Jacques Pelzer

Jacques Pelzer (born June 24, 1924 in Liège ; † August 6, 1994 there ) was a Belgian jazz saxophonist (soprano, alto) and flutist.

Live and act

His earliest influences were Benny Carter and then Charlie Parker and when he was more influenced by cool jazz in the 1950s , Lee Konitz . From 1947 he was a member of the bop band The Bob Shots , which also included the tenor saxophonist Bobby Jaspar , the vibraphonist and percussionist Sadi and the guitarist René Thomas . He also recorded several records with Thomas, including a. Innovation en jazz 2 (1955), Meeting Mister Thomas (1963) and Thomas Pelzer Ltd. (1974). At that time he also played with Francy Boland and Toots Thielemans . In the 1960s and 1970s he turned to newer trends such as free jazz and fusion. With Gato Barbieri , Don Cherry and Philip Catherine , he recorded the soundtrack (composed by Krzysztof Komeda ) for the film "Le Départ" by Jerzy Skolimowski in 1967 . With Chet Baker , with whom he was friends, he went on three US tours. In the 1970s he founded the fusion band Open Sky Unit, named after Dave Liebman's "Open Sky" . Her 1974 album of the same name was released by Whatmusic in 2001. He returned to acoustic jazz in the 1980s and 1990s with a repertoire of bop and pieces he played with Chet Baker during his time. In 1990 he recorded "Never Let Me Go" (Igloo) with the Open Sky Unit and Barney Wilen , Michel Graillier and the pianist Éric Legnini . The album received the "Sax Prize" in 1991. His last album "Salute to the Bandbox" (Igloo) he recorded in 1993 with Philip Catherine, Philippe Aerts and the drummer Bruno Castellucci .

Pelzer was probably the best-known Belgian saxophonist internationally. In addition to the musicians mentioned, he also played with Lee Konitz , Stan Getz , Dexter Gordon , Archie Shepp , Bill Evans and Philly Joe Jones .

Pelzer was also active as a music teacher; one of his students was u. a. Pierre Vaiana . His daughter Micheline (who, like his nephew Steve Houben, also played in the Open Sky Unit ) was a drummer.

Discographic notes

• Thomas Pelzer Ltd (Vogel, 1974, with Rein de Graaff , René Thomas, Henk Haverhoek, Jean Linzman, Han Bennink )
• Open Sky Unit (Duchesne, 1974) with Steve Houben, Ron Wilson , Janot Buchem , Micheline Pelzer, Michel Graillier
• Jacques Pirotton, Jacques Pelzer - Happy Few ... (MD, 1985)
• Jacques Pelzer Open Sky Unit Featuring Eric Legnini Guest Stars, Barney Wilen & Michel Graillier - Never Let Me Go (Igloo, 1990, with Bart De Nolf, Micheline Pelzer)
• Salute to the Band Box (Igloo, 1993)

Web links

• Pelzer at Jazz in Belgium
• German biography
• Jacques Pelzer at Discogs (English)