Jump to content

René Thomas


EKE BBB

Recommended Posts

thank you! just in case a thomas completist drops by... in the ina.fr archive there are some radio shows with otherwise unreleased (and iirc unlisted at thomasia - which has been dead lately, anyway?) thomas on a few tunes...

Edited by Niko
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 100
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

another rare clip with rené thomas appeared here:

oleo.

have to check the discographies from what year with whom.

keep boppin´

marcel

Many thanks for linking this very rare clip.

Obviously from the Belgian TV 'Jazz pour tous' show from January 1962 with Bobby Jaspar, Amedeo Tommasi on piano, Benoit Quersin on bass and Daniel Humair on drums.

Can't get enough of Thomas and Jaspar!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another rare clip with rené thomas appeared here:

oleo.

have to check the discographies from what year with whom.

keep boppin´

marcel

WOW!!!! This is highly important, not only because there are so few videos of Thomas, but because of the vintage and the quality of the recording. Up until fairly recently, the only videos of R.T. were very short and not so great, but this is wonderful.

Now, don't forget the other one posted by the same person... and I think this one might be even better than 'Oleo' (it's longer, for one thing): Thomas / Jaspar Quintet #2 I recognize the tune, but I would have to go through and listen to my CD's to remember the title.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here is the info from meeker (brownie, you are right!):

JAZZ POUR TOUS! 1962

Belgium 1962 – s – tvs

Songs: 1. "Oleo" by Sonny Rollins; "It could

happen to you" by Johnny Burke, James Van

Heusen; "I remember Sonny".

With: 1. The International Jazz Quintet:- Bobby

Jaspar, tenor sax, flute; Amadeo Tommasi,

piano; René Thomas, guitar; Benoît Quersin,

acoustic double bass; Daniel Humair, drums.

unbelivable, this video must exist in a privat collection.

keep boppin´

marcel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I´m afraid there´s no thread dedicated to this wonderful Belgian guitarist.

herr02.jpg

<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>(from Michel Herr collection)</span>

Any comments on him?

You said it all with 'wonderful'. Like a cross between Jimmy Raney and Django---but blusier and with a heavier sound than both.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dug Eddy Louiss Trio out (w/Klook). No gtr. player could keep up w/Eddy. Rene just did his thing. Some comments on that thing from a guitarist: Rene Thomas IMO could have been more original and grown had he not had a drug problem-died from an OD, I'm told . I feel the same way about his latter-day influence Grant Green. When you're in that thing you care about 2 things: getting high and then getting paid so you can stay high. Back to Thomas: He was more than a Raney copycat, but less himself than he might have. What he did have was a big, dark sound, swinging beat, a looseness, and soulfulness. Jimmy Gourley was a more obvious Raney imitator and not the talent Thomas was IMO. Thomas got repeated minor arpeggios from Raney, but was earthier, the touch heavier.I dig him. I would've liked him to haved lived and cleaned up to reach his potential. Two European players who did were Wim Overgrouw (sp), a risk-taking improvisor-and Attila Zoller (also friend I dearly loved and miss).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:excited: more live rené thomas!!!!!! 12 minutes with trio in good color quality! here:

keep boppin´

marcel

The same person who posted that one also posted this one a few weeks earlier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUMfwR5R5bU

I'm amazed to see this. Amazed!

René plays with an Gibson ES 150. Correct me if i'm wrong...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Thanks!

My fave vinyl with RT was the live session with Bobby Jaspar on Mole in 1962 in Paris.

One obscure record he did that I haven't seen mentioned was "A Milanese Story" by John Lewis on Atlantic from 1961.

It was an Italian movie soundtrack that had Bobby Jaspar also on flute and tenor and Buster Smith on drums, plus a string quartet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...

Bump. I just discovered this thread on a google search for Thomas. He was a Jimmy Raney-Django Reinhardt inspired player with his own fat sound and great swing. Sounded particularly good with Chet Baker: the Italian Sessions, and Stan Getz: Dynasty. There's also a trio date with the late Eddy Louiss and Kenny Clarke. I forget the name.

He is well worth a listen or two.

1 minute ago, fasstrack said:

  There's also a trio date with the late Eddy Louiss and Kenny Clarke. I forget the name.

He is well worth a listen or two.

To remedy that: http://www.discogs.com/Eddy-Louiss-Kenny-Clarke-Rene-Thomas-Eddy-Louiss-Kenny-Clarke-Rene-Thomas/release/2208328

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alto, Flute and Soprano, actually... there's a long interview (in French) on youtube with Robert Jeanne, the tenor player in Thomas' Belgian working band from the 60s who proudly recalls everybody's day jobs - they were an educated bunch... Many of the best European musicians in that generation were proud not to be professional musicians, thus not having to play odd gigs. Jeanne was an architect, Jean Lerusse, the bass player in that band, was a medical doctor, only Felix Simtaine, the drummer, turned professional at some point around 1970 (hope I remember all this correctly)...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...