Boris Vian on CD

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Boris Vian : One Thread

Bonjour mes amis. I'm a professional musician (drums) from New Zealand, and I have some information on Boris Vian.

1 Boris Vian on CD

0n a visit to Paris last June, I bought a cd titled, Boris Vian "Jazz" (SOL 526, released 2000, distributed by Soldore) containing 12 tracks by Vian (6 tracks with Claude Abadie, 4 with Claude Luter) and 4 Hot Club tracks without Vian (obviously put in to fill out the album, which suggests that Vian's recorded legacy is not extensive). The playing on the Vian tracks is very good traditional jazz ("Jazz Me Blues" etc), similar to the standard being played anywhere else at the time, and I think it's safe to say that Vian had certainly listened to Bix Beiderbecke. Perhaps the best comparison is with someone like early Humphrey Lyttelton (even to the extent that Lyttelton was a writer as well, though not anti-establishment as Vian was). The album cover has a photo of Vian holding a gun, of which the liner note says: 'Photo Roger-Voillet tiree de la piece "Jirai cracher sur vos tombes"'.

2 The Miles Davis photo (and other things)

I have a cd called "Jazz a St Germain" (Virgin Records VIRCD70), recently recorded and released, featuring various contemporary performers (Angelique Kidjo, Jazz Passengers etc) in a tribute to the legendary Tabou Club (the first cellar club in St Germain-des-pres) and, by extension, to Vian and his contemporaries in music and literature. The liner notes contain a quote from Henri Renaud: "One day Boris asked me on the phone, 'I'm going to compose and perform some songs, would you like to write the piano parts?' A few months later, 'The Deserter' was a big hit. Nothing remains today of the Tabou. It's a shame. May this record give a taste of those famous clubs, of musical fellowship and freedom." The Miles Davis photo with Vian is included in the cd booklet. Also, the final track is a brief excerpt of Vian singing "Je suis snob", previously unreleased.

A bientot,

Bruce Morley (Nouvelle Zealande)

-- Bruce Morley posted by Robert Whyte (rob@toadshow.com.au), March 20, 2003

Answers

Hello Bruce, thank you for your message. Here are some additional informations:

I have a book called "Boris Vian-Jazz a Saint Germain" by Frank Tenot. In this book is also a CD with15 tracks by Boris Vian. The first six are by Boris Vian with Claude Abadie, recorded for Charles Delauney`s Swing Label (28.02.1946). The next four tracks are by Boris Vian with Claude Luter (24.07.1944). One additional radio session comes from 25.10.1947. This time the band is called Boris Vian et son Orchestre au Tabou and the music is more swing and bebop ("Sweet and Bebop"). The book is also very good, with many rare photographs. Unfortunaly the book is out of print and it is impossibe to buy it in Paris, but it can be ordered at www.jazzrecords.com/jazzbooks .

I´m searching for years the CD "Rendezvous a Saint Germain des Pres/ Hommage a Boris Vian" by Christiane Legrande/Annette Banneville/ Maurive Vander. Two tracks are on the Blue Note Sampler "Paris Bleu" (EMI), but the whole CD was only released in Japan (EMI/Toshiba TOCJ 5252) and it is nearly impossible to find it anywhere. Does anybody have this CD or knows how to get it? For cover and tracklist see www.jazzcaen.com/divian1.htm .

I also search the following CD`s of the EMI-JAZZTIME Collection (out-of- print):

Jazz de Scene Vol.3 (EMI 827096-2) Jazz Piano Vol.2 (EMI 253626-2) Special Kenny Clarke (EMI 795702-2) Special Jaques Helian "La Kenton" & Americans in Paris Vol.7.

I have already over 40 volumes of this series and I ´m ready for a exchange to get the missing ones.

Best wishes,

Frank-Oliver Hellmann

-- Frank-Oliver Hellman posted by Robert Whyte (rob@toadshow.com.au), March 20, 2003.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ