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Rene Thomas
In the early 1950s, he moved to Paris and became part of the modern jazz scene, playing in the style of Jimmy Raney. Back in Europe in 1962, he toured and recorded with Chet Baker, Bobby Jaspar, Kenny Clarke, Eddy Louiss, Stan Getz, Lucky Thompson, Sonny Criss, Jacques Pelzer, Lou Bennett, Charles "Lolo" Bellonzi, and Ingfried Hoffmann.
Thomas died of a heart attack in Santander, Spain at the age of 47 on 3 January 1975. Source: Wikipedia
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Rene Thomas: Guitaristic
by Nic Jones
Belgian guitarist René Thomas could be the missing link between Django Reinhardt and Grant Green. On this collection of small group sides from the mid-1950s he proves why he was so valued by his peers on both sides of the Atlantic. Although the music is deeply within the West Coast tradition, the fact that he would be recording in the far more heated circumstances of Sonny Rollins' company within a few short years is a testament to how adaptable he ...
read moreRené Thomas: Rare and New
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Born in Liège, Belgium, guitarist René Thomas moved to Paris in the early 1950s and became part of the active jazz scene there. Paris back then was similar to 52nd Street in New York, where musicians could engage in steady gigging with leading musicians from Europe and from America. What most of the European jazz musicians in Paris had in common was a pronounced sense of melody, swing and beauty. Thomas had a way of picking that was instantly engaging. ...
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René Thomas in 7 Clips
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
For some strange reason yesterday, I had a craving for guitarist René Thomas. I love the way he swings unevenly and the hip quality of his picking and sound of his guitar. Born in Belgium in 1927, Thomas moved to Paris and was deeply influenced by guitarist Jimmy Raney. In the 1960s, he often was featured as part of a trio with organist Eddy Louiss and Kenny Clarke. René Thomas died in 1975. Here are seven Thomas video and audio ...
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Videos: René Thomas
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
René Thomas was a Belgian jazz guitarist who played and recorded often with fellow countryman Bobby Jaspar. Thomas moved to Canada in the 1950s and then back to Europe in 1962, where he played and recorded frequently with Jaspar, Kenny Clarke, Eddy Louiss and many others. Thomas has a style that's a cross between Jimmy Raney and Grant Green. Here are a bunch of videos of Thomas in action: Here's René Thomas with saxophonist Bobby Jaspar... Here's Thomas with organist ...
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Rene Thomas and Stan Getz
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
A year ago I posted about Rene Thomas' Meeting, off of a 1963 release entitled Meeting Mister Thomas. Recently JazzWax reader David Langner found this fabulous clip of Meeting in Paris, featuring Thomas on guitar, Eddie Louiss on organ and Kenny Clarke on drums. Dig Clarke's figures... Then I found this one with Stan Getz, Thomas, Luiss and drummer Bernard Lubat in Paris. I don't know who filmed the one above or this one, but the direction, cinematography and ...
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Rene Thomas: Meeting Mr. Thomas
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Like many of his Belgian jazz-musician peers in the early 1950s, guitarist Rene Thomas had a swinging lyricism that was distinctly European and infectious. With the rise of the LP in Europe and post-war rebound of the French economy, Thomas, Bobby Jaspar, Francy Boland, Christian Kellens, Jacques Pelzer and other Belgians migrated south to Paris. Nearly all gravitated to the bohemian St. Germain-des-Pres section, where work at neighborhood jazz clubs was plentiful. By 1954, St. Germain hosted the hippest jazz ...
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