The Hot Club de France is a French organization of jazz fans dedicated to the promotion of "traditional" jazz, swing, and blues. It was founded in 1931 in Paris, France, by five students of the

Lycée Carnot The Lycée Carnot is a Public school (government funded), public secondary school, secondary and higher education school at 145 Boulevard Malesherbes in the XVIIe arrondissement, 17th arrondissement, Paris, France. The Lycée Carnot was founded in ...

. In 1928, Jacques Bureaux, Hugues Panassie,

Charles Delaunay Charles Delaunay (18 January 1911 – 16 February 1988) was a French author, jazz expert, co-founder and long-term leader of the Hot Club de France. Biography Born in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, Oise, the son of painters Robert Delaunay and Sonia Del ...

, Jacques Auxenfans, and Elvin Dirat came together to listen to jazz and, later, promote its acceptance in France. The point was to make the public aware of jazz and to defend and promote the style in the face of all opposition.Mouellic, Gilles (Decembre 2001) Revue francaise d'etudes americaines, Hors-Serie: Play it again, Sim... Hommages a Sim Copans "Le jazz au rendez-vous du cinema: des Hot Clubs a la Nouvelle Vague" p. 99, Retrieved 4 April 2012. The club began in the fall of 1931 as the Jazz Club Universitaire, as the members were all still students; it was reborn and reimagined in 1932 as the Hot Club de France. The club was founded by jazz enthusiasts and amateurs for the sole purpose of helping to spread the music to the rest of the world. The members joined together to promote the music in whatever form they could, leading to such developments as the first of many concerts in 1933, the creation of ''Le Jazz Hot'', the club's official magazine, the founding of the Swing music label in 1937, conferences, rare-disc listening sessions, radio talks, and the birth of regional Hot Clubs, among others. This amateur organization played an important role in the diffusion and discovery of jazz in France,Jamin, Jean and Williams, Patrick (Apr. - Sep. 2001) L'Homme No. 158/159, Jazz et Anthropologie "Glossaire et index des musiciens de jazz" p. 318-319, Retrieved 4 April 2012 and copycat organizations sprang up across Europe to spread the music in countries like Norway and Britain.

History

At the time the Hot Club began promoting concerts for the

Quintette du Hot Club de France The Quintette du Hot Club de France ("The Quintet of the Hot Club of France"), often abbreviated "QdHCdF" or "QHCF", was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli and active in one form ...

, Charles Delaunay was the Secretary General of the club and Hugues Panassie was the President; these men often occupied different top positions amongst the heads of the group, but which roles each filled during which time period is hard to determine strictly from their involvement. Both men accomplished a great amount of work with the Club prior to their schism in 1947. The Hot Club has often adopted a fairly rigid stance in terms of the music it promotes; throughout its history the club has perpetuated the idea that only jazz rooted in the swing and blues traditions of African-American music is "authentic." One example of this rigidity lies in the forced resignation of

in 1947 over his growing interest in bop during the 1940s; his acceptance of the music alienated other members, notably Hugues Panassie.''

Oxford Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' Hot Club de France Although the Club is rigid in this philosophy, it is not, as some critics have said, only interested in the promotion of jazz styles from the pre-1945 era; he club has promoted the music of musicians it considers to be authentic or in some way rooted in the authentic traditions of swing and blues. These artists include, among others,

Earl Bostic Eugene Earl Bostic (April 25, 1913 – October 28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, which h ...

Paul Gonsalves Paul Gonsalves ( – ) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, Jimmy Smith,

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis ...

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion dur ...

, and

Stanley Jordan Stanley Jordan (born July 31, 1959) is an American jazz guitarist noted for his playing technique, which involves tapping his fingers on the fretboard of the guitar with both hands. Music career Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois, United St ...

. Around January 1934, Hugues Panassie and Pierre Nourry became the organization's president and secretary, respectively. In August 1938, the club was legally dissolved and refounded with Charles Delaunay as secretary. Presidents also included Madeleine Gautier (1975–83) and Jacques Pescheux. Louis Armstrong was elected honorary President of the Club in 1936. He held that title until his death on 6 July 1971. The headquarters of the Hot Club de France moved from Paris to

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

in 1948, to St.-Vrain (near Corbeil-Essonnes) in 1977, and to Nogent-sur-Marne in 1999. The total affiliated Hot Clubs in France has varied widely; there were 17 "affiliated" and two "associated" clubs in 2000. The Hot Club's library is housed at the Discothèque Municipale in Villfranche-de-Rouergue in Southern France; it was begun with Hugues Panassie's core collection, numbering in excess of 6,000 78 rpm records and 9,000 LPs, and has since expanded.

Bebop schism

In 1947, a schism split the HCF into two camps: those headed by Charles Delaunay believed that the new be-bop style was simply a bold experiment at the frontiers of jazz while those led by Hugues Panassie contended that bebop was not jazz.Jamin, Jean (Apr. - Sep. 2001) L'Homme no. 158/159, Jazz et Anthropologie "Au-dela du Vieux Carre: Idees du jazz en France" p. 289, Retrieved 4 April 2012. This division between jazz fans in France was what Ludovic Tournes called "the war of jazz."

Publications

Hugues Panassie, in addition to his duties with the club, wrote a monthly jazz column in the world's first jazz magazine, ''Jazz-Tango-Dancing'', which would later become ''Le Jazz Hot''.He likely acquired this position because of his work in ''Revue du jazz'', a magazine that from 1929 to 1931 contained articles written by Phillipe Brun, Stephane Mougin, and the amateur Panassie. ''Jazz-Tango-Dancing'' appeared in 1929 as a magazine about the Argentine tango and jazz music.Welburn, Ron (Autumn, 1987) American Music, Vol. 5 No. 2, "Jazz Magazines of the 1930s: An Overview of Their Provocative Journalism" p. 256, Retrieved 4 April 2012. In 1934, Hugues Panassie and Charles Delaunay decided to launch a magazine and to form a band to represent the club's musical point of view; the magazine would become "Jazz Hot: La revue internationale de la musique de Jazz"''L'Homme'' p. 318 and the band would become the

, promoting a new jazz a cordes or "string jazz" style. ''Jazz Hot'', the official mouthpiece of the Hot Club, started in 1935; the first issue was a one-page edition printed on the back of a program for a concert given at the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

on 21 February 1935 and was distributed during admission. Hugues Panassie edited the journal from 1935 to 1946. The writings of Panassie in ''Jazz Hot'', along with other critics and writers, served to help define the new music according to old European traditionsTournes, Ludovic (Decembre 2001) Revue francaise d'etudes americaines, Hors-Serie: Play It Again, Sim... Hommages a Sim Copans "La reinterpretation du jazz: un phenomene de contre-americanisation dans la France d'apres-guerre (1945-1960) p. 74, Retrieved April 4, 2012. but also to place the music geographically and socio-culturally in the United States, in New Orleans, beginning with the African-American minority; this made it the first publication to acknowledge not only the contribution of African-Americans to the music, but their role as its progenitors. The second world war forced the Club to halt publication of Jazz Hot until the mid-40s. The magazine has continued to be published, but after 1946 was no longer under the purview of the Club; this was in part due to the ideological split that forced Charles Delaunay to resign and leave the Club. Delaunay retained control of the magazine and was its main financial backer until 1980. After 1950, the ''Bulletin du Hot Club de France'' became the main publication for the club; it continues in that role to this day. Hugues Panassie edited and published the Bulletin starting in 1950. The magazine ''Jazz Hot'' should not be confused with Panassie's book of the same title, ''Le jazz hot'', published in 1934.

Clubs and venues

The Hot Club de France, as it was an association, did not own its own club until 1969. The Club focused its energies on planning and producing events at several major Paris clubs between its inception in 1932 and its acquisition of the Cave du Hot Club de France at 9 rue Pavee in 1969. Before 1930, the

could be heard at the Casanova Club on Rue Fromentin.''Oxford Music Online'' Nightclubs, France The Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris at 78 rue Cardinet, at boulevard Malesherbes, was used by the Hot Club de France for many of its concerts from the 1930s to 1954, beginning with the first performance by the Quintette du Hot Club de France on 2 December 1934. Among the musicians whom the Hot Club presented here were

Garland Wilson Garland Lorenzo Wilson (June 13, 1909 – May 31, 1954) was an American jazz pianist, perhaps best known for his work with Nina Mae McKinney. Wilson was a boogie-woogie and stride pianist. Life and career Garland Wilson was born in Martinsburg ...

, Bill Coleman,

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

, and

Eddie South Edward Otha South (November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. Biography South studied classical music in Budapest, Paris, and Chicago. He turned to jazz because, as a Black musician, there was no room for him in class ...

. Further jazz concerts were given at the Ecole in 1962, 1966, and 1968.''Oxford Music Online'' Nightclubs: France The

Hotel Claridge The Hotel Claridge was a 16-story building on Times Square in Manhattan, New York City, at the southeast corner of Broadway and 44th Street. Originally known as the Hotel Rector, it was built of brick in the Beaux-arts style in 1910–1911. The ...

, at 74 avenue des Champs-Élysées, featured the double bass player

Louis Vola Louis Vola (La Seyne-sur-Mer, France, 6 July 1902 – 15 August 1990, Paris), was a French double-bassist known for his work with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. He is the godfather of guitarist Francois Vola. As well as the Hot Club de ...

's orchestra which played as the evening entertainment during the daily the dansant; this group gave both

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 ...

and

Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece) A stephane (''ancient Greek'' στέφανος, from ''στέφω'' (stéphō, “I encircle”), '' Lat.'' Stephanus = wreath, decorative wreath worn on the head ...

, who were members, the opportunity to jam between sets. It was during one of these informal jam sessions that members of the Hot Club "discovered" the pair. The

Salle Gaveau The Salle Gaveau, named after the French piano maker Gaveau, is a classical concert hall in Paris, located at 45-47 rue La Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is particularly intended for chamber music. Construction The plans for th ...

at 45 rue La Boetie was regularly used for jazz concerts; Pierre Nourry organized an appearance of the Quintette du Hot Club de France on 20 October 1937 and the group performed there again in March of the next year. The

at 252 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore was the venue for several important jazz performances beginning in the years before World War II. The Quintette du Hot Club de France and several American artists, including

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, and Cab Calloway, performed there in the pre-war years. In 1949, 1952, and 1954 the Festival International de Jazz (popularly, the Paris Jazz Fair) organized by the Hot Club under the direction of Charles Delaunay was held in this hall. Louis Armstrong gave two important concerts in this hall; the concerts were held on 9 and 10 November 1934. It is to these performances that Panassie devotes an entire chapter of his "Douze annees de jazz."

Tours

The Hot Club organized tours for several visiting American musicians;

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

' tour of France in the 1960s was organized through the regional Hot Club affiliate branches. During the 1960s, the Club also organized tours for Bill Harris, the blues pianist

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

, and

Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her Gospel music, gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spir ...

Quintette du Hot Club de France

The

was founded with the help of Pierre Nourry and, later, the full backing of the Hot Club. In August 1934, Nourry, then secretary of the Hot Club, vouched for Django Reinhardt and his talents when he brought him and Nin-Nin Reinhardt into the Publicis Studios, a recording studio for amateur musicians. Nourry paid 80 francs of his money to have them recorded and even tracked down a bassist, Juan Fernandez of Martinique, to round out a trio. The discs made during this session were sent to jazz critics to showcase the new "Jazz a Cordes" style. Pierre Nourry and Charles Delaunay then approached the Odeon label for the purpose of acquiring an audition for the full quintet; on 9 October 1934, the quintet came to the Odeon studio for their audition. On Django's advice, they brought American singer

Bert Marshall Albert Leroy "Moose" Marshall (born November 22, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals, New York Rangers and New Yo ...

from the Hotel Claridge band to make for a more commercial recording. The record was declared inspiring by several listeners, but was decried by the executives at Odeon. Nourry, dismayed but undeterred by the rejection by Odeon of the trio's music as too "modernistique" arranged an opening concert for the quintet at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris at 78 rue Cardinet on 2 December 1934. The ensemble, however, was still so new it was unnamed: fliers for the concert announced them as "Un orchestre d'un genre nouveau de Jazz Hot," or "An orchestra of a new genre of Hot Jazz," led by "Jungo" Reinhardt. It was the success of this concert that finally convinced the rest of the Hot Club to officially sponsor the ensemble. It was not until the second official concert of the group that it had a name; for its performance on 16 February 1935, the group officially became Django Reinhardt et le Quintette du Hot Club de France avec Stephane Grappelli. Pierre Nourry also later convinced the chief of Ultraphone to record the music of the quintette at their Montparnasse studio. Besides the musicians, Panassie, Delaunay, and Nourry were all there, acting as "auteurs" or directors of the session; Panassie, in a discussion about two separate takes of a song, convinced the engineer and producer to use the version where the musicians improvised more freely- despite some minor flaws and mistakes- over the version that was more perfect but less flexible. Between this recording session in 1934 and the last pre-war recording session in August 1939, the Quintette recorded 140 sides. In its original formation, the Quintette consisted of guitarists

, his brother

Joseph Reinhardt Joseph "Nin-Nin" Reinhardt (1912-1982) was the younger brother of guitarist Django Reinhardt and played rhythm guitar on most of Django's pre-war recordings, especially those with the Quintette du Hot Club de France between 1934 and 1939. He was ...

(a.k.a. Nin-Nin), and Roger Chaput,

on double bass, and the violinist

. The Quintette was a quartet until Django decided he wanted two guitarists to back him on his solos to make the sound of the music more even when he and Stephane switched off during songs. The Quintette recorded two titles under the name "Delaunay's Jazz" before their official acceptance by the Club, but would be known after the December 1934 concert as the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Later Charles Delaunay would promote the recording sessions of Django Reinhardt with visiting American artists such as

, Bill Coleman, and

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creole parents, Ale ...

among others. The Quintette remained active from 1935 until 1939,Digard, Jean-Pierre (Jan. - Mar. 1999) L'Homme no. 149, Anthropologie psychanalytique, "Entre le jazz et les gilia: Django Reinhardt" p. 204 Retrieved 27 March 2012 when Grappelli decided to remain in England and Django left the tour they were on together to return home to France; new recording sessions happened with the original group in 1946 and from 1947 to 1948.

Swing

The Hot Club de France, pushed by Charles Delaunay, sponsored recording sessions on the Swing label. Due to their work, among others,

and

Dicky Wells William Wells (June 10, 1907 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist. Career Dickie Wells is believed to have been born on June 10, 1907 in Centerville, Tennessee, Uni ...

(both 1937), Bill Coleman (1937–8), and

(1938) were all recorded for the label. The "Swing" record label was one of the first record labels devoted exclusively to jazz.,Clergeat, Andr
CONSORT Web Catalog - pverify2 (wam)
''Oxford Music Online'' Delaunay, Charles. Retrieved 14 April 2012. It was established in Paris in 1937 by Delaunay; artists and repertory were placed under the joint direction of Charles Delaunay and Hugues Panassie. The recordings were made through the French branch of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

.''Oxford Music Online'' Swing (iii) Control of the "Swing" label passed in 1948 to Vogue, which Charles Delaunay had joined as "manager of artists and repertory" while

retained the back catalogue of Swing's recordings. Throughout the 1950s, Vogue continued to release records under the Swing label.

Festivals

The Hot Club de France was responsible for or played a role in the creation of several jazz festivals, chief among them the first international Jazz festival in Nice, France from 22 to 28 February 1948, the Festival de Jazz a Montauban, and the Festival International de Jazz in Paris. Few years after the initial concert in 1933, the Hot Club exerted a type of quasi-monopoly over the organization of jazz concerts, discs, radio programs, and general knowledge on the subject in France. The first of many concerts sponsored by the club took place on 1 February 1933 and featured Garland Wilson and Freddy Johnson. The Nice Jazz Festival was founded by Hugues Panassie and lasted from 22 to 28 February 1948.''Oxford Music Online'' Festivals: France It featured a repertory of traditional jazz, swing, and bop music and was the first international jazz festival. It featured Louis Armstrong's All-Stars, among other musicians.

, as honorary President (having received the title in 1936 by vote of the Hot Club) began the festival.

Warren "Baby" Dodds Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era, and one of the most important ...

also performed at this festival, and was known to tune his drums to the different pianos he was to jam with during the performances given there. It is probably this festival that was disbanded in favor of promoting the 1949 Festival International de Jazz, so as to avoid splitting the pool of artists and to unify resources. The Festival International de Jazz (popularly the Paris Jazz Fair) was begun in 1948 and was put on by the Hot Club; Charles Delaunay was the founder.CONSORT Web Catalog - pverify2 (wam)
''Oxford Music Online'' Festivals: France It ran again in 1948, 1952, and 1954. The first festival featured

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 ...

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first rec ...

, and

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger beb ...

, among other artists. The festival in 1949 featured Sidney Bechet and the

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Quintet with

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 music ...

, along with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

, and Lips Page. In 1952, a performance by

Jazz at the Philharmonic Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP (1944–1983), was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz. Over the years, "Jazz at the Philharmonic" featured many of the era's preeminent musicians, including Loui ...

ended the festival. This festival was a celebration of old and young musicians which helped promote different aspects of the developing music, as well as allowing musicians like

to see another side of the music and its fans. In early 1949,

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

was approached by Charles Delaunay to perform at the Festival International de Jazz. This invitation likely came about due to his recording work with bands in America formed by Hugues Panassie and

Mezz Mezzrow Milton Mesirow (November 9, 1899 – August 5, 1972), better known as Mezz Mezzrow, was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist from Chicago, Illinois. He is remembered for organizing and financing recording sessions with Tommy Ladnier ...

, and the 1948 offer by Hugues Panassie of $1,500 for a week's tour in France. This tour was never scheduled due to French currency restrictions, and the opportunity for Bechet to be featured in a group with

at the Hot Club-sponsored 1948

Nice Jazz Festival The Nice Jazz Festival (, ), held annually since 1948 in Nice, on the French Riviera, is "the first jazz festival of international significance." At the inaugural festival, Louis Armstrong and his All Stars were the headliners. Frommer's calls i ...

was precluded by his contract with

Jazz, Ltd. Jazz, Ltd. was a Dixieland jazz band, nightclub and a record label in Chicago. The band was active from June 1947 to April 1978 and was led and managed by Bill Reinhardt. The nightclub was active from June 1947 to February 1972 and was managed b ...

;

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his caree ...

made the trip in his stead. Bechet almost did not get signed to play the festival, which also almost did not exist; Nicole Barclay, an associate of a rival jazz festival, with which Hugues Panassie was associated, almost convinced the star to play for her festival. Charles Delaunay convinced Barclay and her associates to join forces to create a bigger festival, for which they were able to give Bechet an increased wage. This is but one of the many episodes that came about due to the post-war rift between Panassie and Delaunay. The festival took place from 8 to 16 May 1949 and featured several headlining artists, backed by different bands on the main stages, as well as jam sessions combining different artists; Sidney Bechet played with at least five groups through the first and second days of the festival including "

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 ...

's band," and a band composed of " Lips Page, Russell Moore, and a French rhythm section." The Festival de Jazz a Montauban was organized by the Hot Club from 1982 on, but the Club ceased to have involvement with that festival in later years.

The Hot Club and the Résistance

During the Second World War, the Hot Club provided the French Resistance a great cover to use to gain information on German troops and defenses to send back to Paris and, ultimately, to transmit to England. Charles Delaunay used the Hot Club as a cover to pass information on the Germans to English troops. He traveled through France organizing concerts for the Hot Club under the official sanction of the Propaganda Abteilung but used his travels as a means to make contacts with the underground. His codename within the British Special Operations Executive was "Benny" and his network was "Cart," in honor of saxophonist Benny Carter. By 1943, the Germans had caught on to his intelligence work; they raided the Hot Club and took Delaunay and his secretary, Madeleine Germaine, for questioning. Delaunay was freed after five and a half hours of interrogation but both his secretary and the head of the Marseille branch of the Hot Club were sentenced to concentration camps, where they perished. Jacques Bureau (fr), co-founder of the Club, also began working for the Resistance; in 1944 he returned to France with help from the British and joined the

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

to defend his country. He was captured soon afterwards by the Gestapo and spent six months in the Fresnes prison outside Paris.

's song "

Nuages "Nuages" () is one of the best-known compositions by Django Reinhardt. He recorded at least thirteen versions of the tune, which is a jazz standard and a mainstay of the gypsy swing repertoire. English and French lyrics have been added to the piec ...

" became one of the anthems of the French Resistance; it was recorded with the "Nouveau Quintette du Hot Club de France" on 1 October 1940. More than 100,000 copies of the 78 were sold after its debut at the Salle Pleyel.

References

External links

Le Jazz Hot
{{Authority control 1931 establishments in France Organizations established in 1931 Jazz organizations French jazz Music organizations based in France

History

Bebop schism

Publications

Clubs and venues

Tours

Quintette du Hot Club de France

Swing

Festivals

The Hot Club and the Résistance

See also

References

External links