Bobby Jaspar & René Thomas Quintet in Belgium

Archive films like this preserve the rare virtuosity of European cool jazz musicians who might otherwise have been forgotten. Belgian saxophonist and flautist Bobby Jaspar, and his compatriot guitarist René Thomas, were among the best improvisers in the world when this concert was recorded in 1962. Though we tend to remember American jazzmen more readily, these European cats could sit in as well as anyone. 

Their quintet includes Italian pianist Amedeo Tommasi, French bassist Benoît Quersin and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair, incidentally the same line-up that joined Chet Baker on the recording of Chet Is Back!, an album on which Tommasi contributed an original composition, “Ballata in forma di blues.” 

The group tackles this track here, along with two pieces that demonstrate their reverence for Sonny Rollins: “Oleo,” one of his most-interpreted compositions, and “I Remember Sonny,” a track written by Thomas for his former collaborator.