Léo Chauliac, real name Léon Chauliac (6 February 1913 – 27 October 1977), was a French jazz pianist, composer and conductor. A jazz pianist in the 1930s, Léo Chauliac was the accompanist of

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics to nearly a thousand songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These include ...

from 1941 to 1943, a singer for whom he composed many popular songs. He rubbed shoulders and played with the greatest musicians of the time:

Hubert Rostaing Hubert Rostaing (17 September 1918 – 10 June 1990) was a jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He also did film composition and classical music. He began his career in Algiers with the "Red Hotters" and later moved to Paris. He might be best ...

Aimé Barelli Aimé Barelli (1 March 1917 Lantosque, France – 13 July 1995 Monaco) was a French jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and band leader. At the beginning of the 1940s Barelli moved to Paris, where he worked with Fred Adison, Alix Combelle, André Ekyan, ...

Alix Combelle Alix Combelle (15 June 1912 – 26 February 1978 :fr:Alix Combelle) was a French swing saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. He recorded often with Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Career A native of Paris, his ...

and

Henri Crolla Henri Crolla (born Enrico Crolla; 26 February 1920 – 17 October 1960) was an Italian jazz guitarist and film composer. Born in Naples, Campania, Italy, to a family of itinerant Neapolitan musicians, he moved with his family to Porte de Cho ...

. For a while, as conductor of the orchestra of the famous restaurant ''

Maxim's Maxim's is a restaurant in Paris, France, located at No. 3 rue Royale in the 8th . It is known for its Art Nouveau interior decor. In the mid 20th century Maxim's was regarded as the most famous restaurant in the world. History Early history ...

'', he will be the companion for some records by

André Claveau André Claveau (, 17 December 1911 – 4 July 2003) was a popular singer in France from the 1940s to the 1960s. He won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 singing "Dors, mon amour" (Sleep, My Love), with music composed by Pierre Delanoë and l ...

and Jacqueline Danno. But it was above all with

Jean-Claude Pascal Jean-Claude Villeminot (24 October 1927 – 5 May 1992), better known as Jean-Claude Pascal (), was a French comedian, actor, singer and writer. Early life He was born in Paris into a family of wealthy textile manufacturers. His mother, ...

that he wove a long musical career in the 1960s, orchestrating among other things ''

Nous les amoureux "Nous les amoureux" (; "We, the Lovers" or "Us Lovers") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1961, performed in French for by French singer Jean-Claude Pascal. The song was performed fourteenth on the night (following 's Dario ...

'', winner of the 1961

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

Career

Born in 1913 in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, Chauliac began his piano studies at the Conservatoire de Marseille where he won a first prize after two years. Then, he came to Paris where he worked with

José Iturbi José Iturbi Báguena (28 November 189528 June 1980) was a Spanish conductor, pianist and harpsichordist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the musicals ''Thousands Cheer'' (1943), '' Music for Mill ...

and especially his sister

Amparo Iturbi Amparo Iturbi Báguena (12 March 1898 – 22 April 1969) was a Spanish pianist. Early career Amparo Iturbi Báguena was born in Valencia, Spain, one of four children of Ricardo Iturbi (a piano tuner) and Teresa (Baguena) Iturbi. The younger ...

and followed the courses of the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. On November 15, 1930, he was admitted to Santiago Riera's piano class, which he followed until 1935. In 1931 he obtained the 2nd Medal of Solfeggio, in 1932 the 2nd Piano Prize and in 1933, the 1st Piano Prize. During his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, he was in the same class as

Maurice Baquet Maurice Louis Baquet (26 May 1911 – 8 July 2005) was a French actor and cellist. He was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône and died in Noisy-le-Grand.Henri Betti Henri Betti, born Ange Betti (24 July 1917 – 7 July 2005), was a French composer and a pianist. Pianist and composer of Maurice Chevalier from 1940 to 1945, Henri Betti is best known for composing the music of the songs ''C'est si bon'' (lyric ...

Paul Bonneau Paul Bonneau (14 September 1918 – 8 July 1995) was a French conductor, composer and arranger, whose career was mainly in the field of light music and films. Career Born in Moret-sur-Loing in 1918, Paul Bonneau studied music at the Conservat ...

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

, and

Raymond Trouard Raymond Trouard (9 August 1916 – 17 December 2008) was a French classical pianist. Life Born in Étampes, Trouard had André Bloch, Joseph Morpain, Victor Staub, Emil von Sauer, Marcel Dupré, Paul Dukas, Philippe Gaubert and Bruno Walter ...

. He started playing

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 ...

and then played in a Parisian club, ''Le Fétiche''. In 1934–1935, he was a pianist in the "Grégor et ses Grégoriens" orchestra. He then toured with commercial orchestras such as that of

Eddie Foy Sr. Edwin Fitzgerald (March 9, 1856 – February 16, 1928Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; and McNeilly, Donald. ''Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America''. Routledge Press, September 2006, . pp. 406–410), k ...

With the latter, he performed at the end of 1936 at " Le Bœuf sur le toit". In 1937, he played at the "Swing Time" in

André Ekyan André Ekyan (born André Echkyan; October 24, 1907, Meudon - August 1972, Alicante, Spain) was a French jazz reedist. Ekyan was the leader of a jazz ensemble at the club Le Perroquet in Paris late in the 1920s. in the 1930s, he played with Jack Hy ...

s orchestra. In 1938, he met

and worked with him until 1943 as an accompanist pianist and composed songs. In 1939, he participated in the elaboration of the melody of '' La Mer'', but, absent on the day of the presentation at the publishing house, it was Albert Lasry, pianist of the editions who co-wrote with Charles Trenet the music for this future international success. Among the songs written by Chauliac, notably for Charles Trenet, are ''Marie Marie'', ', ' and ''

Que reste-t-il de nos amours ? "Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?" (, ''What Remains of Our Loves?'') is a French popular song, with music by Léo Chauliac and Charles Trenet and lyrics by Charles Trenet. A version of the song with English lyrics entitled "I Wish You Love" i ...

''. In February 1941, he was part of 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 ...

that accompanied Charles Trenet on a recording. At the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

, Léo Chauliac was part of the Schubert orchestra with André Ekyan, , Pierre Fouad and

. He also performed in the formation of

. In 1945, he was also to become

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 ...

's teacher. In the 1940s, he gave jazz concerts in

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 ...

and at the

École normale de musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, Île-de-France, France. At the time of the school's foundation in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot, Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (Engl ...

, notably with Emmanuel Soudieux and Pierre Fouad. He performed in trio in 1946 at

Carrere Records Carrere Records (french: Disques Carrère, link=no, ) was a French record label which specialized in Euro disco and rock music. The record company was sold to Warner Music Group in the early 1990s. Early days Claude Carrere started working with ...

and the Palm Beach in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

. He died on 27 October 1977 at his home in and is buried at

cimetière des Batignolles The Batignolles Cemetery (french: Cimetière des Batignolles) is a cemetery in Paris. History Batignolles Cemetery opened on 22 August 1833. Part of the cemetery had to be closed and the graves moved because of the construction of the great ring ...

(17th division).

References

Bibliography

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 Sulliva ...

, ''Écrits sur le jazz'',

Le Livre de Poche Le Livre de Poche (literally "The Pocket Book") is the name of a collection of publications which first appeared on 9 February 1953 under the leadership of and published by the , a subsidiary of Hachette. In terms of its influence on the mainstr ...

, 1999,
Vian interviews Chauliac, November 1946
on ''Google Livres''

External links

on Ray Binder.fr
''Ne tirez pas sur le pianiste !'' by Léo Chauliac
on Charles-Trenet.net
Discography
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Charles et ses accompagnateurs
on Charles-Trenet.net
Léo Chauliac et son ensemble - Rue De La Paix - Paris, 1942
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chauliac, Leo 1913 births 1977 deaths Musicians from Marseille Conservatoire de Paris alumni French jazz pianists 20th-century French composers Burials at Batignolles Cemetery 20th-century French pianists