Sacha Distel - "La La Song" 7" 45rpm EP, French, 1964 (RCA)

The Last of the International Playboys, if that were a social club, then surely French singer/guitarist Sacha Distel would have been a member.   I discovered him through my obsession with the world that surrounded Boris Vian, the author I published with my press TamTam Books.  Distel was a guy who was in the right place, Paris, and to be specific, at the Saint-Germain des Prés nightclubs and had an obsession with be-bop jazz.   Studied under and pal with the great Henri Salvador, Distel played guitar with artists like The Modern Jazz Quartet, Dizzy Gillespie, as well as with top French jazz musicians.  In the late 1950s, he became internationally famous for being Brigitte Bardot's lover, which in turn introduced himself into a favourite vocalist.

When I think of Sacha Distel, it is in two separate compartments.  One as a massive French pop singer star, and the other as a great jazz guitarist.  Rarely did the two forms of music met on his recordings.  For the casual fan, he is probably thought of as an entertainer who sings.   It's much harder to locate his work on vinyl/CD of his Jazz-leaning guitar work.  I went to Amoeba yesterday and found this French issued 7" EP, of Sacha singing  "La La Song," which is not fantastic, but nevertheless a good French pop song.  The other three songs on the EP are based on Amerian songs with French lyrics written by Maurice Tézé, who worked a lot as a lyricist with Distel.   The best song on this EP is J'aimerais Être Là (I Wanna Be Around) which is based on a Johnny Mercer tune.   The real stars of these recordings are the arrangers.  Three songs are arranged by the Boris Vian/Serge Gainsbourg associate Alain Gorgaguer (as well as doing the futuristic soundtrack to the animated "La Planète Sauvage) and Michel Colombier, another artist who worked with Gainsbourg.  For those in the know, when you see those names attached to a recording, it is usually a good sign that they're good. 

Manfred Mann - "Instrumental Assassination" (Fontana) vinyl 7", 45 rpm, EP 1966

This 45 rpm EP can be seen either as a goof, or an exploration from Manfred Mann (the band) into the shadowy world of jazz, pop and arrangement.   Recorded in 1966, Manfred Mann was between lead singers when they recorded this fantastic music.   Although it is an instrumental release, there are 'vocals' on it - not clear whose voice it is, but it could be Mann (organ and piano) or Mike Hugg (drums and vibraphone).   Mann/Hugg stand out, but also the double bass playing by Dave Richmond is incredible throughout and is very much the instrument that really hooks the listener to the grooves. Beatle friend Klaus Voormann contributed recorder as well.

Manfred Mann, the band, does mostly covers or use material from other songwriters.  They have written songs, but I think their genius is in the arrangements.  Their original singer Paul Jones is one of the great British vocalists from that era, so it must have been an odd moment for them to be without a vocalist and an iconic on top of that.  Here without Jones, they cover the great RnB song "Sonny," as well as two Troggs tunes.   Their arrangement of "Sonny" I think is better than the original recording.  That I know is something that I can be shot on the spot for, but the way they play with the melody and the instrumentation is a perfect mood cocktail.  There are touches of The Modern Jazz Quartet, especially on the Mod side of the street.  I have been looking for this EP for awhile now, and I found it at HMV in Tokyo.  A great find and an amazing EP.  

BARNEY WILEN: Un témoin dens la ville & Jazz sur seine (Doxy) 45 rpm, 12" Vinyl Record

Another in the great series for the label Doxy, of Jazz music, composed for French films.  Here we have a very young French sax player Barney Wilen, who became known internationally after working with Miles Davis, on his score for Ascenseur pour l'échafaud.  Un témoin dens la ville is a classic noir-like score to its film, which one can smell the alcohol from the streets of the right bank.   Well, it does have one of the great French stars, Lino Ventura (born in Italy I think, but still...) in a film I have never seen.  I must make note... but if it's anything like its soundtrack, it's a must.  Sadly, I don't know the other musicians on this recording, but this 1958 piece of wonder really reflects on what is on the above album cover.  The mood is tense, with moments of intense beauty.

Side two is Jazz sure seine, which is Wilen playing with various members of the Modern Jazz Quartet, such as vibe player Milt Jackson on piano and the great Kenny Clarke on drums. I'm not sure if this was originally made for a film track, but it clearly brings pictures in one's head.  The music is touched with a lightness that's superb.   This is a fantastic album that will melt your brain, and bring warmth to your soul.