Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1960 in Paris, France |
| Founder | Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland |
| Defunct | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
| Products | Jazz music, albums |
The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a prominent jazz big band co-directed by American drummer Kenny Clarke alongside Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. Recognized as one of the foremost jazz big bands established outside the United States, it combined leading European instrumentalists with American expatriates and touring musicians.
History
In 1960, American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist Francy Boland launched the ensemble in Paris. Starting as a sextet, the group soon grew into an octet before ultimately transforming into a full big band that united European artists with American jazz expatriates. Their inaugural record, Jazz Is Universal, appeared in 1962.
Throughout its existence, the band performed alongside distinguished jazz soloists such as Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Derek Watkins, and Phil Woods.
Personnel
- Benny Bailey
- Francy Boland
- Kenny Clare
- Kenny Clarke
- Tony Coe
- Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
- Jimmy Deuchar
- Carl Drevo
- Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay
- Art Farmer
- Tony Fisher
- Herb Geller
- Dusko Goykovich
- Johnny Griffin
- Tootie Heath
- Derek Humble
- Tony Inzalaco
- Shake Keane
- Rick Keefer
- Erik van Lier
- Albert Mangelsdorff
- Sabu Martinez
- Ron Mathewson
- Milo Pavlovic
- Nat Peck
- Åke Persson
- Ack van Rooyen
- Fats Sadi
- Manfred Schoof
- Ronnie Scott
- Sahib Shihab
- Idrees Sulieman
- Stan Sulzmann
- John Surman
- Jean Warland
- Derek Watkins
- Kenny Wheeler
- Jimmy Woode
Discography
- The Golden 8 (Blue Note, 1961)
- Jazz Is Universal (Atlantic, 1962)
- Handle with Care (Atlantic, 1963)
- Now Hear Our Meanin' (Columbia, 1965)
- Swing, Waltz, Swing (Philips, 1966)
- Out of the Folk Bag (Columbia, 1967)
- Music for the Small Hours (Columbia, 1967)
- Sax No End (SABA, 1967)
- 17 Men and Their Music (Campi, 1967)
- Jazz Convention Volume 1 (KPM Music, 1968)
- Jazz Convention Volume II (KPM Music, 1968)
- Jazz Convention Volume III (KPM Music, 1968)
- My Kind Of World featuring Gitte (Electrola, 1969)
- Live at Ronnie’s Album 1: Volcano (Rearward/Schema, 1969)
- Live at Ronnie’s Album 2: Rue Chaptal (Rearward/Schema, 1969)
- All Blues (MPS, 1969)
- All Smiles (MPS, 1969)
- More Smiles (MPS, 1969)
- Latin Kaleidoscope (MPS, 1969)
- More (Campi, 1969)
- Faces (MPS, 1969)
- Fellini 712 (MPS, 1969)
- At Her Majesty’s Pleasure (Black Lion, 1969)
- Off Limits (Polydor, 1971)
- Change of Scenes with Stan Getz (Verve, 1971)
- The Second Greatest Jazz Big Band in the World (Black Lion, 1971)
- November Girl featuring vocalist Carmen McRae (Black Lion, 1975)
- Clarke Boland Big Band en Concert avec Europe 1 (Tréma, 1992)
Open Door Francy Boland/Kenny Clarke Big Band. Recorded in 1967. Jazz 2000 Muse Happy Bird. Division of Blanchris Inc B/90076
Video
- Live in Prague 1967 (DVD) (mpro Jazz, released 2008)
References
Sources
- Discography of the Clarke-Boland Big Band on allmusic.com
- Clarke-Boland Big Band discographies compiled by Douglas Payne and David H. Taylor
- Kenny Clarke's discography available at allmusic.com
- Fats Sadi discography found at antiek.telenet.be
- Prestige and SABA/MPS discographies accessible via plosin.com and discog.piezoelektric.org