Charles Remue (15 October 1903 – 5 February 1971) was a Belgian

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

player and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

of early

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 ...

, who, while leading a band called Chas. Remue & His New Stompers, recorded what are widely considered to be the first jazz discs (in 1927) by a Belgian band.

Early life

Born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Remue began studying music early in life and was admitted to the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

in 1915. He finished in 1922, winning three Grand Prizes before doing so. His first foray into playing

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

music was in the same year, with a small band in a Brussels

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

. It was this experience that changed his direction from that as a classical-trained musician.

Career

Remue joined the Red Mill's Jazz in 1924, the Bing Boys later that year and within the next year joined The White Diamonds, which was directed by the English drummer Billy Smith. From this group came an important friendship with

René Compère René Compère (December 28, 1906 in Brussels – April 24, 1969 in Brussels) was a Belgian jazz trumpeter. Compère played with Billy Smith's Brussels-based band in 1923 before founding his own ensemble, the New Royal Dance Orchestra. As a member ...

. This partnership, documented by jazz

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

/writer

Robert Goffin Robert Goffin (21 May 1898 – 27 June 1984) was a Belgian lawyer, author, and poet, credited with writing the first "serious" book on jazz, ''Aux Frontières du Jazz'' in 1932.Epperson. Life Robert Goffin was born in Ohain, Brabant Province ...

in his 1932 book "Aux Fontieres du Jazz",Robert Goffin, Aux Frontières du Jazz 1932 led to the formation of His New Stompers. When music publisher/promoter Felix Faecq brought the group to London to record their first sides, five of the fourteen recordings made were written by David Bee and Peter Packay – two of the first Belgian jazz composers. London had been chosen over Brussels because of its superior recording facilities.

Later career

After His New Stompers, Remue joined the

Savoy Orpheans The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were under ...

and toured Europe. Upon his return to Brussels, he organized and recorded with his first big band. With the advent of the 1930s, he played with the Bernard Ette Band in Germany, then briefly had another big band, and afterwards played with various other groups until 1936, when he joined the Brussels Radio Orchestra, which was led by his old pianist Stan Brenders. Remue continued playing and recording into his later years.

Discography

Chas. Remue & His New Stompers

* Alphone Cox (tp), Henri Leonard (trb), Charles Remue (cl, as, ldr), Gaston Frederic (ts, cl),

Stan Brenders Stan Constant Brenders (May 31, 1904, Brussels - June 1, 1969, Brussels) was a Belgian jazz pianist and bandleader, who founded the first jazz radio orchestra in Belgium and recorded with Django Reinhardt."Stan Brenders". '' The New Grove Diction ...

(p), Remy Glorieux (ssp), Harry Belien (dr) *

Edison Bell Edison Bell was an English company that was the first distributor and an early manufacturer of gramophones and gramophone records. The company survived through several incarnations, becoming a top producer of budget records in England through t ...

Electron Records – EBE 0153, 0154, 0160, 0161, 0162, 0163 & 0164 – 1927.

Other recordings

* Euroswing 1936–1948 Various Artists Sax (Alto), Clarinet – 1999

References

External links

Red Hot Jazz entry
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Remue, Charles 1903 births Belgian jazz musicians Belgian male jazz musicians Belgian clarinetists Belgian musicians Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni Musical groups established in 1927 Belgian jazz clarinetists Jazz alto saxophonists Swing ensembles 1971 deaths 20th-century Belgian male musicians 20th-century Belgian saxophonists