Bernard "Benny" Vasseur (March 7, 1926,

Neuville-Saint-Rémy Neuville-Saint-Rémy () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. ...

– February 6, 2015,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trombonist. Vasseur studied music at the Cambrai conservatory and the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

, playing trombone and piano in addition to singing. He played informally with the Hot Club de Versailles shortly after the end of World War II, then began working with

Claude Bolling Claude Bolling (10 April 1930 – 29 December 2020) was a French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor. Biography He was born in Cannes, France, and studied at the Nice Conservatory, and then in Paris. A child prodigy, by the ...

and

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart dro ...

. In 1948 he began playing at the

Club Saint-Germain The Club Saint-Germain was a jazz club located at 13 rue Saint-Benoît in the 6e arrondissement de Paris. History The club was opened in 1947 by Freddie Chauvelot, Christian Casadesus, Paul Lavigne, Marc Doelnitz, and Boris Vian. Throughout the ...

in Paris and other jazz venues in the city, playing as a sideman for

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

, Bill Coleman,

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

Big Chief Russell Moore "Big Chief" Russell Moore (August 13, 1912 – December 15, 1983) was an American jazz trombonist. Moore, a Pima tribe member, grew up on a Native American reservation before moving to Chicago and then Los Angeles where he learned to play vari ...

Albert Nicholas Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973) was an American jazz clarinet player, who was mostly based in Europe after 1953. Career Nicholas's primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown ...

Hot Lips Page Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page (January 27, 1908 – November 5, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist. Page was a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Artie Sh ...

, and

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

. In the 1950s he worked in the bands of

Aimé Barelli Aimé Barelli (1 March 1917 Lantosque, France – 13 July 1995 Monaco) was a French jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and band leader. At the beginning of the 1940s Barelli moved to Paris, where he worked with Fred Adison, Alix Combelle, André Ekyan, Ma ...

, Michel Attenoux, and

Claude Luter Claude Luter (23 July 1923 – 6 October 2006) was a jazz clarinetist who doubled on soprano saxophone. Luter was born and died in Paris. He began on trumpet, but switched to clarinet. He might be best known for being an accompanist to Sidne ...

, also working with Bechet again toward the end of the decade. In 1957 he formed a duo with fellow trombonist

André Paquinet André Paquinet (October 1, 1926, Arcueil - July 5, 2014) was a French jazz trombonist. Paquinet's father was Guy Paquinet, and early in his life André played in his father's ensemble. He then worked with Tony Proteau, Jacques Hélian, Claude Boll ...

, and worked with

Annie Cordy Léonie Juliana, Baroness Cooreman (16 June 1928 – 4 September 2020), also known by her stage name Annie Cordy, was a Belgian actress and singer. She appeared in more than 50 films from 1954 and staged many memorable appearances at Bruno Coq ...

in 1960. In the 1960s he did work as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

in studio orchestras, playing on records by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

, and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, and in 1965 he played in

François Guin François Guin (born May 18, 1938, in Contres, Loir-et-Cher, Contres) is a French jazz musician and bandleader. Guin is a musical polymath, having learned violin, piano, voice, trombone, trumpet, and flute. As a trumpeter, he worked with Marc Lafe ...

's group alongside

François Biensan François Biensan (born September 28, 1945, Bordeaux) is a French trumpeter and harmonica player, working primarily in jazz and blues styles. Biensan also plays drums and organ in addition to his main instruments. He is best known as a trumpeter, ...

. Late in the 1960s he returned to playing with Claude Bolling, an association which would last several decades.

Sources

*André Clergeat, "Benny Vasseur". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasseur, Benny French jazz trombonists 1926 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Nord (French department)