René THOMAS : biography

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Sept. 24, 2001

Photo : Michel Herr

RENÉ THOMAS

guitar, composer
(1927 - 1975)

Born in Liège on Feb. 25, 1927, René THOMAS was one of the greatest guitarist of Modern Jazz in thesixties. His high quality technique on the guitar allied with forcefulinspiration and improvisation in his music made him one of the best.A discreet person, offering none or very few concessions when playing Jazz,he was not well known outside the Jazz circles. THOMAS was highly esteemed bythe top American Jazz musicians, he became quickly a "musician's musician"
His too early death deprived Jazz from one of his most prominent guitarists.Sonny ROLLINS said in 1958, when THOMAS joined his orchestra, that there was noother guitarist in the States with more talent !

René THOMAS was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1927. He learned to play theguitar when he was very young. However he was not aiming at a musical careeruntil he discovered Django REINHARDT and Modern Jazz during his teens andWWII.

After the war, he joined the emerging Belgian talented musicians like BobbyJASPAR in the 'BOB SHOTS' orchestra and toured in Europe. DJANGO himself,being in Brussels, heard THOMAS play and was spreading the word that Thomaswas one of the most promising guitar talents. The instinct of DJANGO was right,as proved during the next decade of THOMAS' music.
He rapidly settled in Paris, early 1950's, to join the Modern Jazz scene of the time.
On his beginning in Modern Jazz he was under the influence of Jimmy RAINEY, the formidable American guitarist. But his daring harmonic variationsassociated to a very clear melody line and bass support, made THOMAS evolveto his original style. He did his first recording under his name as leaderin 1954.

The reputation of THOMAS as a fine instrumentalist and inventive musician grew rapidly among the Jazz players. He finally decided in 1956 to emigrate to Canada to stay close to his friend and music partner, tenor sax BobbyJASPAR, working in the US.

THOMAS played with the best of the American musicians : Sonny ROLLINS, StanGETZ, Miles DAVIS, Jackie Mc LEAN, Chet BAKER...
In New york he participatedin a number of recording sessions, with Sonny ROLLINS and others. He alsojoined in the early 60s the last European tour of Bobby JASPAR during whichthey cut some high-class recordings together.

After the death of JASPAR, he stayed in Europe where, after a few years withhis own group, he mainly played with organists Lou BENNETT and Eddie LOUISS.

He died in 1975 (on Jan. 3) in Spain, having not delivered the totality of his immense creativityin music.
Being a central element of the evolution of the playing of Modern Jazz onguitar, the legacy and influence of THOMAS can be found in the nextgeneration of guitar players, in musicians such as Larry CORYELL, JohnMcLAUGHLIN and Philip CATHERINE.

I would suggest the following recordings :

Guitar Groove - Recorded in NY in 1960 with Albert HEATH (drums) andJ R MONTEROSE (sax). A great disc with THOMAS at his peak; swinging rhythmsand be-bop influences. Re-issued on CD by OJC.

Who Cares? - Recorded in 1958 with the Sonny ROLLINS group. THOMAS athome...

The Italian Session - A top Jazz recording with Chet BAKER and BobbyJASPAR.

T.P.L - Recorded at the end of his life with a very fine Belgian saxplayer : Jacques PELZER.

Text by Etienne Borgers, all rights reserved

If you are interested in René THOMAS, a visit of Colin GUILLARMOU's web site (in French and English) is a must : THOMASIA (bio, disco, rare photos, etc...)

DISCOGRAPHY :
See a discography as a leader and as a sideman on the "GetMusic.com" site
A discography on Pierre Dulieu's site.
More infos on René Thomas are available from the "MAISON DU JAZZ" (Liège Jazz Museum), which is based in the home town of René.
In the nineties, a Belgian guitar big band formed by Fabien DEGRYSE paid a tribute to René THOMAS, playing his music in concert and on the CD Hommage à René Thomas (Igloo 134).
THOMASIA, Colin GUILLARMOU's web site (in French and English) offers a detailed discography.
Check also on this site these cd pages :
THE REAL CAT (reissue)
MEETING MISTER THOMAS (reissue)