Raoul Faisant
- Instruments : Tenor saxophone
- Date of birth : 30/11/1916 - Flémalle-Haute
- Date of death : 30/11/1968 - Flémalle-Haute
A vigourous adept of the swing style, with a "big" sound, he was a friend of Coleman Hawkins.
He played and recorded with Gus Deloof (tp), Gene Dersin, Oscar Toussaint (alto sax), Henri Segers (p), Sadi (vibraphone), etc...
Having a.o. hired pianist Maurice Simon and the young guitarist René Thomas in his band, he became an unanimously respected example for the following generation of young and talented boppers who emerged in Liège after the war and formed the band "the Bob Shots", with Bobby Jaspar (tenor sax), René Thomas (guitar) and Jacques Pelzer (alto sax).
He also was a mentor for jazz musicians of the following generation such as saxophonist Michel Dickenscheid and vibraphonist Guy Cabay.
He is considered by many as the father of jazz in Wallonia, where he lived (in Vaux-sous-Chèvremont).
Raoul Faisant, however, didn't get the opportunity to record much, and his appearances on records are unfortunately too rare.
He recorded a.o. with the band of jazz accordeon player Hubert Simplisse, in which René Thomas also played :
Other rare tracks :
Some tracks seem to have been reissued on CD in 2003. More infos .
Also interesting to listen to are the rare interview and the musical excerpts available on a 6 CD box about Jazz in Liège, produced by the Maison du Jazz in Liège : see .
More infos and archives are available at the Maison du Jazz in Liège.
