Raymond Fonsèque

Raymond Fonsèque (born November 27, 1930 in Paris - † November 19, 2011 ) was a French jazz trombonist , tuba player and arranger . He led his Original Jazz Band and the Hot Four Nouvelle-Orléans . In 1981 he received the Prix ​​Sidney Bechet .

Live and act

Fonsèque grew up in a musical family in Paris ; his mother was a classical pianist, his father an opera singer and a brother a drummer. At the age of seven he had piano lessons; At the age of eleven he learned the Hawaiian guitar and cello and had lessons in harmony at the Conservatory of Music in Bordeaux . In 1944 he continued his studies in Paris and was a member of a vocal ensemble that performed in churches. After switching to the trombone, he began to occupy himself with New Orleans Jazz in 1946 and worked in the following years with Claude Luter & ses Lorientais, Robert Mavounzy , Jack Diéval and Christian Bellest . In 1948 he co-founded the Hot Club de la Vallée de Chevreuse . The following year he began to work as a professional musician, initially with the pianist Christian Chevallier , who gave concerts at La Coupole in Biarritz . In the early 1950s he played a. a. with André Réwéliotty , Yannick Singéry and Don Byas ; In 1950/51 he did his military service in Courbevoie , where he was tuba player in the 93ème Régiment d'Infanterie . After taking tuba and trombone courses at the Paris Conservatory of Music, he worked with Maxim Saury , Nelson Williams and in the Metro Jazz formation with Michel Attenoux and Gérard Badini , where he played with Peanuts Holland and Lil Armstrong in the Salle Pleyel . In Germany he toured with the Dixie Pals by Armand Gordon .

He also belonged to an ensemble of four trombonists who played with the pianist André Persiany , he also worked in a duo with Luis Fuentes and in the orchestra of Jacques Hélian , as well as with Sidney Bechet , Big Bill Broonzy , Cat Anderson , Mezz Mezzrow , Albert Nicholas , Bill Coleman , Benny Waters and Kenny Clarke . He founded the formation Hot Four Nouvelle-Orléans and recorded with Claude Luter and André Réwéliotty, in 1961 under his own name with his band Washboard Five ( Jazz pour Averty ) with Pierre Braslawsky (soprano saxophone), René Gervat (clarinet), Jacques Chrétien (cornet & Trumpet), Jean Abusch (guitar) and Teddy Hocquemiller (washboard).

In the early 1960s, Fonsèque worked as a trombonist and arranger with Jacques Denjean et son Grand Orchester De Jazz (album Jacques Denjean Jazz , Polydor 1962), with whom he also performed at the Festival International de Jazz d'Antibes / Juan-les-Pins . During this time he also played in the reformed ensemble The 4 Trombones Incorporated with Charles Orieux , Michel Camicas and François Guin , which also included Bernard Vitet , Jean-Louis Chautemps , Bob Quibel and Peter Giger . The ensemble had an engagement at the Paris Olympia in 1964 and performed at the Juan-les-Pins jazz festival. In 1965 he became chairman of the Jazz Club de France , and in 1966 he performed with various ensemble formations under his direction at the Caveau de la Huchette . From 1968 he played in the orchestra of the Folies Bergère . In the 1970s he worked with various formations such as the Pop Corn Brass Band and the High Society Jazz Band ; In 1974 he founded Jazz Fouchtra and in the mid-1970s accompanied a. a. Wallace Davenport , Benny Waters, Albert Nicholas, Red Richards and Michael. In 1979 he went on tour with Cat Anderson, of which live recordings were released as an album. Between 1981 and 1992 he taught trombone and tuba at various conservatories and founded big bands with his students. In 1993 he published the magazine Jazz Dixie Swing: du ragtime au big band .

Discographic notes

• Raymond Fonsèque / Bill Coleman: Bill and the Boys
• Géométrie variable (2005)
• André Réwéliotty Et Son Orchester: Jouent Des Inédits De Sidney Bechet (1959)

Web links

• Biographical Notes
• Raymond Fonsèque at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary at Radio France  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Portrait at the Hot Club Association ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.