Keep (it) Swinging: Charquet & Co. - Live in Holland (1976-1977)

Charquet & Co. - Optreden Gentbrugge 1976 ( Nederlands) Charquet & Co. - Live recording Gentbrugge 1976 ( English) Charquet & Co. - Nederlandse Live-opnamen ( Nederlands) Charquet & Co. - Live in Holland (1976-1977) ( English)

Live at the Breda Festival and the Tros radio program Sesjun
CHARQUET & CO - LIVE IN HOLLAND (1976-1977)
Hans Koert

In the 1970s the Charquet et Co jazz band was one of the most popular traditional jazz bands of Western Europe. The group, directed by Jean-Pierre Morel, toured along Belgian and Dutch venues all over the country, but, what a shame, I've never joined a concert in those days. I did had, and still have, a bunch of LPs recorded by this French band: Crazy Quilt ( SOS 1008) - Live at the Joseph Lam Jazz Club ( SOS 1039) and Jungle Jamboree ( SOS 1076), all by the Stomp Off label. I also have an early one, titled Sharkey et Co "Kansas City Kitty" on the Pragmaphone label in my collection. When Jean-Pierre Morel disbanded the band late 1970s no more records were made, but - years later - some "forgotten" recordings were issued, like the 1990 album with 1976 live recordings at the Cave du Hot Club de France in Paris. A few weeks ago I was so lucky to find another 1989 reissue: Charquet and Co: You'll Long for Me ( S.O.S. 1195) which I discussed in a previous blog. Gerard Bielderman, who compiled the Jean-Pierre Morel Discography incorporating Charquet & Co., pointed me to a CD with live recordings in Holland, I love to introduce to you.

Detail of a cover cartoon of a Stomp Off release. f.l.t.r.: Emmanuel Hussenot - Jean-Pierre Morel - Alain Marquet - Marc Bresdin - Michel Bescont - Gerard Gervois. ( Charquet & Co. - Live at the Joseph Lam Jazz Club (SOS 1039) - drawing: Joe Mathieu)

As I told before the group was very popular in The Netherlands during this period and it seemed that almost every concert was recorded (!) when they toured around. In 1976 concerts in Breda ( May 1976), Gentbrugge (Belgium) ( June 1976), in Haarlem ( May 1977) ( Jungle Jamboree), Nederhorst Den Berg (June 1977) ( Moulin á Café), Amsterdam ( Live at the Joseph Lam Jazz club) (October 1977) and, again in the Haarlemse Jazz club (October 1977) ( Crazy Quilt) were recorded.
Thanks to Gerard Bielderman I was pointed to some tracks from a concert recorded in Breda at the 29th of May, 1976. The Charquet & Co was scedulded at the night concert in the Turfschip at the 6th Oude Stijl Jazz Festival ( = 6th Traditonal Jazz Festival). Detail of a cover cartoon at a Stomp Off release. f.l.t.r.: Jean-Pierre Morel - Alain Marquet ( Charquet & Co. - Live at the Joseph Lam Jazz Club (SOS 1039) - drawing: Joe Mathieu)

It was its first concert in our country and in an interview by Rob Cremer about the festival, Wim Jurgens, the festival director, suggested about what the highlight of the festival could be this year: Dat is erg moeilijk te zeggen. ( = That is hard to say). Wat is objectief en kwalitatief een topper? (= What performance will be objective and qualitative the best?). Het kan best dat Charquet & Co een gelijkwaardige topper blijkt te zijn als vorig jaar de Portena. (= It might be that Charquet & Co. will be at the same level as the Portena last year). A few tunes from that concert were released at a Jazz Crooner festival album ( volume 6A). Charquet & Co. at its Haarlem concert ( Ocober 1977) ( photo: Willem Kraayenga)

Nine tracks were recorded, like Bouncing Around, originally recorded in 1923 by New Orleans legend Piron; Down and Out Blues, a 1925 hit and the Black Cat Moan, a tune which reminds me to the 1929 Tiny Parham Victor version. A well known tune from the 1920s is, of course, Vo-Do-Do-Deo-Blues, sung by Jean-Pierre Morel. This tune is also to be found on a selections of tunes made in 1977 in Laren. Enjoy a fragment of this song played by Charquet & Co in December 1977 (not as the film info suggests 1978) during a tv and radio registration for the TROS-network program Sesjun.

Detail of a cover cartoon on a Stomp Off release. f.l.t.r. Emmanuel Hussenot - Jean-Pierre Morel ( Charquet & Co. - Live at the Joseph Lam Jazz Club (SOS 1039) ( drawing: Joe Matheu)
On the 22nd of December, 1977 Charquet et Co was present at the Dutch radio program Sesjun. This series of live (radio) programs started in 1973 as a radio program for the Tros-radio and was produced by Dick De Winter - Cees Schrama was the announcer. I remember these weekly live concerts filled with jazz, not only traditional, but also in the swing style. I visited several live recordings at the Harbour Jazz Club in Rotterdam, with musicians like Wild Bill Davison ( ca. 1975 - can someone give me the correct date?). One of those Sesjun concerts was in December 1977 with Charquet et Co; one of its last concerts in The Netherlands. The concerts were in the Boerenhofstede in Laren. Six tunes are still available, like the West Indies Blues and Moulin á Café, originally titled Coffee Grinder, which was a trio performance. The next film fragment, I love to share, entitled Everybody Stomps, seems to be the opening tune for this Sesjun-program. Cees Scrama announces the band as: Charquet et Company. The tune Everybody Stomp, however, is not in the Jean-Pierre Morel disco.

Jean-Pierre Morel - Alain Marquet en Gerard Gervais ( Haarlemse Jazz Club October 1977 ( phfoto: Willem Kraayenga))
In 1978 the band was dissolved and Jean-Pierre Morel didn't play for 20 year ...... Then he founded Le Petit Jazz Band de Mr. Morel and nowadays he is also to be heard in Les Rois du Fox-Trot; a group that plays the 1920s hot dance music. I hope to inform you later about these contemporary bands.
Thanks to Gerard Bielderman and Bob Erwig for their cooperation.

Hans Koert
keepswinging@live.nl

Charquet & Co is one of those bands, who impressed traditional jazz fans during the 1970s. The music of Jean-Pierre Morel and his men, sounded like his 1920s ancestors without copying it. Late 1970s Jean-Pierre Morel stopped to perform - the recordings from May 1978 at the Internationales Dixieland-Festival Dresden '78 and in Nantes (La France) were the bands last. Fans had to wait for twenty years when Le Petit Jazzband de Mr. Morel was founded. If you don't want to miss any Keep swinging contributions, feel free to register.