Michel de Villers (1926-1992) was one of the most influential French reed players in modern jazz, known by most of his fellow musicians by his nickname: “Low reed.” From a very young age, de Villers excelled on alto sax and clarinet. After gaining the attention of fans and musicians as an amateur, he was hired by Django Reinhardt in 1946. Shortly afterwards he began recording as a leader, improvising with cohesive drive and swinging passion, with a clear tone and vocabulary straight from the leading swing alto players —Benny Carter, Willie Smith and Johnny Hodges.

Looking to achieve a more modern sound, he adopted the baritone as his main instrument in 1949, swinging authoritatively with a muscular fullness of tone, but with the initial fierceness of his attack tempered by the cool influence, of Bird first, and Gerry Mulligan later. His skills as a soloist and improviser earned him a place among the best European baritonists. This in turn, led to calls from American jazzmen who were on their way through Paris, such as Buck Clayton, Jonah Jones, Bill Coleman, Lucky Thompson, and even vocalist Jimmie Davis.

In the spring of 1957, without abandoning the baritone, he took his alto saxophone again, to play in the boppish style of Parker-Sonny Stitt. This surprised musicians and audiences who knew him for his more melodic and swinging approach. “If I dropped the alto for so long,” de Villers said, “it’s because it is hard to be a good soloist on two different instruments, one rubbing on the other. I can now play alto without fear that my style borrows too much from my baritone playing.”

In addition to his work as a musician, Michel de Villers was also a savy reviewer and longtime collaborator of Jazz Hot, writing answers for the section “Courrier des lecteurs.” In the late 1950s, he began a new career as a disc jockey with two radio shows: “Dansez avec nous” on Sundays, and “Jazz Latitude 49”, a program dedicated to French jazz that aired Tuesdays.

Michel de Villers died October 25, 1992 in Rouen, (Seine Maritime). He was a generous soloist and an accomplished composer, who remained one of the most solid individual voices of French jazz. On a purely jazz level, he embraced all styles, with a marked preference for modern jazz, but as he put it: “I get bored deeply when it does not swing.”

Jordi Pujol
(Taken from the liner notes of "Low Red: Complete Small Group Sessions 1949-1956" · FSRCD 951)