Benny Carter and the QHCF in Barcelona (29jan36, 31jan36 & 2feb36) - new info

The book Django Reinhardt. Un Gitano En París (Editorial Milenio, 2012) by Juan P. Jiménez and Emilie Durand provides additional information on the concerts by Benny Carter and the QHCF in January 1936 in Barcelona, and authoritatively clarifies some obscure points. Apart from Charles Delaunay's biography of Django Reinhardt (published by Ashley Marks Publishing Company, 1988) and contemporary periodicals (La Vanguardia, La Publicidad, L'Instant, Jazz Magazine Hot Club de Barcelona), their source is Hot Club of Barcelona senior member Alfredo Papo. He double-checked the facts and contributed with first-hand documents, such as the original contract intermediated by Audiffred & Maronani agency and signed on January 14 by Pierre Nourry, secretary of the Hot Club of France and QHCF agent, and Mr. Suris, treasurer of the Hot Club of Barcelona.

Now it is confirmed that there were three concerts, all of them in Barcelona: the first two were arranged by the Hot Club of Barcelona (January 29 at the Cinema Coliseum and January 31 at the Palau de la Música Catalana) whereas the additional extra concert at the Olympia theater on February 2 was promoted by an outsider of dubious reputation -and that's the reason why Grappelli refused to play and Jaume Vila had to sit in-.

As we have previously documented (see posts from 16Apr09, 18Apr09 and 16Feb10), except for the ultraconservative and nearly racist comments from La Veu de Catalunya, the first two concerts were a resounding success, even though pianist Garnet Clark, billed as guest star -and misspelled on advertisements as "Garney Clark"-, didn't show up in Barcelona. 

On the other hand, the Olympia theater concert was a box-office flop and, according to Jiménez & Durand, it was at this concert where the promoter ran away with the money, and not at the first two (Coliseum and Palau), as stated in previous biographies of Django Reinhardt, including Dregni's. The contract between Nourry of the Hot Club of France and Suris of the Hot Club of Barcelona stipulated that the QHCF would receive 3,000 francs before leaving Paris and the remaining 4,000 after the gigs. According to Papo, the musicians were paid and hence the paragraph "but now the balance of 4,000 francs plus their travel expenses were gone. Django, Carter, and the bandmates pooled the money in their pockets to afford train tickets home, with one lone Catalonian sausage to slice up between them to quell their stomachs on the long journey to Paris", which has been perpetuated through subsequent "copy-and-paste" biographies, is half legend, half whopper.

Thank God the plain truth has been revealed!

Benny Carter and the QHCF in Barcelona (29jan36, 31jan36 & 2feb36)

En relación con el relato de la visita de Benny Carter y el Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia a Barcelona a primeros de 1936, escribíamos en este blog hace ya diez meses que "José María García Martínez, en su libro Del Fox-Trot Al Jazz Flamenco. El Jazz En España 1919-1996 (Alianza Editorial, 1996), hace referencia a un recital extra que se acordó celebrar en el Teatro Olimpia, en el que Stéphane Grappelli se negó a intervenir, siendo sustituido por Jaume Vila", puntualizando que no habíamos sido capaces de encontrar ninguna evidencia documental de este tercer concierto.

Gracias a uno de nuestros lectores (Xavier García-Tornel), hemos podido confirmar la existencia de dicho concierto en el Teatro Olympia el 2 de enero de 1936, mediante el siguiente anuncio, publicado en La Vanguardia ese mismo día:

Además, añadimos ahora una reseña del concierto del 31 de enero en el Palau de la Música Catalana, publicado en La Vanguardia el sábado 1 de febrero:

Benny Carter and the QHCF in Barcelona (Jan. 29&31, 1936) [ENG]

After two minor festivals in the summer and the autumn of 1935, the Hot Club of Barcelona went to town signing Benny Carter and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France including Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli for the III Festival de Jazz (January 1936).

Quintet of the Hot Club of France bandmembers were playing in a variety of ensembles and regrouped for the Spanish tour; telegrams were sent to Stéphane in Monte Carlo, and he flew to Barcelona to join the ensemble.

Benny Carter had arrived in Paris in 1935 to play with the Willie Lewis orchestra and would stay in Europe until 1938, as an arranger for the BBC orchestra (at Leonard Feather’s suggestion) and travelling all over Europe, playing and recording with the top-notch British, French and Scandinavian jazz musicians, as well as with other American expatriates such as Coleman Hawkins.

The two Barcelona concerts took place on January 29 and 31, 1936, at the Cine Coliseum and the Palau de la Música Catalana, respectively. On both concerts, Benny Carter played accompanied by the Hot Club of Barcelona Orchestra, conducted by pianist Antonio Matas and made up of outstanding jazzmen from the best orchestras in town, such as Sebastián Albalat (tenor sax), Magín Munill (trumpet) and José Bellés (drums) from the Napoleon’s Band, Francisco Gabarró (trombone) from the Miuras de Sobré, José Domínguez (alto sax) and Fernando Carriedo (trombone) from the Matas Band, José Ribalta (trumpet) and Steve Ericsson (guitar) from the Demon’s Jazz, Antonio Russell (bass) from the Casanovas Orchestra and José Masó (trumpet) from the 16 Artistas Unidos.

Both concerts were a great success and reviews on newspapers were unstinting in their praise, except for JLL from La Veu De Catalunya, who called Benny Carter “an authentic black man playing the most ignoble of the musical instruments” and described the Quintet of the Hot Club of France as “five white men mimicking black men’s primitivism”. [1]. In return, Benny Carter praised the Spanish musicians’ musicality and their outstanding ability to improvise, stating that “I’m amazed by your jazz professionals” [2]. This dedication was published on the cover of Jazz Magazine (official magazine of the Hot Club of Barcelona), #5, February 1936:

“In as few words as possible I should like to thank the members of the Hot Club and also the general public of Barcelona for the enthusiasm shown at my concert. I may truly say that I have enjoyed playing for you much more than you enjoyed listening. Nevertheless, thanks for listening.

Musically Yours,
Benny Carter”

Grappelli recalls that “we had a magnificent reception marked by all the warmth and enthusiasm the Spaniards are capable of. After each concert, hats rained down onto the stage as though it were a bullfight. It was marvellous!”

I’ve found two mentions of additional concerts, but my research to find any document brought no results:

-José María García Martínez, in his book Del Fox-Trot Al Jazz Flamenco. El Jazz En España 1919-1996 (Alianza Editorial, 1996), mentions an extra concert at the Teatro Olimpia, with Jaume Vila sitting in for Stéphane Grappelli, who refused to play.

-Michel Dregni, in Django: The Life And Music Of A Gipsy Legend (Oxford University Press, 2004), states that “the tour began at the Cinema Coliseum on January 29 and 30 and continued at Musica Catalana (sic) on January 31 and February 1 (…). In the end, the Spanish tour was a resounding success (…) and the Quintette played double the concerts scheduled”. In my opinion, according to advertisements and reviews published in La Vanguardia (see images), this possibility is nearly ruled out.

Coda: Dregni also tells this story, not mentioned neither in Chema García’s book nor in Jazz En Barcelona 1920-1965 by Jordi Pujol Baulenas (Almendra Music, 2005) and for which I have found no evidence in the archives of the newspapers from this period. According to Dregni, “when the applause ended, a surprise awaited the musicians. The concert organizer had departed with the proceeds. The band was paid an advance of 3.000 francs before leaving Paris, but now the balance of 4.000 francs plus their travel expenses were gone. Django, Carter, and the bandmates pooled the money in their pockets to afford train tickets home, with one lone Catalonian sausage to slice up between them to quell their stomachs on the long journey to Paris”. You can smell a faint whiff of literature –call it fable or legend- in this passage.

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[1] Quoted by N. Suris in “Así se hace la crítica”, Jazz Magazine, March 1936
[2] N. Suris: “Benny Carter nos hace confidencias”, Jazz Magazine, February 1936

Benny Carter and the QHCF in Barcelona (Jan. 29&31, 1936) [ESP]

This is the chronicle of the concerts that Benny Carter, on one hand, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, on the other, gave in Barcelona in early 1936. I'll start with the Spanish version, but my foreign readers can be sure they'll have their English version.

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Tras dos minifestivales de menor calado en el verano y el otoño de 1935, el Hot Club de Barcelona tiró la casa por la ventana para su III Festival de Jazz (enero de 1936), contratando a Benny Carter y al Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia que incluía a Django Reinhardt y Stéphane Grappelli.

Los miembros del Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia estaban por aquellas fechas dispersos en varios grupos distintos y se reagruparon para las actuaciones de Barcelona. En concreto, Stéphane Grappelli se encontraba en Monte Carlo y hubo que enviarle un telegrama para que cogiera un avión y se presentara en Barcelona.

Benny Carter había llegado a París en 1935 para tocar con la orquesta de Willie Lewis y permanecería en Europa hasta 1938, empleado como arreglista de la orquesta de la BBC (por sugerencia de Leonard Feather) y viajando por toda Europa, tocando y grabando con los mejores músicos de jazz británicos, franceses y escandinavos, así como con otros expatriados norteamericanos como Coleman Hawkins.

Los conciertos barceloneses tuvieron lugar los días 29 y 31 de enero de 1936 en el Cine Coliseum y en el Palau de la Música Catalana, respectivamente. En ambos, Benny Carter tocó acompañado por la Orquesta del Hot Club de Barcelona, dirigida por su pianista Antonio Matas e integrada por destacados jazzmen pertenecientes a algunas de las mejores orquestas de la ciudad, como Sebastián Albalat (saxo tenor), Magín Munill (trompeta) y José Bellés (batería) de la Napoleon’s Band, Francisco Gabarró (trombón) de los Miuras de Sobré, José Domínguez (saxo alto) y Fernando Carriedo (trombón) de la Matas Band, José Ribalta (trompeta) y Steve Ericsson (guitarra) de la Demon’s Jazz, Antonio Russell (contrabajo) de la Casanovas Orchestra y José Masó (trompeta) de Los 16 Artistas Unidos.

Los dos conciertos tuvieron un gran éxito de público y todas las actuaciones fueron reseñadas con elogio por los periódicos barceloneses, a excepción de JLL en La Veu De Catalunya, quien tildó a Benny Carter de “negro auténtico que toca el más innoble de los instrumentos musicales” y describió al Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia como “cinco blancos que imitan el primitivismo de los negros” [1]. Recíprocamente, Benny Carter elogió la musicalidad y la notable capacidad de improvisar de los músicos españoles, declarando que “vuestros profesionales del jazz me han dejado pasmado” [2]. Esta es la dedicatoria firmada por el músico americano que apareció en la portada de Jazz Magazine (revista oficial del Hot Club de Barcelona), número 5, febrero 1936, Año II:

“In as few words as possible I should like to thank the members of the Hot Club and also the general public of Barcelona for the enthusiasm shown at my concert. I may truly say that I have enjoyed playing for you much more than you enjoyed listening. Nevertheless, thanks for listening.

Musically Yours,
Benny Carter”

Por su parte, Grappelli recuerda que “tuvimos una magnífica recepción marcada por la cordialidad y el entusiasmo de los españoles. Después de cada concierto, el escenario quedó sembrado de sombreros, como si fuera una corrida de toros. ¡Fue maravilloso!”

Existen dos menciones a conciertos adicionales de los que no he podido obtener ninguna evidencia documental:

-José María García Martínez, en su libro Del Fox-Trot Al Jazz Flamenco. El Jazz En España 1919-1996 (Alianza Editorial, 1996), hace referencia a un recital extra que se acordó celebrar en el Teatro Olimpia, en el que Stéphane Grappelli se negó a intervenir, siendo sustituido por Jaume Vila.

-Michel Dregni, en Django: The Life And Music Of A Gipsy Legend (Oxford University Press, 2004), señala que “la gira barcelonesa del Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia comenzó en el Cinema Coliseum los días 29 y 30 de enero y continuó en la Música Catalana (sic) los días 31 de enero y 1 de febrero”, con el doble de actuaciones de las previstas. En mi opinión, y de acuerdo con los anuncios y las reseñas de esta gira publicados en La Vanguardia (ver imágenes), esta posibilidad queda prácticamente descartada.

Para concluir, Dregni también narra una anécdota que no se menciona ni en el libro de Chema García ni en Jazz En Barcelona 1920-1965 de Jordi Pujol Baulenas (Almendra Music, 2005), y para la que tampoco he encontrado ninguna evidencia en los archivos de los periódicos de la época. Según Dregni, “el organizador del concierto desapareció con las ganancias. El Quinteto del Hot Club de Francia había recibido 3.000 francos por anticipado antes de salir de París, pero nunca cobró los restantes 4.000 francos ni los gastos del viaje. Los músicos tuvieron que rascarse los bolsillos para pagar los billetes de vuelta en el tren, y tuvieron que compartir una butifarra catalana para acallar sus estómagos en el largo viaje a París”. Un tufillo literario, ya sea fábula o leyenda, asoma en este pasaje.

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[1] Citado por N. Suris en “Así se hace la crítica”, Jazz Magazine, marzo 1936
[2] N. Suris: “Benny Carter nos hace confidencias”, Jazz Magazine, febrero 1936