Michel Warlop

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Michel Warlop (* 23. January 1911 in Douai ; † 20th March 1947 in Bagneres-de-Luchon , Haute-Garonne ) was a French Swing - violinist and bandleader . He is commonly regarded as the father of the jazz violin in France.

Live and act

Early years

As a child, Michel Warlop first took piano and then violin lessons, attended the conservatory in Lille and later in Paris ; he received numerous prizes and diplomas, but turned down a classical concert career and began to take an interest in jazz, as he heard from the records of Louis Armstrong , Earl Hines ' and Bix Beiderbeckes . Warlop then played in various variety theaters and cinema orchestras; he also worked for a music publisher. At the end of 1930 he joined the Grégor et ses Grégoriens orchestra ; the band leader, an Armenian named Gregor Kelekian, was actually not a musician, but a dancer. But he had a penchant for jazz and employed prominent jazz musicians of the era in his band, including the pianist Stephane Mougin , the trombonist Guy Paquinet , the saxophonists Alix Combelle and André Ekyan as well as the trumpeters Philippe Brun and Noël Chiboust ; It was in this environment that Warlop developed into a skilled improviser. When Kelekian disbanded his Gregorians in 1934 due to financial difficulties, Warlop formed his own band, which in turn included a number of soloists from the old Gregorians . Warlop's orchestra did not only play jazz (for economic reasons) and responded flexibly to current fashion trends. The repertoire also included daily hits with singers like Maurice Chevalier and Germaine Sablon ; Warlop also included the symphonic jazz of the then popular Paul Whiteman .

Django Reinhardt and Coleman Hawkins

In the mid-1930s, Michel Warlop's Orchestra was considered one of the leading French swing jazz formations. In addition to Combelle and Ekyan, the guitarist Django Reinhardt worked in his band before he became a member of the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1935 . With Michel Warlop et son Orchester , Reinhardt recorded the “Présentation Blues” on March 16, 1934, which some of his followers consider to be “definitely his first jazz recording”. Warlop wrote this title and the arrangement in the style of the Casa Loma Orchestra , one of the most famous white swing bands of the time. The close-knit arrangement provides 16 bars for Django's solos, while the orchestra takes a back seat. On the same day, the track "La Chanson du Large" was created with the singer Germaine Sablon.

A year later, on March 2, 1935, Django Reinhardt and Warlop's band met tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins , who was a guest in Paris ; the titles "Blue Moon", " Avalon " and "What a Difference a Day Made" were created. Warlop continued to work with Django Reinhardt and Matelo Ferret until 1937 and recorded for the Swing label under his own name . In 1937 Warlop played in the violin trio with Eddie South , Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt ("Lady Be Good"), and in Philippe Brun's band. With Grappelli and Joseph Reinhardt he accompanied the singers André Pasdoc and Yvonne Louis .

Warlop also played with the Jazz du Poste Parisien and accordion player Louis Richardet in the second half of the 1930s . He also worked with Garland Wilson , with whom he recorded in a duo in 1938. In the early 1940s, during the period of German occupation , he became a member of Raymond Legrand's orchestra; Warlop also directed his own string septet from 1941 to 1943. He composed a swing concerto , which was released on record in 1989, as well as the title Noel du Prisonnier , on the occasion of which he conducted the Paris Symphony Orchestra in 1942.

Michel Warlop died of tuberculosis in 1947 at the age of only 36 . He is buried in the spa town of Luchon ( Pyrenees ), at the side of the cellist André Simon.

style

As a violinist, Warlop was always in the shadow of his colleague Stéphane Grappelli; but he had a vitality and rhythmic energy that clearly set him apart from the more elegantly phrased Grappelli. He played with almost hectic vibrato, an enormous number of trills and large interval jumps.

Michel Warlop's violin was initially given to Grappelli as a kind of Iffland ring . This passed it on to Jean-Luc Ponty , who passed it on to Didier Lockwood at the Paris Theater de la Ville in 1979 in order to express the connection in the direct line.

Discographic notes

  • Le Jazz en France, Vol. 4 - Michel Warlop ( Pathé , 1934–38)
  • Coleman Hawkins: The Hawk In Europe (ASV, 1934-37)
  • Coleman Hawkins: Coleman Hawkins In Europe (Timeless, 1934-39)
  • Jazz in Paris - Django Reinhardt - Django et Compagnie (Emarcy)
  • Django Reinhardt: 1935-1938 (Classics); All Star Sessions (Blue Note, 1935-39), 1940 (Classics)
  • Eddie South: 1923-1937 (Classics)

Lexigraphic entries / literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The references to the early years of Warlop are taken from the article by Ekkehard Jost: Le Jazz en France . P. 318.
  2. ↑ See Alexander Schmitz / Peter Maier; Django Reinhardt, p. 114.
  3. ↑ cf. Klaus Heuermann: Warlop ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Jost, p. 318 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jazz-geige.de
  4. ↑ See Kunzler, Jazzlexikon, p. 714.
personal data
SURNAME Warlop, Michel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French swing violinist and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Douai , France
DATE OF DEATH March 20, 1947
Place of death Bagnères-de-Luchon , Haute-Garonne