André Hodeir’s Essais – Complete Paris & New York Sessions – 2CD

André Hodeir (1921-2011) was one of the world’s most literate composers and working critics in the world of jazz. He began his career as a violin player, a path he abandoned three years after joining the Paris Conservatoire in 1942, to concentrate on his work as an arranger and writer.
For Hodeir, who had classic training but felt drawn to the aesthetic of jazz, the problem was how to transcend the frame of his technique and recreate it in jazz terms. So to figure it out, in 1949 he went into a long period of silence that would last until 1954, when he made his first recording with the Jazz Groupe de Paris. This opportunity gave him a chance to crystallize the concepts he had been working on for five years. “At the time of the creation of the Jazz Groupe de Paris, there was nothing set in stone in my writing, it was all sketches I needed to try out. That’s also the reason I gave the title Essais to the pieces resulting from this project.”
Hodeir wrote his most avant-garde work for the Jazz Groupe, among whose members were some of the best soloists in Paris. Their collective effort led them to become one of the most sought-after jazz units in Europe, and Hodeir’s recordings with them earned him a world following that led to his American debut for the Savoy label. For this new session, he put together an all-star jazz band that would revisit his first six Essais, as well as record three new original compositions.
In 1957, John Lewis best described Hodeir’s musical attitude in a Down Beat article, when he said: “He’s giving people ideas and directions and things to do. His work itself is of value, but he’s also showing others by his work what can be done in many areas.”

Track Listing:

CD1:
1. Cross Criss - 3:57   2. Paraphrase - 4:19   3. On a Standard - 3:42   4. Esquisse (I) - 2:35   5. Paradoxe (II) - 3:27   6. On a Blues - 4:01   7. Parisian Thoroughfare - 3:52   8. Evanescene - 4:02   9. Bicinium - 3:11   10. On a Scale - 4:21   11. Jordu - 3:50   12. Criss Cross - 5:15   13. Tension détente - 3:29   14. Paradoxe - 2:05   15. Triads - 5:20   16. Milano - 4:14   17. Trope a Saint-Trop - 3:12   18. Osymetrios (I) - 3:37   19. Osymetrios (II) - 3:28

CD2:
1. A Shout: Le rêve inviolable (The Inviolable Dream) - 1:30   2. A Sketch: Souvenir de lui-même (Memory of Himself) - 1:56   3. A Scat: Multiple et solitaire (Multiple and Solitary) - 0:50   4. A Ballad: Connaît-il son désir? (Does It Know Its Desire?) - 2:20   5. A Horn: Vivre encore une vie (To Live A Life Once More) - 1:17   6. A Chord: Dans l’attente nocturne (In Nocturnal Expectation) - 0:55   7. A Vocalizing: Déjà vit-il sa mort (He Is Already Living His Death) - 1:09   8. La nécessité (The Necessity) - 1:01   9. L’Obsession (The Obsession) - 1:43   10. Le voyage (The Trip) - 1:22   11. Les masques (The Masks) - 2:28   12. Les miroirs (The Mirrors) - 2:11   13. La solitude (Solitude) - 2:59   14. Le tombeau (The Tomb) - 0:59   15. Flautando - 3:45   16. Jazz et jazz - 3:03   17. Cross Criss - 4:16   18. Paraphrase 4:13   19. Esquisse (I) 2:45   20. On a Blues 5:06   21. Make Up Your Mind 6:27   22. Esquisse (II) 2:59   23. On a Riff 2:54   24. On a Standard 3:45   25. Paradoxe II 3:44   26. The Alphabet 11:20

Sources:

CD1:
Tracks #1-6, from the 10-inch album “Essais d’André Hodeir” (Swing M 33353)
Tracks #7-16, from the album “Le Jazz Groupe de Paris joue André Hodeir” (Vega V 30 M 572)
Tracks #17-19, from the album “Jazz et Jazz – Nouvelles oeuvres d’André Hodeir” (Fontana 680.208 ML)

CD2:
Tracks #1-16, from the album “Jazz et Jazz – Nouvelles oeuvres d’André Hodeir”(Fontana 680.208 ML)
Tracks #17-20 & 22-26, from the album “American Jazzmen Play Hodeir’s Essais” (Savoy MG 12104)
Track #21, was included as a bonus on the album “Billy Ver Planck and His Orchestra – Dancing Jazz” (Savoy MG 12101)

Personnel:

on CD1:

Tracks #1-6: Le Jazz Groupe de Paris 
“ESSAIS” Arranged and conducted by André Hodeir
Jean Liesse, Buzz Gardner, trumpet; Nat Peck, trombone; Jean Aldegon, alto sax; Bobby Jaspar, tenor sax; Armand Migiani, baritone sax; Sadi, vibes; Pierre Michelot, bass; Jacques David, drums. 
Recorded in Paris, December 13, 1954

Tracks #7-10:
Roger Guerin, Jean Liesse, trumpets; Nat Peck, trombone; Jean Aldegon, alto sax; Georges Grenu, tenor sax; Armand Migiani, baritone sax; Sadi, vibes; Pierre Michelot, bass; Christian Garros, drums. 
Recorded in Paris, June 26, 1956

Tracks #11-14:
Jean Aldegon and Nat Peck out on #12 & 14. 
Recorded in Paris, June 27, 1956

Tracks #15-16:
Same as #7-10, but Sadi out. 
Recorded in Paris, July 2, 1956

Tracks #17-19:
Roger Guérin, trumpet; Nat Peck, trombone; Georges Grenu, tenor sax; Martial Solal, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums. 
Recorded in Paris, autumn 1960

on CD2:

Tracks #1-7: Le Jazz Groupe de Paris
“Jazz Cantata” Arranged and conducted by André Hodeir
Roger Guérin, Christian Bellest, trumpet; André Paquinet, trombone; Pierre Gossez, alto sax; Georges Grenu, tenor sax; Armand Migiani, baritone sax; Jean-Pierre Drouet, vibes, perc.; Pierre Michelot, bass; Christian Garros, drums; Christiane Legrand, vocals.
Recorded in Paris, Autumn 1960

Tracks #8-14: 
“Le Palais Idéal” Arranged and conducted by André Hodeir
Roger Guérin, Christian Bellest, trumpet; Nat Peck, trombone; Hubert Rostaing, alto sax; Georges Grenu, tenor sax; Armand Migiani, baritone sax; Jean-Pierre Drouet, vibes, percussion; Pierre Michelot, bass; Christian Garros, drums. 
Recorded in Paris, Autumn 1960

Track #15:
Raymond Guiot, flute (overdubbed four times); Martial Solal, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums. 
Recorded in Paris, Autumn 1960

Track #16:
Roger Guerin, trumpet; Emmanuel Soudieux, bass; Richie Frost, drums.
Recorded in Paris, 1952

Tracks #17-26: American Jazzmen Play André Hodeir's “Essais”
André Hodeir and His Orchestra: Donald Byrd, Idrees Sulieman, trumpet; Frank Rehak, trombone; Hal McKusick, alto sax, bass-clarinet; Bobby Jaspar, tenor sax, flute; Jay Cameron, baritone sax, clarinet, bass-clarinet; Eddie Costa, pianos, vibes; George Duvivier, bass; Bobby Donaldson, drums; Annie Ross, vocal on #26.
Recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey, March 4 & 5, 1957