René Thomas

[Niko]

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 April 30, 2010 by Niko

[brownie]

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!

[Jim R]

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.

[bichos]

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

[AndrewHill]

Thanks for posting these. Pretty cool stuff.

[brownie]

unbelivable, this video must exist in a privat collection.

keep boppin´

marcel

The video is preserved in the collection of La Maison du Jazz in Liège (Thomas and Jaspar's hometown).

[king ubu]

Very cool! Thanks for posting these links!

[bichos]

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

keep boppin´

marcel

[brownie]

Beautiful

[fasstrack]

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

<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.

[michel1969]

I m too lazy to read all the Topic, but...a part from "Meeting Mr Thomas" on Jazzland and Lou Bennett's Enfin ' you also have to find another ultimate masterpiece :

'

[fasstrack]

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).

[michel1969]

Back to Thomas: He was more than a Raney copycat, but less himself than he might have. (...) Jimmy Gourley was a more obvious Raney imitator and not the talent Thomas was IMO.

What a perfect description of René. And of Jimmy Gourley, too.

[Jim R]

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!

[fasstrack]

Thanks Michel. It sure was a drag the way he went out.

Thanks Michel. It sure was a drag the way he went out.

[michel1969]

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...

[Jim R]

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

You are correct.

[bichos]

another live video comes up with the great rené thomas:

keep boppin´

marcel

[sgcim]

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.

[bichos]

and another wonderful full set with stan getz´ group and the one and only rené thomas!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TybBE9QQGRY

keep boppin´

marcel

[fasstrack]

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

[clifford_thornton]

Thanks for bumping this thread. The Thomas-Pelzer Limited LP on Vogel has been hitting me just right lately. I have Guitar Groove on CD, but as with most of my CDs, it's boxed up and buried. Must try to sort out where it is in the near future.

[fasstrack]

Just now, clifford_thornton said:

 . The Thomas-Pelzer Limited LP on Vogel has been hitting me just right lately.

Not familiar with Pelzer unless you mean the druggist friend of Chet Baker Jacques Pelzer).

[clifford_thornton]

Yup.

He also played the tenor, and quite decently.

[Niko]

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)...