The Bistrouille Amateur Dance Orchestra

The Bistrouille Amateur Dance Orchestra (or Bistrouille (A.D.O.) was founded in Brussels in 1920 and was one of the first amateur jazz orchestras in Belgium.

The founders, the Brussels brothers René Vinche (drummer) and Marcel (banjo player), were inspired by the performance of the Mitchell's Jazz Kings, who were very successful in Belgium in the 1920s. They first called their orchestra Bistrouille Amateurs Jazz Kings and then renamed it Bistrouille Amateur Dance Orchestra. Their home base was the Patria hall.

Two years later tenor saxophonist and clarinetist David Bee and pianist Fernand Coppieters were part of the orchestra, and in 1925 trumpet player Peter Packay joined. Bee and Packay would emerge as the two most important Belgian jazz composers. They provided the A.D.O. also an extensive original repertoire.

With Félix-Robert Faecq as organizer, the Bistrouille Amateur Dance Orchestra would give the first Belgian jazz concert in the hall of Union colonial belge in Brussels on January 15, 1926, together with the Waikiki Jazz Band.

Autumn Winds

1930