Ray Ventura
French bandleader Ray Ventura has rightly been compared with England's Jack Hylton; during the 1920s and '30s both men succeeded in popularizing jazz and U.S. dance music in their respective countries by purveying accessible foxtrots sprinkled with real jazz solos and peppered with pop and novelty vocals. The younger Ventura was born in Paris on April 16, 1908. Beginning in 1924 he played piano in a group called the Collegiate Five; in 1928 this band began recording for Columbia as the Collegians, and the following year they began operating as Ray Ventura's Collegians, steadily cutting records for a succession of labels as their popularity crested throughout the 1930s. The orchestra's star soloists were trumpeter Philippe Brun, trombonist Guy Paquinet, and saxophonist/clarinetist Alix Combelle. Other key players were Belgian trumpeter Gus Deloof, U.S. multi-instrumentalist Spencer Clark and Django Reinhardt's brilliant string bassist Louis Vola. After Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940, Ventura (who was endangered because of his Jewish ancestry) dissolved his orchestra and relocated to Lyon, where he sent out a call for his Collegians to reassemble for a tour of Southern France. The new band, now fortified with trumpeter Pierre Allier, trombonist Eugene d'Hellemes and saxophonist Andre Ekyan, gave a farewell performance in Cahors then squeezed across the Spanish border and into Madrid. Arrangements were made for the entire orchestra to head for Cadiz and board an ocean liner bound for Rio de Janeiro, where they disembarked on December 24 1941.
Booked into the Casino da Urca, Ray Ventura et ses Collegiens gradually won over the public, especially after vocalist Henri Salvador did his impersonation of Popeye the Sailor Man. The band stayed on for several months, then toured inland and southwards toward Montevideo, Uruguay, where they opened in June 1942. The following month they made for the heart of Buenos Aires and began serenading patrons at various nightclubs and theaters along the Avenue Corrientes, including the prestigious Tabaris Cabaret between Suipacha and Esmeralda. Throughout the remainder of 1942 Ventura's Collegians made numerous recordings for the Odeon label, but then work dried up and the group came apart at the seams. Several members immediately found employment with Argentine jazz groups, and Vola formed his own recording ensemble along the lines of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Never one to stand around waiting for things to happen, Ventura formed yet another band, combining musicians and repertoire from Europe and the Americas, and recommenced recording for Odeon. After gigging once again in Rio de Janeiro, the band disintegrated and Ventura returned to Europe via North America. The next time he led an ensemble, it was performing a mixture of old hits, U.S. pop, and jazz standards and Latin American dance tunes.
Ventura, who ultimately became a theatrical producer, composer, and screenwriter, had begun to appear in motion pictures with and without his orchestra in the late 1930s; he starred in Feux de Joie, Tourbillon de Paris and Mademoiselle S'Amuse, then directed La Memoire d'un Heros. In 1951 he starred in Nous Irons a Monte Carlo, then produced and acted in Monte Carlo Baby in 1953. In 1964 he produced Rolf Haedrich's thriller Stop Train 349. Ray Ventura passed away in Palma de Majorca, Spain on March 30, 1979.
© arwulf arwulf /TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
Ray Ventura et ses Collégiens 1928-1956
Jazz - Erschienen bei Fremeaux Heritage am 31.07.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Et ses collégiens
Französischer Chanson - Erschienen bei EPM Musique am 03.05.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Collection d'or (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Master Tape Records am 25.09.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Tout va très bien, Madame la Marquise
Jazz - Erschienen bei Sergent Major Company Ltd. am 16.01.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Du jazz a la chanson
World Music - Erschienen bei EPM am 17.01.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'essentiel 2003
Pop - Erschienen bei Parlophone (France) am 18.01.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tiens Tiens Tiens
Jazz - Erschienen bei Black & Partner Licenses LLC am 07.05.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'aventure sud-américaine 1942-1944
Jazz - Erschienen bei Fremeaux Heritage am 08.01.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ray Ventura / Mes Premières Chansons, vol. 2
Lounge - Erschienen bei Iswjdigital am 04.07.1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
À travers ses succès de films (Mono Version)
Französischer Chanson - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
50 ans de rire au Music-Hall, vol. 5 (Les grands orchestres) [Chansons d'humour et comiques]
Ray Ventura, Fred Adison, Jacques Hélian
Französischer Chanson - Erschienen bei EPM Musique am 25.08.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ray Ventura / Mes Premières Chansons, vol. 1
Lounge - Erschienen bei Iswjdigital am 04.07.1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Qu 'est - Ce Qu'on Attend
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Charly Records am 23.07.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vive Brassens, vol. 4 (Mono Version)
Französischer Chanson - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Du Caf' Conc' au Music Hall
Pop - Erschienen bei Parlophone (France) am 23.03.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chansons Populaires - Ray Ventura et Ses Collegiens
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Orange Leisure am 28.11.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ray Ventura et ses Collégiens
Jazz - Erschienen bei dom am 17.02.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ray Ventura et ses Collégiens (Collection "Les grands orchestres du music-hall")
Französischer Chanson - Erschienen bei Marianne Mélodie am 01.07.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Venez Donc Chez Moi
Pop - Erschienen bei Parlophone (France) am 01.01.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tout va tres madame la Marquise
Pop - Erschienen bei Findina Records am 21.06.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo