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Bobby Jaspar was among the very few European jazz players able to establish themselves on the American scene in the '50s and '60s; within two months of his arrival in New York he has joined J.J. Johnson's quintet, in which his colleagues included first Hank Jones, then Tommy Flanagan and Elvin Jones. Before coming to the U.S., Jaspar had been a founding member of Belgium's first post-war bebop band, and had worked with Chet Baker, The Blues Stars (a forerunner of the Swingle Singers), and married Blossom Dearie. This excellent recording features tracks from four separate dates in Paris, from '53 to '54, and is a welcome addition to the collection of any fan.
Although it is often said that jazz is “America's art form,” there have been great jazz players from other countries since at least Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in the 1930s. By the 1950s, many Europeans had mastered bebop and cool jazz, whether it was tenor-saxophonist Tubby Hayes or baritonist Lars Gullin, pianist George Shearing or harmonica wizard Toots Thielemans.
Bobby Jaspar, a very good tenor-saxophonist and flutist from Belgium, could hold his own with most American musicians in the 1950s. Born in 1926 in Liege, Belgium, he picked up early experience playing in Dixieland groups (including with Toots Thielemans) and working on clarinet. After the end of World War II., he was a member of Belgium's first bebop group, the Bobshots. Jaspare began to be noticed more widely in the early 1950s, recording with pianist Henri Renaud and working with such visiting Americans as pianist-singer Blossom Dearie (who he married), guitarist Jimmy Raney and Chet Baker. He also impressed Miles Davis.
In 1956 Jaspar, who had begun doubling on flute, moved to New York. Within two months, at Davis' recommendation, he was hired for J.J. Johnson's group. Jaspar also worked with Donald Byrd, Davis (briefly in 1957), Bill Evans and Attila Zoller, appearing on records with many of the who's who of American jazz including Milt Jackson, Tal Farlow, Chris Connor, Kenny Burrell, Wynton Kelly and John Lewis. But a weak heart resulted in his premature death in 1963 when he was only 37.
Revisited has a strong cross section of Jaspar's European recordings. Dating from 1953-54, Jaspar (who is heard exclusively on tenor) performs in a sextet with Henry Renaud, guitarist Jimmy Gourley and vibraphonist Fats Sadi, a similar quintet, a septet with trumpeter Roger Guerin and a nonet. The music is mostly cool-toned bop with touches of Third Stream and even some avant-gardish moments. The larger group performances are tightly arranged (such as “Sweet And Lovely” and “Kaba Soutra”) and sound as if they could have come from Los Angeles during the era. The smaller bands are more freewheeling, with one session featuring Gigi Gryce pieces.
Review
"Bobby Jaspar was a major jazz tenor-saxophonist and flutist from Belgium. His playing perfectly fit into the cool jazz scene of the 1950s. Revisited dates from 1953-54 and has Jaspar (who sticks exclusively to tenor) with four overlapping medium-size groups. The cool-toned bop hints in spots at both Third Stream music and the avant-garde of the 1960s, but swings all of the way with Jaspar in the lead. This is a very good retrospective of Bobby Jaspar’s tenor playing.
In all of the settings, Bobby Jaspar excels. Sometimes he hints at Don Byas (particularly in his faster runs) or Zoot Sims, but in general he was already sounding like himself, showing us that even 55 years ago, there were some very talented European jazz musicians." -Scott Yanow
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