Present-day fans of Harlem Stride who are familiar with European pianists such as Rossano Sportiello, Louis Mazetier and Paolo Alderighi may want to make the effort to find recordings by another stride master from across the Atlantic: Henri Chaix. Born in Geneva in 1925, Chaix (pronounced “sheks”) was actually a French citizen.
He was conservatory-trained, and was performing with traditional jazz bands in his teens. As a young man he worked with some well-known American musicians who were resident in Europe: Sidney Bechet, Frank “Big Boy” Goudie and Wallace Bishop. Chaix also made his first solo piano records, for the Philips label.
As the fifties progressed, Chaix worked with even more American musicians like Bill Coleman and Albert Nicholas and began to work with world-class European musicians such as the brilliant tenor saxophonist Michel Pilet, guitarist/bassist Alan Du Bois and trumpeter Jo Gagliardi – three jazzmen who would ultimately be part of the renowned Henri Chaix Orchestra. In addition, Chaix became associated with a Swiss jazz group called The Tremble Kids. This band followed in the footsteps of Alex Welsh and also the Dutch Swing College, claiming Eddie Condon’s hot swing – rather than the music of the New Orleans Revival – as their primary influence.
Photo Credit: Jazz Index www.j
