Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Sidney Bechet, with Pierre Braslavsky's Orchestra, plays "Sweet Georgia Brown", as part of a concert at the Victoria Hall, Geneva on May 14th, 1949 (Bechet's 52nd birthday!). This performance was recorded on an acetate disc for broadcast by Radio Geneva.
The soloists are (in order): Sidney Bechet (soprano sax), René Franc (clarinet), Pierre Braslavsky (soprano sax), Eddie Bernard (piano), Sidney Bechet (soprano sax). The four-bar breaks at the end are by Franc, Braslavsky and then Bechet.
Pierre Braslavsky is very good here and shows the considerable influence of Sidney Bechet on his soprano sax playing. He was only 18 years old at the time. René Franc was only 19.
The other members of the band are Bernard Zacharias (trombone), Eddie Bernard (piano), Roger Karakosian (guitar), Alf Masselier (string bass) and Michael Pacout (drums).
The announcer says:
"Dear jazz friends, the arrival of Sidney Bechet - who is going to appear for the first time in his career in front of the Swiss public - is of considerable importance to us all, and for this Victoria Hall, whose mission is to feature the biggest names of this century.
"It is an honour to welcome Sidney Bechet, black clarinettist and soprano player, a veteran of New Orleans, authentic king of jazz. Sidney is stopping over in Geneva for a few hours only, before catching a plane to Paris, where his presence is obviously necessary to fittingly end the International Festival of Jazz that is taking place there in the Salle Pleyel.
"Bechet will play some of his favourite tunes for the Geneva public, as well as all the listeners of Radio Geneva."
(NOTE: The transfer for this video was taken from the French Vogue LP CSB3, using a Technics SP10-MK2P BBC turntable, a bespoke octal valve-based pre-amp and a Klark Teknik graphic equaliser. Subsequent digital restoration work included further re-equalising, gain adjustment, declicking, decrackling and de-hissing.)
Sidney Bechet, with Pierre Braslavsky's Orchestra, plays "Sweet Georgia Brown", as part of a concert at the Victoria Hall, Geneva on May 14th, 1949 (Bechet's 52nd birthday!). This performance was recorded on an acetate disc for broadcast by Radio Geneva.
The soloists are (in order): Sidney Bechet (soprano sax), René Franc (clarinet), Pierre Braslavsky (soprano sax), Eddie Bernard (piano), Sidney Bechet (soprano sax). The four-bar breaks at the end are by Franc, Braslavsky and then Bechet.
Pierre Braslavsky is very good here and shows the considerable influence of Sidney Bechet on his soprano sax playing. He was only 18 years old at the time. René Franc was only 19.
The other members of the band are Bernard Zacharias (trombone), Eddie Bernard (piano), Roger Karakosian (guitar), Alf Masselier (string bass) and Michael Pacout (drums).
The announcer says:
"Dear jazz friends, the arrival of Sidney Bechet - who is going to appear for the first time in his career in front of the Swiss public - is of considerable importance to us all, and for this Victoria Hall, whose mission is to feature the biggest names of this century.
"It is an honour to welcome Sidney Bechet, black clarinettist and soprano player, a veteran of New Orleans, authentic king of jazz. Sidney is stopping over in Geneva for a few hours only, before catching a plane to Paris, where his presence is obviously necessary to fittingly end the International Festival of Jazz that is taking place there in the Salle Pleyel.
"Bechet will play some of his favourite tunes for the Geneva public, as well as all the listeners of Radio Geneva."
(NOTE: The transfer for this video was taken from the French Vogue LP CSB3, using a Technics SP10-MK2P BBC turntable, a bespoke octal valve-based pre-amp and a Klark Teknik graphic equaliser. Subsequent digital restoration work included further re-equalising, gain adjustment, declicking, decrackling and de-hissing.)
