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Percy France

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  • Comment: The notability is IMO a bit borderline; I've requested opinions from WikiProject Jazz. -- DoubleGrazing (talk) 09:10, 16 September 2022 (UTC)
Percy France
Birth namePercy France
Born(1928-08-15)August 15, 1928
New York City, New York, United States
DiedJanuary 4, 1992(1992-01-04) (aged 63)
New York City, New York, United States
GenresSwing, hard bop, soul jazz, R&B
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Tenor saxophone, clarinet, piano
Years active1949–1992
LabelsBlue Note, King

Percy France (1928–1992) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. France gained particular recognition during the late 1950s and 1960s as a sideman for Jimmy Smith, Freddie Roach and Bill Doggett[1] and was considered by his contemporary, Sonny Rollins, to be "the best sax player around".[2]

Biography

Percy France was born and raised in New York City, living in the prominent black communities of San Juan Hill and Sugar Hill[2] and attended Benjamin Franklin High School alongside Sonny Rollins.[3][4] France studied piano and clarinet from an early age.[5] Demonstrating particular aptitude as a woodwind player, France moved on to tenor saxophone at the age of 13.[2]

Though France's recording career began in 1949 as a sideman for singer Betty Mays, it was not until 1952 that he became a distinctive saxophone addition to Bill Doggett's organ group.[1] The Bill Doggett group was among the most popular R&B acts of the era[6] but it was also a vehicle for interpretations of popular jazz standards and ballads, enabling France to cultivate and hone his jazz saxophone sound. Reflecting on his time performing with France in 1992, Doggett praised his "unique ability to be able to build a solo. He would start off simply... and pick you up and carry you with him with his solos, as a singer would do, just lift you, and you don't know what's happening to you, but you're enjoying it."[1]

After leaving Bill Doggett's group France began a brief association with Blue Note Records, featuring on sessions including Jimmy Smith's Home Cookin' album[7] and Down to Earth by Freddie Roach.[8] Despite being a highly regarded saxophonist by his contemporaries, including Sonny Rollins,[1] Bill Easley,[9] Michael Cuscuna,[1] and Mike LeDonne,[10] France never achieved significant recognition outside of his native New York.

In later years France struggled with cancer. Before succumbing to the illness, France was fatally struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian. He died in 1992 at the age of 63.[5]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

with Betti Mays And Her Swingtet

  • Mays' Haze / Slow Rock (Regal Records, 1949)[11]

with The "5" Royales

with Bill Doggett

  • Dance Awhile with Doggett (King Records, 1958)
  • The Many Moods of Bill Doggett (King Records, 1961)
  • Leaps and Bounds (Charly R&B, 1952-1959 [rel. 1991])

with Jimmy Smith

with Freddie Roach

with Lance Hayward

  • Live at Eddie Condon's (Town Crier Recordings, 1957 [rel. 1984])[12]
  • That's All! (Town Crier Recordings, 1957 [rel. 1984])[13]
  • A Closer Walk (Town Crier Recordings, 1992)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Johnson, David (October 30, 2021). "Out Of The Shadows: Percy France". Indiana Public Media. Indiana University. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Schaap, Phil. "A Biography of Percy France". Percy France. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  3. ^ Givan, Benjamin (2019). "Becoming Sonny Rollins". American Music. 37 (4): 493–531. doi:10.5406/americanmusic.37.4.0493. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  4. ^ Hentoff, Nat (November 28, 1956). "Sonny Rollins". DownBeat. DownBeat. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b Jazz FM. "Percy France - Saxophoniste ténor". Swing FM 101.2. Swing FM. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  6. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 384. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  7. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Home Cookin' Review". AllMusic. AllMusic, Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ Stephen Thomas, Erlewine. "Down to Earth Review". AllMusic. AllMusic, Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ Easley, Bill (2019). ""I not only remember his sound. I feel his spirit and respect."". Percy France. www.percyfrance.info. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  10. ^ Kenselaar, Bob (August 27, 2012). "Mike LeDonne: Where There's Smoke". AllAboutJazz. All About Jazz & Jazz Near You. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  11. ^ Discogs. "Betti Mays And Her Swingtet* – Mays' Haze / Slow Rock". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  12. ^ WorldCat. "Live at Eddie Condon's". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  13. ^ WorldCat. "That's All!". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 20 June 2022.


Category:1928 births Category:1992 deaths Category:American jazz tenor saxophonists Category:American male saxophonists Category:Soul-jazz saxophonists Category:Hard bop saxophonists Category:Blue Note Records artists Category:20th-century American musicians Category:20th-century saxophonists Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:American male jazz musicians

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