Stan Brenders

Stan Brenders (born May 31, 1904 in Brussels ; † June 1, 1969 there ) was a Belgian pianist , composer , arranger and big band leader in the field of swing and dance music .

Live and act

The pianist and band leader Stan Brenders is one of the pioneers of Belgian jazz. He was awarded prizes while studying piano at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Early on he was influenced by New Orleans Jazz ; at that time he took over the piano part in the orchestra of Jeff Candrix. In 1927, at the age of 23, he was a member of the formation Charles Remue and his New Stompers , who became known for having recorded the first jazz record by Belgian musicians in the style of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in June 1927 ; it was created in London's Edison Bell Studios.

Brenders tried his own band in the Savoy in Brussels; In 1933 he played the first pianist in the Radio Symphony Orchestra Brussels under the direction of Franz André and the end of 1935, the Jazz Symphony Orchestra of Radio Brussels was founded, it was Stan Brenders the management of the L'Orchester de l'Jazz INR to . In the evening, the program “Half an hour for the jazz lover” featured a selection of the international successes of Count Basie , Benny Carter and Jimmie Lunceford from the repertoire of 1,500 tracks over the years. The first recordings were made in Brussels in 1938 for His Master's Voice ("Big Chief 'Swing It'").

The Brenders Orchestra has even been compared rhythmically to the Count Basie Orchestra . In 1939 there came Competition Jazz Band with the Dutch to an international Ramblers of Theo Uden Masman , however, the Ramblers won. Up until the occupation of Belgium by German troops during the Second World War , the great Stan Brenders dance orchestra played almost exclusively US-American numbers, supplemented with original compositions by the soloists or by Brenders himself.

But in 1940 Brenders' music was defamed as "Jewish Negro music "; so he had to interpret Flemish tunes on the radio and should deal with German operetta . During the Second World War, Brenders' orchestra had the reputation of being the most modern dance orchestra in Europe: it recorded a number of swing tracks, but also symphonic arrangements for various labels such as Olympia, Rhythme and Brunswick . At the end of 1940, Stan Brenders managed to make his first recordings for the Berlin Telefunken record with German hits in a modern arrangement ; He recorded a number of pieces such as “Fascination”, “Yes and No”, “When you think it's time” or in 1941 “ There'll Be Some Changes Made ”. His composition "I Envy" became a worldwide hit when Nat King Cole recorded the song.

Like his German colleagues, he also invented fantasy titles for forbidden pieces and sometimes even recorded them on records, for example in May 1942 “Bal du Rythme” with the French clarinetist Hubert Rostaing . He succeeded in cheating various swing pieces through the censorship of the National Socialist occupying power, u. a. with announcements that confused the censors such as Sept, et avec un combination avec onze for the real song "Seven Come Eleven" , which was known by the American orchestras of Benny Goodman , Teddy Wilson or Red Norvo .

On May 8, 1942, he and his band accompanied the guitarist Django Reinhardt for the Belgian label Rhythme on eight pieces, some with string accompaniment ( Dynamisme, Django Rag ). Otherwise he played dance music with his orchestra. Stan Brenders' last record session took place in Brussels in December 1943 for Rythme . As a large Belgian jazz symphony orchestra, the amplified orchestra recorded a series of pieces in an almost classical line-up with twelve violins, three violas, four cellos, two basses, oboe and harp, which, in addition to original compositions, also included a symphonic arrangement of the Hoagy Carmichael classic " Stardust " included; As “Poussière d'étoile” with a harmless French title, the record was able to pass the censorship of the German occupiers.

After the end of the war he was accused of collaborating with the occupying forces, which meant that he lost his job as a band leader at the INR station. In the post-war years he rarely had the opportunity to work with larger bands. After 1953 he appeared as a pianist in his Brussels bar L'Archiduc - already in poor health .

Discographic notes

Stan Brenders and his orchestra: Modern Tempo (Antikbüro, ed. 2005)
Swing dancing is forbidden! Swing in Belgium and France
Swing Dancing Prohibited !: Swing Music and Nazi Propaganda
The Quintessence: Paris- Bruxelles 1934-1943

Lexical entries

Jürgen Wölfer : Jazz in Germany. The encyclopedia. All musicians and record companies from 1920 until today. Hannibal, Höfen 2008, ISBN 978-3-85445-274-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Detailed biography at Papabecker.com
↑ Benders was also able to record two American titles, Well All Right and And The Angels Sing , which were released in the spring of 1941 for export purposes. In Nazi Germany, this record was only available to order and without a previous audio sample. The USA was not yet at war against Germany, so it was not yet about "hostile music". Quoted from Papabecker, Brenders biography.

personal data
SURNAME	Brenders, Stan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Brenders, Constant
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Belgian pianist and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH	May 31, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brussels
DATE OF DEATH	June 1, 1969
Place of death	Brussels

[Becker-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Detailed biography at Papabecker.com

[2] Benders was also able to record two American titles, Well All Right and And The Angels Sing , which were released in the spring of 1941 for export purposes. In Nazi Germany, this record was only available to order and without a previous audio sample. The USA was not yet at war against Germany, so it was not yet about "hostile music". Quoted from Papabecker, Brenders biography.