Jean-Jacques (Jack) Sels (29 January 1922 – 21 March 1970) was a Belgian jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer.

Biography

Jack Sels grew up in Antwerp, as a teenager he started collecting jazz records. Due to a substantial inheritance from his father his collection grew to about 10,000 records, but it was destroyed during a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bombing. First having studied piano he taught himself playing the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

. To earn a living, he worked in an ice cream parlour in the Antwerp Hoogstraat (High Street) and spent much time listening to his jazz idols, among them the tenor saxophonist

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

, trumpeters

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 ...

and

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 ...

and

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

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 ...

. After the Second World War many American and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soldiers arrived in the port of Antwerp and Jack Sels loved to talk to them and listen to the new records they brought with them from the United States, helping him to further expand his record collection. The arrival of Dizzy Gillespie's big band at Antwerp in 1948 made a lasting impression on Jack Sels and he decided to start his own big band for which he would also write the music. The band made an impressive debut with some of the best musicians of that time. On trumpet: Paul Heyndrickx, Charlie Knegtel, Theo Mertens, Herman and Nick Sandy Fissette; on trombone: Nat Peck, Frans Van Dijk, Jan Mertens and Christian Kellens; on Sax: Jay Cameron, Marcel Peeters, Gene Verstrepen,

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 the ...

and Roger Asselberghs plus Jean Warland on bass, Francis Coppieters on piano, John Ward on drums, Rudy Frankel on conga and Vilez Bill on bongo drum. But because of financial and other problems it was hard for him to hold such a big band together. In 1951, he formed a smaller band with 15 musicians, modelled after his idol Miles Davis, and later a still smaller group with which he toured in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Back in Belgium, in 1954, he recorded six tracks in boogy style for Ronnex Records and performed on stage with

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. In 1955 he composed the soundtrack for the movie ''Meeuwen Sterven in de Haven'' (Seagulls Die in the Harbour) by

Roland Verhavert Roland Verhavert (1 May 1927 – 26 July 2014) was a Belgian film director. He directed 44 films between 1955 and 1993. He co-directed the 1955 film '' Seagulls Die in the Harbour'', which was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. His ...

. From 1958 on, he worked on radio programs for the NIR, the later BRT radio, and on behalf of the Adult Education department of the Ministry of Culture, he toured through Flanders to promote jazz music. In 1958 he played with his group at the World Exhibition in Brussels. Although Jack Sels played with jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Lou Bennett 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 ...

, his fame did not spread worldwide because of his choice to stay in Antwerp. The last three years of his life his health declined, making it very difficult for him to play. He suffered a heart attack in his Antwerp home and died on 21 March 1970.

References

Jazzinbelgium: Jack sels

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sels, Jack 1922 births 1970 deaths Belgian jazz musicians Belgian jazz saxophonists Bebop saxophonists Jazz saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists