Raymond Fol - Rediscovering (2023)

Looking back, 44 years after the passing of pianist Raymond Fol (1928-1979), it ishard to understand why neither in life nor after his death was he recognized as he deserved. It is only possible to think that perhaps it was because of his modesty and discretion that Raymond never became as famous as other French pianists of his generation.

Compared to themany excellent recordings of his as a sideman during the 1950s ―the golden age of jazz in France― his discography as a leader was reduced to a single EP which evidently did not help himachieve the same status as such pianists as Martial Solal, René Urtreger, Maurice Vander, or Henri Renaud, to name a few. Despite everything, we can say that Raymond Fol was a respected and admired musician, both by critics and fans, but little valued by the record companies of those years. His melodic yet swinging style meshed equally with traditional, mainstream, and modern jazz artists, always with exquisite elegance and good taste. This double CD presents a series of recordings, most of them previously unissued, which allow us to rediscover several of the facets that characterized his striking and expressive personality.