Bechet leads a top-notch French band on a hot number
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Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was not only a master of the soprano-sax but recorded the first significant horn solos by a jazz musician, predating Louis Armstrong by a few months in 1923.
A powerful and dominant player throughout his career, Bechet was still in excellent form in 1958 when he appeared at the Cannes Jazz Festival.
A major celebrity in France after moving there from the U.S. in 1949, Bechet always put on stirring performances.
Opening his set at Cannes, he and a sextet headed by clarinetist André Reweliotty play a brief “American Rhythm” and then stretch out on a cooking version of “I’ve Found A New Baby.”
Propelled by the drumming of Poumy Arnaud and backed by the supportive bass playing of Georges “Zozo” D’Halluin, there are fine solos by pianist Yannick Saint-Gery, Reweliotty on clarinet, trombonist Jean-Louis Durand, and trumpeter Roland Hug while Bechet leads the backing horns with a series of riffs.
As a climax, the great Sidney Bechet with his glorious sound takes a solo of his own.
-Scott Yanow
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