Michel De Villers (July 13, 1926,

Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and commune in the southwestern French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly named ''Villeneuve-d'Agen''. Villeneuve-sur-Lot ...

- October 25, 1992, Mont St. Aignan) 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 ...

reedist and bandleader. De Villers learned to play alto saxophone as a teenager, and later expanded to clarinet and baritone saxophone. He played in the latter half of the 1940s with Jean-Claude Fohrenbach,

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

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

, then joined the Edward VII Theatre band in Paris. In the 1950s he worked in the bands of Geo Daly,

Jack Diéval Jacques "Jack" Diéval (born December 21, 1920, Douai) was a French jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Diéval's parents were also jazz musicians, who led an ensemble known as the DéDé Jazz Band. He studied music at the Douai Conservatory w ...

, André Persiany, and

Gérard Pochonet Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constit ...

, and also played with touring American musicians such as

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" ...

, Bill Coleman,

Jonah Jones Jonah Jones (born Robert Elliott Jones; December 31, 1909 – April 29, 2000) was a jazz trumpeter who created concise versions of jazz and swing and jazz standards that appealed to a mass audience. In the jazz community, he is known for his w ...

, and

Lucky Thompson Eli "Lucky" Thompson (June 16, 1924 – July 30, 2005) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing music, swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing th ...

. In the 1970s he was less active as a musician, working as a jazz writer and radio screenwriter. In the 1980s he became active again as an educator and performer, working later in his career with

Christian Garros Christian Garros (February 17, 1920, Paris – August 23, 1988, Rouen) was a French jazz drummer and bandleader. Garros began playing professionally shortly after the end of World War II, working with Django Reinhardt and Jacques Hélian. He was a ...

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 playi ...

Roger Guérin Roger Guérin (9 January 1926, Saarbrücken – 6 February 2010, Nîmes) was a French jazz trumpeter and singer. Initially a violinist, Guérin studied trumpet and cornet at the Paris Conservatory and won a first prize there as a teenager. He ...

, and

Marc Fosset Marc Fosset (17 May 1949 – 31 October 2020) was a French jazz guitarist. Life and career Marc Fosset was born in Paris. He learned to play guitar left-handed after seeing Yves Montand and Didi Duprat perform, and was also influenced by Django Re ...

References

*Michel Laplace, "Michel De Villers". '' 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Villers, Michel De 1926 births 1992 deaths French jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists French jazz bandleaders 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians