|
Barney Wilen (1937-1996) on the French Riviera |
|
|
|
Celebrities on the French Riviera
|
|
Barney Wilen, alias Bernard Jean, tenor saxophonist, is a striking figure of the history of jazz. He started playing after the Second World war in a family orchestra on the Côte d'Azur and, up in Paris, became, before he was 20, a famous name of be-bop. In 1957, he took part in a memorable session together with Miles Davis, (the recording of the music of Louis Malle's film, Elevator for the scaffold), a direct improvisation while watching the images in the esiting room. He played with the most famous, as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. In 1959, he was one of the first guests of the Festival of Newport. He stopped his career in 1962 and reappeared at the end of the decade as a pioneer of free jazz. He withdrew again in 1969 and settled down in Africa where he took interest notably in the primitive musics. He returned discreetly in France and took charge for a time the spreading of jazz in the districts of Nice. He met a big celebrity in 1987 after the publication of a comic strip, the blue Note, inspired by his life and accompanied by a disc. He performed for the last time in the Nice jazz festival in 1994. Discreet, hidden behind dark glasses, having kept a young and wrongly free-and-easy look. he is recognizable with his very personal tone.
|