French jazz pianist and composer (1930–2020)
Claude Bolling
Claude Bolling in 2015.
Born (1930-04-10 ) 10 April 1930
Cannes , FranceDied 29 December 2020 (aged 90)
Saint-Cloud , France Genres
Jazz Occupation(s) Musician, composer, arranger, actor Instrument(s) Piano Years active 1944–2020 Website
claude-bolling .com
Musical artist
Claude Bolling (10 April 1930 – 29 December 2020)
[1]
[2] was a French
jazz pianist, composer,
[3]
[4] arranger, and occasional actor.
Biography
Bolling (far right ) with
Xavier Gélin (third from left ) and
Danièle Delorme (third from right ), date unknown
He was born in
Cannes , France,
[5] and studied at the
Nice Conservatory , and then in Paris. A child prodigy, by the age of 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with
Lionel Hampton ,
Roy Eldridge , and
Kenny Clarke .
[5] Bolling's books on jazz technique show that he did not delve far beyond
bebop into much
avant-garde jazz . He was a major part of the
traditional jazz revival in the late 1960s, and he became friends with
Oscar Peterson .
He wrote music for over one hundred films, including a 1957 documentary about the
Cannes Film Festival , and films such as
The Hands of Orlac (1960),
World in My Pocket (1961),
Me and the Forty Year Old Man (1965),
Atlantic Wall (1970),
Borsalino (1970),
To Catch a Spy (1971),
Le Magnifique (1973),
Enuff Is Enuff (J'ai mon voyage!) ,
Borsalino & Co. (1974),
Flic Story (1975),
The Passengers (1977),
Silver Bears (1978),
California Suite (1978),
Jigsaw (L'Homme en colère) (1979),
The Awakening (1980),
Willie & Phil (1980),
Three Men to Kill (1980),
The Bay Boy (1984),
He Died with His Eyes Open (1985),
Try This One for Size (1989) and
Chance or Coincidence (1998).
Bolling was also noted for a series of "crossover" collaborations with classical musicians.
[5] His
Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with
Jean-Pierre Rampal , a mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing, has been a top seller for many years, and was followed up by other works in the same vein. It was particularly popular in the United States, at the top of the hit parade for two years after its release and on the
Billboard top 40 for 530 weeks, roughly ten years.
Following his work with Rampal, Bolling went on to work with many other musicians, from different genres, including guitarist
Alexandre Lagoya , violinist
Pinchas Zukerman , trumpeter
Maurice André , and cellist
Yo-Yo Ma . He also worked with and performed tributes to many others, including
Lionel Hampton ,
Duke Ellington ,
Stéphane Grappelli ,
Django Reinhardt , and
Oscar Peterson .
Bolling was also notable as the composer of the
Lucky Luke animated features
Daisy Town (1971) and
La Ballade des Dalton (1978).
[6]
Discography
French Jazz (Bally, 1956)
Rolling with Bolling (Omega Disk, 1957)
Joue Duke Ellington (Fontana, 1960)
Jazzgang Amadeus Mozart (Philips, 1965)
Original Ragtime (Philips, 1967)
Original Boogie Woogie (Philips, 1968)
Original Piano Blues (Philips, 1969)
Original Jazz Classics Piano (Philips, 1970)
Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal (Columbia Masterworks, 1975)
With the Help of My Friends (Who's Who in Jazz, 1975)
Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano with Alexander Lagoya (CBS, 1976)
Suite for Violin and Jazz Piano (Columbia Masterworks, 1977)
Jazz Gala 79 (America, 1979)
Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano with Angel Romero (Angel, 1980)
Picnic Suite (CBS, 1980)
Bolling: Toot Suite with Maurice Andre (CBS, 1981)
Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano with Jean-Pierre Rampal (CBS, 1983)
The Original Bolling Blues (Mercury, 1983)
Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio with Yo Yo Ma (CBS Masterworks, 1984)
Bolling [Band] plays Ellington [Music] (CBS, 1987)
[7]
Bolling: Suite No. 2 for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio (CBS, 1987)
Sonatas for Two Pianists (CBS, 1989)
Warm Up the Band (Columbia, 1991)
Cross Over U.S.A. (Milan, 1993)
Enchanting Versailles: Strictly Classical (Milan, 1995)
Suite for Flute and Piano Jazz Trio (Acte Préalable, 1999)
Suite for Violin and Piano Jazz Trio (Acte Préalable, 1999)
Suite for Cello and Piano Jazz Trio (Acte Préalable, 1999)
Bolling Big Band: Gershwin In Swing (CAID, 2003)
Bolling: Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano Trio (Mérida, 2011)
References
^
"Décès de Claude Bolling, jazzman et compositeur de musiques de films" , AFP, December 30, 2020 (in French)
^ Genzlinger, Neil (January 9, 2021).
"Claude Bolling, Jazzman With Crossover Appeal, Dies at 90 - "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano," his 1975 collaboration with the flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, spent a decade on the classical album chart" .
The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2021 .
^ Holden, Stephen (October 23, 1983).
"Concert: 3 Works By Claude Bolling" .
The New York Times . Retrieved July 19, 2015 .
^
"Claude Bolling Concert" . The New York Times . April 14, 1990. Retrieved July 19, 2015 .
^
a
b
c
Colin Larkin , ed. (1992).
The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.).
Guinness Publishing . p. 55.
ISBN
0-85112-580-8 .
^
"Morris" . Comiclopedia .
^ CBS CD MK42474 (1987)
External links
International National Artists People Other