Personnel:
Jimmy Gourley (g), Henri Renaud, Bob Dorough, Krysztof Komeda (p), Pierre Michelot, Buddy Banks, Jean-Marie Ingrand, Adam Skorupka (b), Jean-Louis Viale, Roy Haynes, Daniel Humair, Adam Jedrzejowski (d)
Reference: FSRCD1101
Bar code: 8427328611015
Many American musicians visited France after la Liberation, some famous, some not so famous. But, curiously, the guitar as an instrument was always poorly represented, with John Collins’ brief stay in May 1948 as the only noteworthy example. Jimmy Gourley became the first prominent guitarist to visit the country in the early 1950s, a time when Django Reinhardt was still the benchmark for jazz guitar in Europe. His arrival in April 1951 was significant because with him, the guitarist brought to Paris the modern cool style that Jimmy Raney had been developing in the States, a new school directly inspired by Charlie Christian and Lester Young. With his guitar, Gourley introduced the Parisian scene to the relaxed, vibrato-less tone and subdued harmonies that modern cool jazz musicians favored. There is little doubt that had Jimmy remained in the United States, he would have become one of the finest jazz guitarists in America.
—Jordi Pujol
"Tiré d’un disque d’Henri Renaud et son trio (Vogue), du Jazz de Chambre de Buddy Banks (Club Français du Disque), d’une émission de télévision, et d’un album du Jazz Jamboree enregistré en Pologne, voici une vingtaine d’interprétations enregistrées de 1953 à 1961, qui nous remémorent l’excellent Jimmy Gourley (1926-2008), ce Parisien adoptif venu de Chicago avec sa guitare pour vivre l’aventure du jazz à Paris dans ces années 1950, rétrospectivement un âge d’or du jazz de la Capitale car l’atmosphère est encore à une fièvre enthousiaste autour du jazz, même s’il est difficile d’en vivre. Une saine émulation entre acteurs locaux, américains, belges et européens en général, est à l’origine d’une musique bebop enracinée qui ne se pose encore aucune question sur la nécessité pour le jazz du swing, du blues et de l’expression, avec de solides références, qu’elle datent de la génération d’avant-guerre ou de celle du bebop. Pas de subvention, mais une création d’un excellent niveau, libre des modes, collant à l’évolution naturelle du jazz, même si la critique de jazz a commencé à déraper.
Le producteur Jordi Pujol de Fresh Sound poursuit son exploration de la scène française (et pas seulement), toujours avec un souci d’originalité, comme la restitution ici de disques rares et de quelques thèmes enregistrés pour une télévision ou en Pologne en 1961.
Jimmy Gourley confirme le beau guitariste qu’il est dans ce courant fondateur sur son instrument, et digne pendant, sur la scène européenne, avec René Thomas également, de ce qui se fait de mieux sur la scène américaine. Son style, où le blues est bien présent, coule, très clair, en single notes parfaitement détachées et articulées, avec une couleur du swing propre à ce temps, et dans ces versions en petites formations (trio, quartet), il fait preuve d’une parfaite maîtrise, de dextérité et surtout de musicalité au service des belles mélodies, standards le plus souvent, quelques compositions du jazz (Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Gerry Mulligan) et un original.
Parmi ses compagnons, on trouve aussi bien Henri Renaud, Pierre Michelot, Jean-Marie Ingrand que Bob Dorough, Buddy Banks, Roy Haynes, et pour la Pologne Krzystof Komeda, c’est-à-dire le haut niveau international. Dans cette période où les artistes élargissent le langage du jazz, on a ici réuni parmi le meilleur de ce temps autour d’une personnalité de la guitare en plein développement qui a toujours conservé, en authentique jazz lover, une intégrité certaine, artistiquement comme humainement: Jimmy Gourley!"
—Yves Sportis
© Jazz Hot, 2022
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"The music on The Cool Guitar of Jimmy Gourley dates from 1953-1961. That was an important period in European jazz history. It was the time when 'cool jazz' got a foothold here. The American Jimmy Gourley played a role that should not be underestimated as far as the guitar is concerned. In April 1951 he settled in France and brought with him the modern guitar style that Jimmy Raney had developed in the United States.
This new style was heavily inspired by the work of Charlie Christian and Lester Young. Gourley introduced the Parisian jazz scene to the laid-back, vibrato-free tone and understated harmonies that cool jazz musicians loved so much. His guitar produced long, flowing single-string lines with a strong drive, all in the Raney style. It was a different approach than one was used to from guitarists here. In Europe the influence of Django Reinhardt was still very dominant. That was now slowly changing.
In Paris, Gourley worked closely with pianist Henri Renaud, a key figure in the development of modern jazz in France.
The first eight tracks on this CD were recorded for Vogue in October 1953. Here you can hear how Henry Renaud and His Trio tried to connect with the new American music. It's fine material and so is the rest of this CD, which includes work by the Buddy Banks Trio/Quartet (1954) and the Jimmy Gourley Quartet (1961). They were all groups with piano, bass and drums in which Gourley's guitar played a leading role. All praise to Fresh Sound Records for making all that beauty easily accessible again.
It is worth being heard not only from a historical but also from a musical point of view. Jimmy Gourley was a very gifted guitarist.
Unfortunately, he never gained the same name recognition as his great American contemporaries."
—Eddy Determeyer (October, 2021)
Doctor jazz Magazine
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"Just when you think you’ve heard every swinging guitarist… Fresh Sound Records has uncovered yet another lost jazz artist that deserves modern appreciation. This time around it’s guitarist Jimmy Gourley, who was born in the Midwest but made his name in France (for reasons laid out in the albums insightful liner notes booklet). This disc features him in various European settings from mostly the early 50s and a bit of 1961, with lots of classy soloing in the vein of Herb Ellis and Johnny Smith.
The first session from Paris is a 1953 outing with the famed pianist Henri Renaud, bassist Pierre Michelot and drummer Jean-Louis Viale, with the latter hips and swinging for the guitarist on “I Love You” and “Changing My Tune”. His bop lines are rich during “It’s De-Lovely” and he digs in with Viale for the grooving “Not Really The Blues”. In October of that year, he’s with Bob Dorough/p, Buddy Banks/b and the indefatigable Roy Haynes/dr for a cool “Buddy Bankds Blues” and a nimble “Almost Like Being In Love” as Haynes’ brushes are in deft support for Gourley’s thrilling solo on “A Night In Tunisia”. In 1961, Gourley does a TV broadcast and produces a relaxed “How Long Has This Been Going On” and joins with a local Warsaw rhythm team for a Polish gig for a swinging “Three Little Words”. As tasty as a morning baguette!"
—George W. Harris (July 26, 2021)
https://www.jazzweekly.com
