Biography
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Founded In
Liège, Liège, Wallonie, Belgium
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Members
- Jacques Pelzer
Jacques Pelzer (1924-1994) was one of the most important figures in Belgian jazz history. He was born in Liège and played the harmonica as a kid and switched to flute, alto & soprano saxophone later on. In the late 1940s, he joined the legendary Bob Shots (lead by Bobby Jaspar), one of the very first (if not the first) groups in Europe to play be-bop. It's at this time that Pelzer gets to know the music of Charlie Parker, who will remain one of his biggest influences.
In the 1950s, Pelzer became one of the leading jazzmen in Belgium, playing on the 'Jazz For Moderns' (Fiesta) and 'Innovation en Jazz' (Innovation) 10" records, aswell as the 'Jazz In Little Belgium' 10" that was released for the '58 World Expo in Brussels.
In the following decade, he plays with Chet Baker, one of his best friends, in the United States. It is through a connection of Chet Baker, that Jacques Pelzer records some sessions in Italy in the sixties: First an ep called 'Amedeo Tommasi Trio presents Jacques Pelzer' (1960 - Jazz In Italy vol. 10) and later an lp with a quartet under his own name: 'Jacques Pelzer Quartet ft. Dino Piana (Jazz in Italy vol. 13 - reissued in 2009 by Rearward-Schema).
In the 1970s, he recorded two live lp's: one with the legendary jazzfusion group 'Open Sky Unit' (with his cousin Steve Houben on sax and his daughter Micheline Pelzer on drums), and one with the Jacques & Micheline Pelzer Quartet. Both records were released on a tiny label called Duchesne and are now really rare collector's items.
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