Скачать или смотреть Gregor & His Gregorians - Gregorology (Bix & Tram influence!!)

French cornetist Philippe Brun, very much under the influence of Bix Beiderbecke, and Swiss saxophonist Edmond Cohanier, similarly influenced by Frank Trumbauer (Tram), join pianist Lucian Moraweck to play his composition "Gregorology". Apparently written on the day of the recording, the number was named after the leader of the band all three were members of at the time, Gregor (real name: Krikor Kélékian, 1898 - 1971) . It was also so named in deference to the small group OKeh recordings by Bix and Tram, one of which was "Trumbology".


GREGOR ET SES GREGORIANS
Philip Brun - cornet / Edmond Cohanier - alto sax / Lucien Moraweck - piano.
Recorded in Le Moulin de la Galette, Paris, April 1929

88865H Gregorology Edison Bell Radio FS 866


This and several other sides that the band waxed in 1929 were recorded by the British company Edison Bell, for release on their 8 inch 'Radio' records. These recordings were not marketed in Britain, and unfortunately did not sell well on the Continental markets they were destined for. Therefore, copies of these Gregor recordings rarely turn up.

The poor sales may have also reflected problems with the sound quality. As Warren K. Plath stated in the liner notes of his 1978 LP "With A Bow To Bix": "Unfortunately, these records were made on portable equipment at Le Moulin de la Galette, a popular dance hall in Paris, and the combination of cold wax, a poor balance and cramping the grooves to fit on these 8 inch discs leads to noticeable distortion in the original records." Actually, "Gregorology" isn't too bad in this respect and the only noticeable distortion is in Brun's solo, which I have managed to reduce, though not entirely eliminate.

There was a story going round some years ago that some of Gregor's musicians took the English recording engineer out for lunch before the recording session, during which the wine was flowing freely. Jazz musicians were, by and large, used to such merriment, but apparently the recording engineer wasn't and as a result became rather 'merry' himself and consequently didn't pay attention to the settings on the equipment. I think this story may very well be apocryphal, but nonetheless I can imagine that a certain amount of alcohol may have been consumed that cold April day!

Philippe Brun (1908-1994) joined Jack Hylton's Orchestra at the end of 1929, replacing Jack Jackson. He remained with Hylton until 1936, when he returned to Paris, taking part in many Swing label sessions. During WWII he reunited with Cohanier in Switzerland and made several further recordings with him. Brun remained active on the French jazz scene until retiring in the 1970s. Edmond Cohanier (1905-??) returned to his home country of Switzerland in 1931 and formed his own group, which worked in both Switzerland and France. In 1933, he became one of the founding members of the "Jazz du Poste Parisien", an association of French jazz musicians. Cohanier rejoined Gregor again in 1935, touring extensively with the band before returning for good to Switzerland in 1939. He subsequently became a music teacher at the Zurich Conservatory, and was still playing sax in the 1990s! Pianist Lucien Moraweck (born France 1901, died Los Angeles 1973) played alongside Edmond Cohanier in Georges Marion's Swiss band in 1925 before joining Lud Gluskin's outfit and then Gregor's Gregorians. He later became conductor of the Jazz du Poste Parisien. In 1934, Cohanier emigrated to the USA, working as an arranger and composer in Hollywood, continuing in this capacity until his retirement in the mid 1960s.

Many thanks to Dave Hignett for supplying the 1929 photo of Gregor & His Gregorians. In this photo, Philippe Brun is the only musician who hasn't signed his trousers! Four men behind Brun is Stephane Grappelli.