Bernard "Benny" Vasseur (March 7, 1926,

Neuville-Saint-Rémy Neuville-Saint-Rémy () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. T ...

– February 6, 2015,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a French

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trombonist. Vasseur studied music at the Cambrai conservatory and the Paris Conservatory, playing trombone and piano in addition to singing. He played informally with the Hot Club de Versailles shortly after the end of World War II, then began working with

Claude Bolling Claude Bolling (10 April 1930 – 29 December 2020) was a French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor. Biography He was born in Cannes, France, and studied at the Conservatory of Nice, Nice Conservatory, and then in Paris. A c ...

and Rex Stewart. In 1948 he began playing at the

Club Saint-Germain The Club Saint-Germain was a jazz club located at 13 rue Saint-Benoît in the 6e arrondissement de Paris. History The club was opened in 1947 by Freddie Chauvelot, Christian Casadesus, Paul Lavigne, Marc Doelnitz, and Boris Vian. Throughout th ...

in Paris and other jazz venues in the city, playing as a sideman for Sidney Bechet, Benny Carter, Buck Clayton, Bill Coleman, Roy Eldridge,

Big Chief Russell Moore "Big Chief" Russell Moore (August 13, 1912 – December 15, 1983) was an American jazz trombonist. Moore, a Pima tribe member, grew up on a Native American reservation before moving to Chicago and then Los Angeles where he learned to play vario ...

Albert Nicholas Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973) was an American jazz clarinet player. Career Nicholas's primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Late ...

, Hot Lips Page, and Django Reinhardt. In the 1950s he worked in the bands of Aimé Barelli,

Michel Attenoux Michel Attenoux (June 14, 1930 in Paris – April 24, 1988 in Laval) was a French jazz saxophonist. Attenoux played piano in his youth, later learning soprano saxophone and playing locally. He founded his own ensemble in 1951, which played with Pe ...

, and

Claude Luter Claude Luter (23 July 1923 – 6 October 2006) was a jazz clarinetist who doubled on soprano saxophone. Luter was born and died in Paris. He began on trumpet, but switched to clarinet. He might be best known for being an accompanist to Sidne ...

, also working with Bechet again toward the end of the decade. In 1957 he formed a duo with fellow trombonist André Paquinet, and worked with Annie Cordy in 1960. In the 1960s he did work as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

in studio orchestras, playing on records by Tony Bennett,

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

, and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, and in 1965 he played in

François Guin François Guin (born May 18, 1938, in Contres) is a French jazz musician and bandleader. Guin is a musical polymath, having learned violin, piano, voice, trombone, trumpet, and flute. As a trumpeter, he worked with Marc Laferrière in 1957, then ...

's group alongside

François Biensan François Biensan (born September 28, 1945, Bordeaux) is a French trumpeter and harmonica player, working primarily in jazz and blues styles. Biensan also plays drums and organ in addition to his main instruments. He is best known as a trumpeter, ...

. Late in the 1960s he returned to playing with Claude Bolling, an association which would last several decades.

Sources

*André Clergeat, "Benny Vasseur". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasseur, Benny French jazz trombonists 1926 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Nord (French department)