Fabien Degryse Hommage A Rene Thomas

Rene Thomas - Hommage A… Rene Thomas (1974) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6330}
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© 1974, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6330
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Modern Post Bebop / Guitar

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. A tribute to the great European guitarist Rene Thomas – and one that features Thomas himself fronting a sweet small combo with Fender Rhodes from Rob Franken – with a sound that's unlike any other album that Rene ever recorded! Thomas first rose to fame on the bop scene in Paris in the postwar years – but here, he's got a much more longform approach to guitar – really stretching out on these very long tracks that build beautifully with his own richly chromatic lines, and some great solo moments from Franken. The group also features Koos Serierse on bass and Louis Debij on drums – and titles include "My Wife Maria", "Jesus Think Of Me", "Star Eyes", and "Round Midnight".

René Thomas (1927-1975) was considered the best European jazz guitarist of his generation by fellow musicians and critics, but his career was marred by the pervasive skepticism of jazz fans. Despite trying hard to carve his own space, he never obtained the recognition he deserved for his immense talent, perhaps because of his introverted character and prolonged withdrawals from the scene.

On this album from 1963, Thomas led a quintet featuring saxophonist and flutist Jacques Pelzer, organist Lou Bennett, bassist Gilbert Rovere and drummer Charles Bellonzi. Thomas' sound in the early 1960s was ambitious, robust and modern, with enormous optimism built in. He employed a spirited technique that never gave hint that a pick was being used on the strings. Imagine a woodpecker hammering away on a rubber tree. Add Bennett's organ, and the group's sound was remarkably cool and distinctly European - swift but never frantic.
The album opens with Meeting, an up-tempo, catchy swinger that today would be perfect for a radio-show opener. If You Were the Only Girl in the World is another swinger that displays Thomas' graceful attack…

Rene Thomas was a Belgian guitarist who hoped to make it big on the international jazz scene following his move to Paris and a flurry of recording activity in the 1950s and early 1960s, though his goal ultimately eluded him. This CD in Verve's Jazz in Paris reissue series combines two separate dates originally made for Barclay and Polydor. For the most part, Thomas' approach to the guitar is rather laid back, particularly in his spacious arrangement to "All the Things You Are."

Depending on one's tolerance for puzzles, Heinz Holliger's Violin Concerto is either a meaningful tribute to an obscure artist or an indecipherable jumble hidden behind layers of extraneous associations. Commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the work is an homage to the erstwhile last chair of the OSR's second violins, Louis Soutter; and, perhaps secondarily, to his teacher, Eugene Ysaÿe. No matter that Soutter was fired by Ernest Ansermet, and afterwards lived in poverty as an outcast.

A countryman of Bela Bartók and a sometime teacher to both György Ligeti and György Kurtág, Sándor Veress emigrated to Switzerland from what was then part of Hungary in 1949. Settling in Bern, he collected various prizes and teaching posts while working in relative obscurity on who knows how many pieces–most of which have been unavailable. This collection is made up of a pithy trio of compositions dated 1938 (Six Csárdás), 1951 (Hommage à Paul Klee), and 1952 (Concerto for Piano, Strings, and Percussion), and they show what a deftly melodic force Veress was. He's thrilled by blustery string wafts, especially in the concerto, where the percussion adds drama and immediacy. But he also favors sweetly chipper string formations, which surprise the ear during the homage to Klee, especially given the dissonances fostered early on by the twin pianos. The closing piano miniatures of Six Csárdás are counterpoint-rich gems, played with sharp precision by András Schiff.

Thomas Trotter performs the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé on the world-famous organ in the Chapel of King’s College Cambridge. Thomas is a prize-winning concert organist and one of the UK’s most admired performing musicians, reflected in Her Majesty The Queen awarding him The Queen’s Medal for Music on St Cecilia’s Day 2020.