Club Saint-Germain

The Club Saint-Germain was a jazz club located at 13 rue Saint-Benoît in the 6e arrondissement de Paris.

History

The club was opened in 1947 by Boris Vian. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s it staged central figures in the French jazz scene such as Barney Wilen, René Urtreger, Django Reinhardt, and Pierre Michelot. Many Americans on tour including Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and Kenny Dorham also played the club. Along with the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, the Club Saint-Germain was a central institution in the movement of exiling American jazz musicians in the 1950s and 1960s. Expatriates such as Bud Powell and Kenny Clarke were frequent performers with other French musicians.

The building of the defunct Club Saint-Germain is now home to the supper club Bilboquet.

Live recordings

• Barney Wilen – Barney (RCA)
• Art Blakey – Art Blakey et les Jazz-Messengers au Club St. Germain, vol. 1-2 (RCA)
• Bobby Jaspar – Modern Jazz au Club Saint Germain (Barclay)

References

Gourse, Leslie. "Jazz Liberates Paris". American Heritage Magazine, April 2000. Volume 51, Issue 2.