Jean Lerusse
- Instruments : Double bass, Flugelhorn
- Date of birth : 25/05/1939 - Angleur
- Date of death : 09/08/2013 - Barchon
He played with many well known jazz musicians, Belgian and international : René Thomas, Chet Baker, Jacques Pelzer, Robert Jeanne (he was a regular member of his quartet with Félix Simtaine, Léo Fléchet, and they toured with René Thomas, too).
He played a.o. with Milou Struvay, Barney Wilen, JR Monterose, Lennart Johnson, Jon Eardley, George Coleman, Nathan Davis, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Slide Hampton, Art Taylor, Billy Brooks, Lou McConnell, Dave Pike, Anita O'Day, Pony Poindexter, Michel Herr, John Thomas and Lifeforce, etc...
Although he never chose to become a professional musician (his main job was to be a gynecologist !), he had all the qualities and the ears of a pro and was considered as such by his peers.
He played at the Comblain-la-Tour festival several times, a.o. with his own sextet.
He wrote several jazz themes, a.o. Black Eyes, played and recorded a.o. by Chet Baker.
He also showed an interest in Brazilian music.
He appears on an album of René Thomas recorded in 1968 (AMC 16001).
His presence became rare on the jazz scene after the 80ies, but it is worth mentioning that in 1988 he recorded a session as a flugelhorn player with Léo Fléchet (p), Jean-Louis Baudoin (b) and Frédéric Jacquemin (drs).
He also wrote an essay (in French), "Le Jazz pour tous", available in pdf version on this site.
See Here.
