Bobby Jaspar (20 February 1926 – 28 February 1963) was a Belgian
cool jazz
Cool jazz is a style of modern jazz music that arose in the United States after World War II. It is characterized by relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the fast and complex bebop style. Cool jazz often employs formal arrangements and ...
and
hard bop
Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gosp ...
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
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 ...
With the "Bop Shots" band, he took his first steps in the
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 majo ...
world. In 1950, Jaspar moved to Paris, playing and recording with the best musicians of the era. Here he met singer
Blossom Dearie
Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice.Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City ov ...
; the two were married in 1954 but separated in 1957.
In 1956, Jaspar was persuaded to try his luck in the United States, where his reputation in jazz circles had preceded him. He played and recorded with the quintet of J. J. Johnson, with
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
,
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 ...
,
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and rai ...
,
Toshiko Akiyoshi
is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.
Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in '' Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...
,
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
and many others.
In 1961/1962, Jaspar returned to Europe for a year for a series of concerts and a number of recordings. With his colleague, Belgian guitarist René Thomas, he formed a successful quintet. In some sessions, this was expanded to a powerful sextet with American trumpeter
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".
Baker earned much attention and ...
. One of those sessions, recorded in 1962, was released on record as '' Chet Is Back!.''
Death
Bobby Jaspar died from a heart attack in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inc ...
( Prestige, 1957)
* '' Flute Soufflé'' with Herbie Mann (Prestige, 1957)
* ''Bobby Jaspar with George Wallington'' with
George Wallington
George Wallington (October 27, 1924 – February 15, 1993) was an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Wallington was born Giacinto Figlia (some sources give "Giorgio") in Sicily, and then moved to the United States (New York) with ...
(Riverside, 1957) – aka ''Tenor Sax and Flute''
* ''Bobby Jaspar Quartet at Ronnie Scott's'' (Mole, 1962)
* ''In Paris'' ( DRG, 1990)
* ''Phenil Isopropil Amine'' (Polygram, 1991)
* ''Bobby Jaspar & His Modern Jazz'' ( Vogue, 1999)
* ''Bobby Jaspar & Henri Renaud'' (Vogue, 2000)
* ''Jazz in Paris Modern Jazz Au Club St Germain'' aka In Memory of Dick (Gitanes, 2001)
* ''Bobby Jaspar With Friends'' (
Fresh Sound
Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label.
The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...
, 2004) (with
Mundell Lowe
James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician.
He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the ''Billy Jack'' soundtrac ...
& René Thomas)
* ''Clarinescapade'' (Fresh Sound, 2007)
* ''Jeux De Cartes'' ( Universal, 2008)
* ''Complete Live at the Bohemia Recordings: J. J. Johnson Quintet feat. Bobby Jaspar'' (Fresh Sound, 2009)
* ''Revisited'' (Traditions Alive, 2010)
* ''Modern Jazz Au Club'' (Universal, 2010)
With
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".
Baker earned much attention and ...
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
* ''Byrd In Paris'' (Brunswick, 1958)
* ''Parisian Thoroughfare'' (Brunswick, 1958)
With
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging sol ...
Dial J. J. 5
''Dial J. J. 5'' is an album by the J. J. Johnson Quintet which was released on the Columbia label.Really Livin''' (Columbia, 1959)
With
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...
* ''
Hank Jones' Quartet
''Hank Jones' Quartet'' (full title ''Hank Jones Trio Plus the Flute of Bobby Jasper'' and also released as ''Relaxin' at Camarillo'') is an album by American jazz pianist Hank Jones recorded in 1956 for the Savoy Records, Savoy label.
'' (Savoy, 1956)
With
Wynton Kelly
Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of ...