Personnel:
Fernand Verstraete, Roger Guérin, Christian Bellest, Jean Liese, Jean Morales (tp), Guy Destanque (tb), Georges Barboteu (Frh), Gérard Levêque (cl, as), Jean-Louis Chautemps, Jean-Claude Fohrenbach, Bob Garcia (ts), Pierre Gossez, William Boucaya, Georges Grenu (bs), Christian Chevallier, Claude Bolling, Ralph Schecroun (p, arr), Martial Solal, Maurice Vander, Pierre Guyot (p), Marcel Bianchi (g), Alphonse Masselier (g, b), Pierre Michelot, Jean-Marie Ingrand, Benoit Quersin, Ladislas Czabanick (b), Arthur Motta, Christian Garros, Jacques David, Andre “Mac Kac” Reilles, Jean-Louis Viale, Armand Molinetti (d), Ben Ahmed Zoubir (perc)
Reference: FSRCD1166
Bar code: 8427328611664
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
"Lacking the relaxing expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Los Angeles’s golden weather or the speedy excitement of the region’s car culture, the short-lived, two-year French interpretation of California’s relaxed sound had more bite and push than its original American counterpart.
Between 1954 and 1956, Paris fell in love with the jazz sound of Hollywood. By then, 10-inch West Coast jazz albums had made their way to France along with touring musicians such as Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Bob Brookmeyer, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and Shorty Rogers.
French musicians who picked up the contrapuntal torch included Christian Chevallier, Claude Bolling, Bob Garcia, Raph Schecroun, William Boucaya, Marcel Bianchi and Pierre Gossez-Fernand Verstraete. All are featured on the new set.
Where Sweden’s interpretation carried with it the moodiness and brooding folk feel of Scandinavia, the French renditions have a bright intensity and passion for harmony and smoothness.
Listening to this set multiple times (as I did with the Swedish box), the music sounds like a new addition to West Coast jazz that many fans will likely be hearing for the first time. If the tracks were played for you in a “blindfold” test, you’d probably be naming a dozen American players before begging the tester to reveal the artists’ names.
Further proof that West Coast jazz wasn’t the product of players rooted in a region. Instead, the sound was a state of mind, like bebop or hard bop, and embraced by musicians everywhere, provided they mastered their instruments and the original material. Viva la French cool!"
—Marc Myers (November 26, 2025)
https://www.jazzwax.com/
