| Jazz has long enjoyed an appreciative audience in France, most especially since the end of World War II, when the intellectual rigour and agonized musings of bebop struck an immediate chord of sympathy in the existentialist hearts of the après-guerre. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis – all were being listened to in the 1950s, when in Britain their names were known only to a tiny coterie of fans. Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and his partner, violinist Stéphane Grappelli, whose work represents the distinctive and undisputed French contribution to the jazz canon, had much to do with the music's popularity. But it was also greatly enhanced by the presence of many front-rank black American musicians, for whom Paris was a haven of freedom and culture after the racial prejudice and philistinism of the States. Among them were the soprano sax player Sidney Bechet, who set up in legendary partnership with French clarinettist Claude Luther, and Bud Powell, whose turbulent exile partly inspired the tenor man played by Dexter Gordon (himself a veteran of the Montana club) in the film Round Midnight. Jazz is still alive and well in the city, with a good selection of clubs plying all styles from New Orleans to current experimental. Frequent festivals are also a good source of concerts, particularly in the summer (see "Festivals"). Some names to look out for are saxophonist Didier Malherbe; violinist Didier Lockwood; British-born but long resident in Paris, guitarist John McLaughlin; pianist Alain JeanMarie; clarinettist Louis Sclavis; and accordionist Richard Galliano, who updates the French musette style. All of them can be found playing small gigs, regardless of the size of their reputations. Bistrots and bars are a good place to catch musicians carrying on the tradition of Django Reinhardt – Romane and the Ferré brothers are just some of musicians doing the rounds – as well as French traditional chansons. Gigs aren't usually advertised in the press, but you'll see handmade posters in the bistrots themselves, or you could check out the sites www.zingueurs.com and www.jazzfrance.com.
Pages in section ‘Jazz, blues and chansons’: Mainly jazz, A note on prices, Mainly chansons.
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