In 1957, Quincy Jones moved to Paris to study composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen. In his spare time, the producer, composer, arranger, bandleader and conductor became music director at Barclay, a French record company owned by Eddie Barclay, a composer-arranger and contractor. Barclay also was the licensee for Mercury in France.
Jones's first album for the label was Et Voila!, which was released on United Artists in the U.S. as Americans in Paris. In addition to Jones, the other Americans on the recording were tenor saxophonists Lucky Thompson and Don Byas, drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Art Simmons. The rest of the musicians in the orchestra on multiple dates throughout 1957 were French.
Jones was the album's arranger and conductor, and the LP is a masterpiece, from start to finish. Most of the songs were by French pop composers. They are melodic, cheery, breezy and quintessentially French for the late 1950s. Jones's arrangements are impossibly hip and gorgeous. I've listened to this album for hours at a time, over and over again. I even have a copy on vinyl. It's always fresh and uplifting.
The tracks and composers:
Jones's first album for the label was Et Voila!, which was released on United Artists in the U.S. as Americans in Paris. In addition to Jones, the other Americans on the recording were tenor saxophonists Lucky Thompson and Don Byas, drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Art Simmons. The rest of the musicians in the orchestra on multiple dates throughout 1957 were French.
Jones was the album's arranger and conductor, and the LP is a masterpiece, from start to finish. Most of the songs were by French pop composers. They are melodic, cheery, breezy and quintessentially French for the late 1950s. Jones's arrangements are impossibly hip and gorgeous. I've listened to this album for hours at a time, over and over again. I even have a copy on vinyl. It's always fresh and uplifting.
The tracks and composers:
- Et Voila! (Eddie Barclay and Michel Legrand)
- Quand je Monte Chez Toi (Henri Salvador)
- Place Blanche (Salvador)
- Ne M'Laissez Pas Comme Ca (Charles Kelman, François Charpin)
- Sermonette (Cannonball and Nat Adderley)
- Numero 13 (Barclay, Jean-Pierre Landreau)
- Avec Ces Yeux-La (Charles Aznavour, Barclay)
- Tu Joues Avec Le Feu (Bernard Michel, Barclay)
- Quelque Chose En Toi (Barclay, Raymond Le Sénéchal)
- Un P'tit Bout De Femme/Manhattan (B. Michel, Rodgers and Hart)
- Pas Moi (Charpin, J.P. Londreau and Maurice Pon)
- Craven (Barclay)
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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