Pierre Ferret

Pierre Joseph " Baro " Ferret (* 1908 in Rouen, † 1978) was a French gypsy jazz and musette guitarist and composer.

Life and work

A native of Rouen Baro Ferret was the eldest of the three brothers Ferret, all of which were known as the guitarist in France and were trained by their uncle. He came early with his uncle in local dance halls and went in 1931 to Paris. There he soon became known as a banjo player and guitarist with the Bal Musette, first with the Italian accordionist Vétese Guérino, with whom he recorded also. Baro Ferret playing the Valse Musette Swing articulation and improvised here primarily with the stylistic device of chord decomposition ( Arpeggio). He took as part of Django Reinhardt stylistics anticipated, with whom he was friends. Between 1935 and 1939 Ferret was a member of the Quintette du Hot Club de France and 1940 was also involved in his project Django's Music. He can be heard on about 80 recordings Reinhardt, as in " St. Louis Blues, "" I Found a New Baby " (1935 ), " Swing Guitars " (1936 ) " My Melancholy Baby " (1939) and most recently in March 1940, " Daphne "," Tears " and" Limehouse Blues. "

Ferret was made in 1938 on some pieces under his own name. In France, however, he was known primarily as a composer and performer of musette waltzes and companion of accordionists. His early Bal - musette compositions counts " Swing Valse ," which he wrote with Gus Viseur. Ferret brought here as in other compositions before Shorty Rogers, Horace Silver or Dave Brubeck did so, rhythmic structures in 3/4- and 6/8-Metrum into jazz. In 1946 he played with the accordionist Jo private and his brother Sarane Ferret Panique and the sophisticated composition La Folle, who his nephews Boulou and Elios Ferré reinterpreted. 1948 arose modern, influenced by bebop songs like " L' inattendu " and " Le départ de Zorro ", which is also in the repertoire of Marcel Azzola. In the 1950s he joined only occasionally on the public. Under his own name he took the mid-1960s on an album, Swing Valses et d' Here Au'jourd'ui, which was produced by Charles Delaunay and on which his brother Matelo is heard. In the 1960s he ran a bar, La Lanterne. In 1971 he was involved in the recording of Gus Viseurs album Swing Accordion.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Swing Valse d' Here et Au'jourd'ui ( Hot Club Records, Compilation, ed 1996)
• Les Frères Ferret Les Gitanes de Paris 1938-1956 ( Frémeaux et Associés )