Marcel Azzola (10 July 1927 – 21 January 2019) was a French
accordionist
Accordions (from 19th-century German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed in a frame). The es ...
.
He performed with
Stan Getz
Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...
and
Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...
, among others. The famous line "" ("Heat up, Marcel") in Brel's song "Vesoul" refers to Azzola, who played the accordion during the recording.
Biography
Marcel Azzola was born in Paris in 1927 to Italian parents: his father, Giuseppe (a builder, 1896–1978) and his mother, Angelina (1901–2002) both came from
Bergamo
Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
. Marcel had two elder and two younger sisters. His parents had moved to France in 1922.
His father had conducted a mandolin orchestra in Italy, and Marcel, like two of his sisters, learned to play the violin. He abandoned the instrument after a year. In 1936, he began playing accordion, after he became familiar with the accordion orchestra of
Pantin
Pantin () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of ...
. Six months later, he started lessons with
Paul Saive, who had been the music teacher of
Jo Privat
Jo Privat (15 April 1919 – 3 April 1996) was a French accordionist and composer. Privat was born at Ménilmontant, Paris. He played for many years at Balajo, a musette club in Paris where he worked with Django Reinhardt, the Ferret Brother ...
. Soon after, Azzola started taking lessons from
Attilio Bonhommi instead. He accompanied Bonhommi during
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 ...
concerts, first as a percussionist, and later as an accordionist.
At 11 years old and having just finished his primary education, Azzola became a professional accordionist. At first he played with the Aveugles de Pantin, but soon he switched to the "Orchestre de l'Amicale Accordéoniste de l'Humanité", a politically leftist orchestra. In 1939 he won first prize in the junior category at the Concours de
Suresnes
Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020.
Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...
. At the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Azzolas moved with Bonhommi to
Draillant in the
French Alps
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...
. Only his father Giuseppe remained in Pantin. After a year the family returned to Paris, and Azzola started taking lessons with
Médard Ferrero. At the same time, he worked as an in-house accordionist in many bars in Paris. In 1943, he left Ferrero and studied under
Jacques Mendel, until Mendel, who was Jewish, fled Paris in an unsuccessful attempt to hide from the Nazis. Azzola also became friends with
Geo Daly, then still an accordionist but later primarily a
vibraphone
The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...
player. Daly introduced him to contemporary American jazz; most of Azzola's education up that point had centered on classical music and French ''
musette'' and ''
chanson
A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
''.
After the liberation in 1944, Azzola continued to work in multiple bars and for organisations including the American headquarters of the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
in France. He taught himself to play the
bandoneon
The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and played ...
. In 1946, he travelled through Germany for six months to play for American soldiers.
In the 1950s, he recorded his first songs for
Barclay Records
Barclay is a French Universal Music Group record label, originally owned by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Barclay previously established Riviera-LM Records in 1951.
Eddie was a bandleader, pianist, producer and nightclub owner. With his wife and voc ...
and started collaborating with some of the greatest names of the French chanson, including
Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...
,
Barbara,
Yves Montand
Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists.
Early life
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...
,
Boris Vian
Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of th ...
,
Edith Piaf
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...
,
Gilbert Bécaud
François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud (), was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-know ...
and
Juliette Gréco
Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...
. He also played with European jazz musicians
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...
and
Toots Thielemans
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...
. He played on some soundtracks and his music can be heard in multiple
Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was ...
movies including ''
Mon Oncle
''Mon Oncle'' (; ) is a 1958 comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. The first of Tati's films to be released in colour, ''Mon Oncle'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a Special Prize at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, and th ...
''.
He taught music at the
Ecole de Musique d'Orsay for more than 20 years.
He was made a Commander (the highest rank) in the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
.
Personal life
Azzola married Jacqueline, who died young. They had one daughter.
Marcel died in January 2019 in
Villennes-sur-Seine
Villennes-sur-Seine (, literally ''Villennes on Seine'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.
Villennes-sur-Seine is located in the Seine Valley west of ...
, where he lived with musician
Lina Bossati.
Discography
* ''Ball Musette'' (Polydor, 1959)
* ''Gipsy Waltz'' (
EmArcy
EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by Bob Shad for the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company.
During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Cli ...
, 1989)
* ''L' Accordeoniste: Homage to Piaf'' (
Polygram, 1995)
* ''Et Ca Tournait: Anthologie du Musette'' (
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
, 2000)
* ''Jazzola'' (
Black & Blue, 2002)
* ''Le Meilleurs'' (Disky, 2002)
* ''3 Temps Pour Bien Faire'' (
Le Chant du Monde
Le Chant du Monde was a French music publishing house. It was created in 1938 by Léon Moussinac and was supported in the beginning by classical composers Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Alber ...
, 2005)
* ''Adios Muchachos'' (
Intense, 2006)
* ''Les Grands Standards, Vol. 1'' (Universal, 2006)
* ''Les Grands Standards, Vol. 2'' (Universal, 2006)
* ''Musique a La Mode'' (Universal, 2007)
* ''Vignola Reunion Trio'' (Nel Jazz, 1999)
* ''Accordeon Seduction'' (
Wagram
Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...
, 2010)
* ''La Cumparsita'' (Sound and Vision, 2012)
* ''Les Archives de l'Accordéon'' (Marianne Melodie/Multiwaves, 2010)
* ''Vive le Musette'' (
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
, 2013)
With
Stan Getz
Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...
* ''
Mort d'un Pourri'' (Melba, 1977)
References
External links
*
Marcel Azzola
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azzola, Marcel
1927 births
2019 deaths
Musicians from Paris
French people of Italian descent
French people of Lombard descent
21st-century French accordionists
Jacques Brel
Black & Blue Records artists
Legion of Honour refusals