Biography
It seems almost inevitable that someone would eventually assemble a French nonet devoted to traditional jazz, yet the concept somehow went unrealized until this ensemble arrived. Their lineup paired four horns with a five-piece rhythm team that featured both sousaphone and string bass, allowing the musicians to deliver the melodies—and occasionally the harmonic frameworks—of bebop compositions in a way that produced outright comedy. The effect transported 1940s and 1950s material back to an imagined 1928 setting. One album appeared on the French Open imprint and another on Germany’s Calig label, each containing singular interpretations of pieces as improbable as “Yardbird Suite,” “Pent Up House,” “Move,” “Joy Spring,” and “Giant Steps.” Trumpeter Patrick Artero, trombonist Daniel Barda, and reed players Marc Richard and Andre Villeger formed the core personnel; before the group disbanded, these musicians appeared at numerous European festivals, though never on American soil. Both of their original recordings have become scarce collector’s items, one of them including guest vocals by Beryl Bryden, while the 2009 compilation Anthropology later gathered the material for a new audience.
Albums