Francis Paudras

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Francis Paudras (born January 21, 1935 in Chilly-Mazarin , Essonne department , † November 26, 1997 in Antigny (Vienne) ) was a French jazz writer. The name of Francis Paudras is closely connected with the American jazz pianist Bud Powell ; their friendship was portrayed in fictional form by Bertrand Tavernier in his feature film At Midnight ( Round Midnight , 1986).

Live and act

Paudras comes from Chilly-Mazarin, near Paris, and had piano lessons in his childhood; later he studied fine arts at the Ecole Estienne. After his military service, he moved to Paris in 1958, where he discovered jazz for himself, in particular jazz piano by Bud Powell, Erroll Garner and Bill Evans ; But he also appreciates classical piano playing by Ravel , Debussy , Rachmaninoff and Glenn Gould , whom he admired.

In 1959 he met the pianist Bud Powell in Paris. During his friendship with him, Paudras worked as a designer; In his spare time he was an enthusiastic jazz fan and also worked as an amateur pianist. From 1962 to 1964 he was Powell's unofficial manager. He also lived for a while in Paudras' apartment with his wife and young daughter; finally he accompanied the sick pianist on his return to New York in 1964. Paudras later wrote a book about his experience with Bud Powell, which appeared under the title La Danse des Infidels (named after one of Powell's compositions, "Dance of the Infidels"). Paudras had also collected a number of Powell's unreleased recordings that were later released on CD on the Mythic Sound label.

After Powell's death in 1966, Paudra's friendship with other jazz musicians such as Bill Evans and a collection of documents on jazz in the form of countless recordings, films and memorabilia. For the Bud Powell book, Bill Evans wrote the preface and a coda; In return, the liner notes for some of the pianist's late albums come from Paudras, such as his live album Turn Out the Stars - Bill Evans Trio live at Ronnie Scott’s (1980) and the 1992 posthumous album Letter to Evan . In the 1960s he bought a historic property in Antigny near Vienne (Isère) that belonged to the Knights Templar in the Middle Ages , restored it and housed his jazz collection there. From the late 1970s he lived in the building, where he also housed musicians such as Gil Evans and Herbie Hancock .

Based on his jazz collection, a second work on jazz was created, the book To Bird With Love as a tribute to Charlie Parker , which was written in collaboration with his widow Chan Parker . In the 1980s he promoted the career of the young Jacky Terrasson , whom he met through his son Stephane by recommending him to the Berklee College of Music in Boston . After long years of personal problems and severe depression, he committed suicide in his castle in Antigny in 1997.

Publications (selection)

  • Francis Paudras: Dance of the Infidels: A Portrait of Bud Powell . New York City, Da Capo Press, 1999 ISBN 0-306-80816-1
  • Chan Parker with Francis Paudras: To Bird with Love , Wizlov 1981
  • Francis Paudras, Philippe Carles : Herman Leonard - The Eye of Jazz - The Jazz Photographs of Herman Leonard . Viking, New York, 1989

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e obituaries, u. a. by Jacques Ponzio (Jazz Notes 1/1 1998) ...
  2. ↑ In it Paudras was played by the actor François Cluzet , the part of the musician of Dexter Gordon in a combination of the characters of Powell and Lester Young .
  3. ↑ Whose first publication was: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 1: Early Years of a Genius, 44-48 .
personal data
SURNAME Paudras, Francis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French jazz author
DATE OF BIRTH January 21, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Chilly-Mazarin , Essonne department
DATE OF DEATH November 26, 1997
Place of death Antigny (Vienne)