Jean Omer (September 9, 1912,

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

– May 30, 1994,

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 ...

) was a Belgian

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 ...

reedist and bandleader. Omer played violin before switching to clarinet and saxophone, playing with local groups in

Strassburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and Brussels. He worked in France in the band of Billy Smith, then played with the Golden Stars and in

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 ...

's band. Omer participated in a recording session with Gus Deloof in 1931. Following a tour with Fud Candrix's Carolina Stomp Chasers, he founded his own group, which included at times Lauderic Caton and

Jean Robert Jean Robert (June 25, 1908, Brussels - February 28, 1981, Hilversum) was a Belgian jazz saxophonist. Robert started out on piano before switching to tenor saxophone, and played early in his career with Peter Packay, Gus Deloof, Chas Remue, and Al ...

. He and Robert De Kers accompanied

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

in the mid-1930s, and played in a group with

Ernst van 't Hoff Ernst van 't Hoff (13 July 1908 – 17 May 1955) was a Dutch jazz pianist and bandleader. Ernst Van 't Hoff was born on 13 July 1908 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. He played with his own orchestra in the late 1920s, and in 1934 joined Robert De Ker ...

late in the decade. In 1941, he recorded with Rudy Bruder. He settled in Brussels and led a band into the 1960s which played at the club Le Boeuf sur le Toit.

References

* Robert Pernet, "Jean Omer". '' 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 ...

. Belgian jazz bandleaders Belgian jazz clarinetists Belgian jazz saxophonists 1912 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Belgian saxophonists {{Belgium-musician-stub