(Jazz in Paris in the 1950s - it was definitely happening)
In the 1950s the Jazz scene in France exploded. It was Mecca for visiting Americans and it was a reservoir of French talent that assimilated Modern Jazz and added their own points of view. The studios in Paris were working overtime with sessions featuring a mix of Americans and French sitting in on each others projects.
A lot of talent came out of those sessions - the Algerian born pianist Martial Solal became an international name. Americans like Lucky Thompson, Gerry Mulligan, Kenny Clarke, Dexter Gordon and countless others found enthusiastic audiences and an instant fan base and some even settled in France, making the Paris scene their home.
Typical of the sessions that came out of Paris at that time was one featuring the drummer Gerard Ponchonet leading a quartet that consisted of Martial Solal on piano and Lucky Thompson on Tenor sax and Jean Pierre Sasson on guitar. This track, Undecided is also augmented by Pierre Michelot on Bass and Michel Hauser on vibes. The session was recorded on March 14, 1956 and released on the French Swing label.
