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| Francy Boland... |
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Francy Boland was a Jazz bandleader, composer, pianist and arranger with taste and originality. He was born in Belgium in 1929 and died in 2005: Ronnie Scott: "Certainly the Francy Boland / Kenny Clarke band was the best big band I've ever played in. Francy is a brilliant composer and arranger, very musical, very original, very under-rated. Fantastic pianist. No clichés." It was amazing that a man so little known as Francy Boland could put together, with the drummer Kenny Clarke, the finest international all-star band in jazz, certainly the best big band ever put together outside the United States, and the "stars" wanted to stay - there was no temperament - so the band stayed together from 1963 until 1973. Its ranks included Americans, Swedes, Belgians, Germans, Austrians, Yugoslavs and Britons - amongst whom were Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe, Ron Mathewson, Jimmy Deuchar, Derek Humble, Shake Keane, Kenny Wheeler and Kenny Clare. Boland wrote many pieces for the group and did virtually all of the arranging of its music. His tastefulness and originality made the band's sound unique and he contrived an unusually swinging brand of bebop. Born in Namur, Belgium in 1929, Boland took up the piano when he was eight. At the end of the Second World War, he moved to Liège to study at the conservatory there. He joined the Bob Shots in 1949, playing with the best Belgian jazz musicians including the tenorist Bobby Jaspar, the vibraphonist Fats Sadi and the guitarist René Thomas. Boland made six records in Paris with the band. When the band broke up, the musicians stayed in Paris and frequently worked together. In 1956 he met the American trumpeter Chet Baker in Paris and joined his quartet. Baker took Boland with him when he returned to the United States and Boland lived there until 1958, writing for bands led by Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Mary Lou Williams. |
He moved to Germany to work as pianist and arranger for Kurt Edelhagen's orchestra and also for the West Deutsche Radio big band. In May 1961 he made an album in Cologne for Blue Note with the drummer Kenny Clarke. They called their group the Golden Eight. By 1962, this had grown into the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland big band and in 1963 made its first recording for Atlantic. It was the first of many successful albums for major labels which culminated in a collection of recordings on MPS from the band's 1969 season at the Ronnie Scott Club that were generally regarded as its most exciting and musically successful. Keeping the band together with musicians from so many countries was a nightmare and, as was predicted from the start, it was never a financial success. It fell apart after a concert in Nuremburg in March 1972 when it was but a shadow of its former self. In all, the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland band recorded 24 albums. With one exception all recordings were made in Europe, mostly Germany. The exception came in 1969 when the band recorded live at Ronnie Scott's club. It is only recently that a few of these classic albums, including the ronnie Scott's, have been issued on CD. As a result the vinyl is still widely sought after by collectors. The listing below is not a complete listing of records made by the Francy Boland-Kenny Clarke Big Band but includes only the recordings on which the British musicians, listed above, can be heard.... |
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Francy Boland - December 13th, 1961 (Jazz is Universal - Atlantic SD1401 (US)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a twelve piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp) and Derek Humble (as). Seven titles. Francy Boland Big Band - January 25th, 1963 (Francy Boland Big Band - Atlantic SD1404 (US)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a nineteen piece band + percussion that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble (as) and Ronnie Scott (ts). Six titles. January 26th, 1963 (Francy Boland Big Band - Columbia CL9114 (US)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a nineteen piece band + percussion that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble (as) and Ronnie Scott (ts). Six titles. Francy Boland / Kenny Clarke Big Band - February 28th, 1966 (Karl Drewo und de Clarke-Boland Big Band - Phillips 840246PY (Germany)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a thirteen piece band + percussion that included Jimmy Deuchar, Shake Keane (tp) and Derek Humble (as). Ten titles. (Rearward CD - Swing Waltz Swing) June 18th, 1967 (Sax no end - Saba SB15138ST (Germany)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a sixteen piece band + percussion that included Jimmy Deuchar, Shake Keane (tp), Derek Humble (as) and Ronnie Scott (ts). Eight titles. July 31st, 1967 (Out Of The folk bag - Columbia SMC74323 (Germany)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a sixteen piece band + percussion that included Jimmy Deuchar, Shake Keane (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Nine titles. August or October, 1967 (Open door - Muse MR5056 (US)) Recorded in Prague by a sixteen piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble, Tony Coe (as), Ronnie Scott (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Seven titles. November/December, 1967 (17 men and their music - Campi SJG 12004 (Italian)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar, Shake Keane (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Twelve titles. May 13th and 14th, 1968 (Lets face the music (smile) - MPS 15214ST (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Ten titles. June 28th and 29th, 1968 (Faces - Polydor 583739 (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Four (?) titles. July 17th, 1968 (More - Campi SJG 12006 (Italian)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Four (?) titles. August 28th and 29th, 1968 (Latin Kaleidoscope - Polydor 583726 (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band + percussion that included Jimmy Deuchar, Shake Keane (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe (ts) and Kenny Clare (d). Ten titles. December 2nd and 3rd, 1968 (Felini 712 - Polydor 583727 (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Jimmy Deuchar (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl) and Kenny Clare (d). Three titles. February 11th, 1969 (Volcano - Polydor 583054 (German)) Recorded live at "Ronnie Scott's" in London by a seventeen piece band that included Tony Fisher (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), Ron Mathewson (b), and Kenny Clare (d). Six titles. (Rearward CD - Volcano / Rue Chaptal) February 11th, 1969 (Rue Chaptal - Polydor 583055 (German)) Recorded live at "Ronnie Scott's" in London by a seventeen piece band that included Tony Fisher (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), Ron Mathewson (b), and Kenny Clare (d). Seven titles. (Rearward CD - Volcano / Rue Chaptal) May 27th, 1969 (All Blues - MPS 15288ST (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Tony Fisher (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), and Kenny Clare (d). Seven titles. May 28th, 1969 (More smiles - MPS CRM746 (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band that included Tony Fisher (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), and Kenny Clare (d). Nine titles. Autumn, 1969 (? - Supraphon 15988 (Czech)) Recorded in Warsaw (Poland) by a seventeen piece band. Details are uncertain but the band probably included Tony Fisher (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), and Kenny Clare (d). Ten titles. September 5th, 1969 (At Her Majesty's Pleasure - Black Lion 28416 (UK)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a sixteen piece band that included Derek Watkins, Kenny Wheeler (tp), Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), and Kenny Clare (d). Seven titles. (Rearward CD - At Her Majesty's Pleasure) September 30th, 1970 (Our kind of Sabi - Polydor 2310147 (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a sixteen piece band that included Derek Humble (as), Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), and Kenny Clare (d). Seven titles. June 14th, 1971 (Change of Scenes - Verve 2304034 (German)) Recorded in Cologne (Germany) by a seventeen piece band + percussion that included Ronnie Scott (ts), Tony Coe (ts,cl), and Kenny Clare (d). Six titles. Kenny Clarke's involvement with the band had now finished and the final recording date took place in Cologne five years later in January, 1976. This session produced three albums. The standard big band lineup was augmented by a french horn section and included a seven piece reed section. A 2CD set is currently available (April '09) in the UK that contains all three albums. Francy Boland Orchestra - January, 1976 (Blue flame - MPS DC229106 (German)) Francy Boland Orchestra - January, 1976 (Red hot - MPS DC229114 (German)) Francy Boland Orchestra - January, 1976 (White heat - MPS 0068189 (German)) The band include Kenny Wheeler (tp), Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe (reeds), Ron Mathewson (b) and Kenny Clare (d). All LPs contained six titles. (MPS 2 CD - The Orchestra Blue flame / Red hot / White heat) | |