René Mailhes

René Mailhes (* 1935 ) is a French guitarist of gypsy jazz and modern jazz .

Life

René Mailhes comes from a musical family. His father Fillou Mailhes belongs to the Kalé clan of the Malha; his mother, Marie Ferret, was a singer and the sister of René "Challin" Ferret ; her family also includes "Baro" , Sarane and "Matelo" Ferret . It was not until the age of fifteen that he began to play the guitar by himself and discovered jazz early on through his brother's records. René also had lessons from his uncle Challin Ferret, but also learned from his relatives Poulette Castro and Gusti Malha. In 1954 he saw a concert by the Belgian guitarist René Thomas , which encouraged him to become a professional musician. Since 1960 he began to work as a full-time musician, u. a. with performances in the Paris jazz club Saint-Germain de Pres and accompanied Sarane Ferret on a tour of Germany; he was also employed by Baro Ferret. Together with his cousin Laro Castro (* 1937), who never worked professionally as a musician, he was able to work on the integration of bebop into jazz manouche . He also played rock 'n' roll with Glen Jack and his Glenners from 1961 to 1963 (together with Babik Reinhardt ) ; he also accompanied the rock singer Teddy Raye. Later he worked as a full-time job for the French railways to look after his wife and children.

From his family in the same tradition as Django Reinhardt , Mailhes has since dealt with the influences of American guitarists such as Barney Kessel , Jimmy Raney , Jim Hall and Kenny Burrell ; In 1962 he jammed with Jimmy Rainey, which cemented his interest in modern jazz. In 1983 he performed at the Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine with Michel Graillier , Alby Cullaz and Aldo Romano .

It wasn't until 1995 that he was able to record his first album. He performs with a quartet consisting of bassist Dominique Lemerle, pianist and organist Patrice Galas and singer Gilda Solve. He also worked in a duo with the pianist Siegfried Kessler .

literature

• Michael Dregni Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing Oxford: Oxford University Press 2008; ISBN 978-0-19-531192-1

Discographic notes

• Gopaliné (1995, with Patrice Gallas, Philippe Combelle )
• Gitrane (1998, with Philippe Combelle, Dominique Lemierle, Idrissa Diop)
• Carrément (with Henri Chenuet, Roger Guérin , Patrice Galas; 2005)
• Chtildo (2007–2008, with Dominique Lemerle, Patrice Galas, Gilda Solve)

Web links

• Portrait (vintage guitar)
• René Mailhes at Allmusic (English)
• 1359258 at Discogs (English)