Bob Shots
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Bob Shots (or The Bob Shots) was a Belgian jazz orchestra widely regarded as the first national bop orchestra, and one of the first bop bands in Europe. The Liège band, then called Pont d'Avroy, initially played swing and evolved into bop music in 1946, after which the group's name was changed. In May 1947, the Bob Shots with a photo already appeared in the American magazine Down Beat, which described them as "The most famous jazz combo in Europe". Major names from Belgian and European jazz played in the orchestra: leader Pierre Robert (guitar, arrangements), Bobby Jaspar (saxophone), René Thomas (guitar), Sadi (vibraphone), Francy Boland (piano), Jean Bourguignon (trumpet) ), Jean Warland or Georges Leclerq (double bass), John Ward (drums) and Jacques Pelzer (saxophone). In May 1949 the Bob Shots performed in Paris during La Grande Semaine du Jazz. The other group representing Belgium was Toots Thielemans' quartet, who surprised the Parisian audience when he started playing harmonica rather than guitar. In May, the Bob Shots also recorded six songs for the Pacific record label. It was the last year that the Bob Shots performed together. |
The Bob Shots - Boppin' For Haig, recorded May 13, 1949, in Paris. |
