartet
Fernand Verstraete, trumpet; Pierre Gossez, baritone sax; Alphonse Masselier, bass; Arthur Motta, drums; Claude Bolling, arranger.
Recorded in Paris, May 29, 1956
Tracks #2, 7, 14 & 17: CHRISTIAN CHEVALLIER Quartet
Roger Guérin, trumpet; Christian Chevallier, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Christian Garros, drums.
Recorded in Paris, November 13, 1956
Tracks #3, 8 & 21: RAPH SCHECROUN Quintet
Jean-Louis Chautemps, Jean-Claude Fohrenbach, tenor saxes; Raph Schecroun, piano; Jean-Marie Ingrand, bass; Jacques David, drums.
Recorded in Paris, 1955
Tracks #4, 9 & 19: CLAUDE BOLLING and His All-Stars
Roger Guerin, trumpet; Claude Fohrenbach, Pierre Gossez, tenor saxes; Martial Solal, piano; Victor Apicella (Masselier), guitar; Pierre Michelot, bass; Christian Garros, drums; Claude Bolling, arranger.
Recorded in Paris, May 28, 1956
Tracks #5, 12, 15 & 18: BOB GARCIA Quartet
Bob Garcia, tenor sax; Maurice Vander, piano; Benoit Quersin, bass; Andre “Mac Kac” Reilles, drums.
Recorded in Paris, February 8, 1956
Tracks #6, 10, 13 & 20: WILLIAM BOUCAYA and his “New Sound” Quartet
Christian Bellest, trumpet; Georges Barboteu, French horn; William Boucaya, baritone sax; Pierre Michelot, bass; Arthur Motta, drums; plus Ben Ahmed Zoubir, conga.
Recorded in Paris, May 28, 1956
Track #11: PIERRE GOSSEZ-FERNAND VERSTRAETE Quartet
Christian Bellest, trumpet; Pierre Gossez, baritone sax; Alphonse Masselier, bass; Arthur Motta, drums; Claude Bolling, arranger.
Recorded in Paris, May 29, 1956
Track #16: CLAUDE BOLLING Quintet
Jean Liese, trumpet; Jean-Louis Chautemps, tenor sax; Claude Bolling, piano; Jean-Marie Ingrand, bass; Jean-Louis Viale, drums.
Recorded in Paris, May 1954
Track #22: MARCEL BIANCHI and His Orchestra
Jean Morales, trumpet; Guy Destanque, trombone; Gérard Levêque, clarinet & alto sax; Pierre Gossez, tenor sax; Georges Grenu, baritone sax; Pierre Guyot, piano; Marcel Bianchi, guitar; Ladislas Czabanick, bass; Armand Molinetti, drums.
Recorded in Paris, February 23, 1954
Booklet Photo: X
Fresh Sound Archives
This compilation and liner notes produced for CD release by Jordi Pujol
© 2025 by Fresh Sound Records
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