Michel Legrand - Paris Jazz Piano (1959) [FLAC] {Jazz in Paris, 2000}
rip by Musicgate

Recorded 1959 at the Blanqui studio, Paris: on October 20 (5, 7, 10), October 21 (1, 9), October 23 (8) and November 9 (2, 3, 6).
Reissue of the Philips LP 76 519.
Digitally remastered on 24-bit by Alexis Frenkel and Christophe Henault at Art et Son studio, Paris. 

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/azarus85/front-42.jpg

"There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. (...) Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it."
Ernest Hemingway, 1960 Extract from "A moveable feast"

"Jazz in Paris", a collection of 50 recordings, retraces the epic tale of the jazz musicians listened to, and cherished, by the capital throughout the past seven decades.

Disc Review

These were the days when Catherine Deneuve and Danielle Darrieux hadn't yet unfurled their Cherbourg umbrellas, the Demoiselles de Rochefort hadn't been "born under Gemini", and their Pygmalion's mantelpiece didn't yet feature the Oscar that Hollywood had given him for the score of the film Yentl; Bill Evans hadn't yet recorded I Will Say Goodbye, nor had Chet Baker made his recording of The Summer Knows, alias La Valse des Lilas. However that may be, in 1959 Michel Legrand was anything but unknown, and he already showed a marked tendency towards eclecticism, not to mention a compulsive appetite for all things musical. After making a clean sweep of all the prizes on the shelf at the Conservatoire de Paris, thereby saving his father, bandleader Raymond Legrand, from embarrassment, Michel assimilated (in record time!) the theory of arrangement in the field of popular music. And due to his savoir-faire, and the originality of his talent, he soon carved a place for himself in his chosen field. Even though still a young man - he was merely twenty - he became the house arranger for the Philips label, and worked there with Catherine Sauvage, Jacqueline Francois and Henri Salvador. For the latter (with the singer masquerading under the name of "Henry Cording"), he'd composed the music for several lunatic parodies written by Boris Vian, among them Va t'faire cuire un osuf, man!, Rock'n'Roll Mops and Dis-moi que tu m'aimes, Rock.
Many of his arrangements showed an acute awareness of, and unfailing love for, Jazz. It was a passion that had moved him to conduct, on the other side of the Atlantic, for a recording session made up of arrangements he's conceived around such tunes as 'Round Midnight, Jitterbug Waltz, Nuages, or In A Mist. Arrangements that were performed by, among others, Phil Woods, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Ben Webster, and Miles Davis, for whom Django was almost exclusively reserved. Michel Legrand had been obliged to use all his talents of persuasion before the staff at Columbia, who'd brought him from Europe to make pop albums, would give him a free rein!
It was during a new recording session - partly to relax, and maybe to "un-Americanise" himself - that Michel Legrand decided to just sit down at the piano, and pay tribute to Paris, his native city. Guy Pedersen assisted him on bass, Gus Wallez played drums, and Legrand took his inspiration from Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson. There was nothing presumptuous about it, since, unlike other arrangers who, for want of something better, are happy with a strictly utilitarian piano, Michel Legrand has a technique that authorises him to appear as a piano professional. He pulls fireworks that are worthy of his masters from Paris in the spring and I love Paris, has a striking conversation with Gus Wallez on Paris canaille, takes flight acrobatically from Sous les ponts de Paris, and yet remains as seductive as ever in his completely fresh version of La vie en rose. Under these conditions, how can one resist the invitation to take a stroll?
Alain Tercinet

Review	by Ken Dryden - AMG

Near the beginning of his career, Michel Legrand was primarily known as a jazz pianist, so it shouldn't be surprising to learn that none of his compositions are present on these 1959 studio sessions, which originally were issued by Phillips. With bassist Guy Pederson and drummer Gus Wallez, Legrand covers songs by French composers of the day along with the ever-popular "Moulin Rouge" and a somewhat upbeat arrangement of the Edith Piaf's usually maudlin "La Vie en Rose," as well as standards from the Great American Songbook by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Vernon Duke, and Mack Gordon. Most of the songs have a Parisian theme to them, Legrand's piano style is hard to define, as he shows a variety of influences without letting any of them overwhelm his sound. Michel Legrand's eventual fame as a composer would grow tremendously during the decades that followed the making of this recording, but this CD reissue from the Jazz in Paris series is well worth purchasing to get a taste of his early career.

Tracks info 

01 Sous les ponts de Paris (Jean Rodor / Vincent Scotto) 2'52
02 Paris in the spring (Mack Gordon / Harry Revel) 3'28
03 April in Paris (Vernon Duke / E.Y. Harburg) 5'10
04 Sous le ciel de Paris (Hubert Giraud / Jean Drejac) 1'48
05 Paris canaille (Leo Ferre) 2'00
06 Paris, je t'aime...d'amour (Henri Battaille / Clifford Grey / Victor Schertzingt) 4'24
07 I love Paris (Cole Porter) 2'52
08 The last time I saw Paris (Oscar Hammerstein II /Jerome Kern) 2'01
09 Moulin Rouge (Bill Engvick / Georges Auric) 2'56
10 La vie en rose (Edith Piaf / Louiguy) 3'09

Personel info

Michel Legrand : piano - piano
Guy Pedersen : contrebasse - double bass
Gus Wallez : batterie, bongos - drums, bongos

Please upload my releases wherever is possible - Let the river flow... ©Sarchiapone