The Club Saint-Germain was a

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licens ...

located at 13 rue Saint-Benoît in the 6e arrondissement de

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

History

The club was opened in 1947 by Freddie Chauvelot,

Christian Casadesus Christian Casadesus, (26 December 1912 – 6 March 2014), was a French actor and theatre director who worked professionally in both movies and in theater. Career Casadesus was born in Paris on 26 December 1912. His father, Henri Casadesus, w ...

, Paul Lavigne, Marc Doelnitz, and

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sull ...

. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, it booked leading figures in the French jazz scene such as Barney Wilen, René Urtreger,

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fi ...

, and

Pierre Michelot Pierre Michelot (3 March 1928 – 3 July 2005) was a French jazz double bass player and arranger. Early life Michelot was born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris on 3 March 1928. He studied piano from 1936 until 1938. He switched to playin ...

. Many visiting Americans played in the club, including

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, Art Blakey, and Kenny Dorham, along with Bud Powell and

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

, who settled in Paris for longer periods. From 1959, the main European rival was the

Jazzhus Montmartre Jazzhus Montmartre is a jazz club in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many jazz musicians, including Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and Chet Baker, have performed there. It is sometimes called Cafe Montmartre. The Montmartre was located first in Dahlerupsgade, then ...

in Copenhagen. The building of the defunct Club Saint-Germain used to be home to the supper club Bilboquet.

Live recordings

* Barney Wilen – ''Barney'' (RCA) * Art Blakey – '' Art Blakey et les Jazz-Messengers au Club St. Germain, vol. 1-2'' (RCA) *

Bobby Jaspar Bobby Jaspar (20 February 1926 – 28 February 1963) was a Belgian cool jazz and hard bop saxophonist, flautist and composer. Early life Born in Liège, Belgium, Jaspar learned to play piano and clarinet at a young age. Later, he took up ...

– ''Modern Jazz au Club Saint Germain'' (Barclay)

References

* Gourse, Leslie. "Jazz Liberates Paris". ''American Heritage Magazine'', April 2000. Volume 51, Issue 2. Jazz clubs in Paris Defunct jazz clubs Music venues completed in 1947 Supper clubs {{jazz-venue-stub

History

Live recordings

See also

References