It is impossible to fully appreciate the delight of the late Quincy Jones without doing a deep dive into his years in Paris. From 1957 to 1960, Jones studied composition and theory there with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen, performed at the Paris Olympia, toured Europe and became music director at Barclay Records.
The French label founded by Eddie Barclay not only released albums on its Barclay label but also had a licensing agreement with Mercury to release Barclay product in the U.S. and Mercury LPs in France. [Photo above of Quincy Jones at the piano in Paris rehearsing with Les Doubles Six]
Jones has said that his years in Paris were among his best. In addition to the learning curve as a composer-arranger and having control of a French studio orchestra, he was liberated from the racism in the U.S, and bias in the recording industry and he could be his glamorous, sensitive, intellectual self. In turn, Parisians adored and admired Jones, giving him a new-found confidence.
Jones never forgot the education and embrace he experienced there and often went back over the years to conduct concerts and visit old friends. I know this feeling because my artist parents moved to Paris in 1952 and remained until 1956, when my mother wanted to return to New York so I'd be born in the U.S. They never forgot the kindness, passion and art appreciation of the Parisians while they lived there, and we stayed in the city for a month over several summers in the late 1960s, staying with their early 1950s friends.
So today, I wanted to share as many recordings as possible that Jones produced or was involved in as a composer or arranger while living in Paris in the late 1950s:
June Richmond—Here's I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues sung by June Richmond and arranged and conducted by Jones from the 1957 album June Richmond: Chante en Anglais for Barclay...
Mr. B in Paris—To listen for free to singer Billy Eckstine's Mr. B in Paris (Felsted), produced by Jones during the album's recording in 1957-1958, visit the Internet Archive by going here.
Vaughan and Violins—To listen for free to singer Sarah Vaughan's Vaughan and Violins (Mercury), arranged and conducted in Paris in 1958 by Jones, go here...
Dixie Downbeat—In 1958, Jones arranged and conducted a Barclay album for guitarist Jean-Pierre Sasson called Dixie Downbeat: Jean Pierre Sasson and His Muskrats. Here's The Old Piano Roll Blues...
Et Voila!—To listen to Et Voila! (Barclay) arranged by Jones and marketed in the U.S. as Americans in Paris (1959), go here...
Confetti—To listen to Confetti (Barclay/1960), arranged by Jones (and marketed in the U.S. as Twilight Time), go here...
Les Double Six—Here's Les Double Six Meet Quincy Jones, from 1960...
Here's Henri Salvador singing Jones's composition The Midnight Sun Will Never Set (Soleil De Minuit ), from Salvador's 7" EP Toi Mon Bel Amour (1960)...
Bonus: Here's a colorized version of Quincy Jones and his orchestra in Belgium in 1961...
