"Her voice, slightly off-key, was that of the Parisian street hawkers—the husky, trailing voice of the Paris people." -- Jean Cocteau, of Mistinguett
Jazz was but one thread of the complex cultural traditions weaving through the streets of Paris between the Wars, and we dedicate more than a little of this year’s festival to a number of those other currents. In this evening’s concert, Siri Vik welcomes Ian Whitcomb in a tribute to music halls and cabarets of Montmartre, Montparnasse and throughout Paris where, in the closing years of La Belle Époque and into the Jazz Age and after, French chanson and the songs of Broadway and Hollywood intermingled. Look for French and American classics made famous by Mistinguett (“Mon Homme”), Maurice Chevalier (“Mimi”), Damia (“C’est mon gigolo”), Fréhel (“Les Filles qui la nuit”), Marie Dubas (“Le Tango stupéfiant”), Joséphine Baker (“J’ai deux amours”), Jean Sablon & Mireille (“Presque oui”), and just a hint of Édith Piaf (“Mon Légionnaire”).
| | Mon Homme (1920) Casino de Paris 1920 Paris qui Jazz Jacques Charles (fr), Channing Pollock (en), Albert Willemetz (fr) (w) Maurice Yvain (m) |
Maurice Chevalier (1888-1972) |
| Valentine (1925) Henri Christiné (w/m) |
Joséphine Baker (1906-75) |
Marie Dubas (1894-1972) & Édith Piaf (1915-63) |
Jean Sablon (1906-94) & Mireille (1906-96) |