Rene Thomas Trio

[VanEpsInDeChirico]

I've only just discovered him a few days ago!

This is one of the most exciting jazz guitar performances I've ever heard/seen. Does anyone know if this trio made any records together? I'd love to hear more of this! Freddy Deronde on bass & Félix Simtaine on drums.

[wintermoon]

[wintermoon]

[David B]

I've only just discovered him a few days ago!

This is one of the most exciting jazz guitar performances I've ever heard/seen. Does anyone know if this trio made any records together? I'd love to hear more of this! Freddy Deronde on bass & Félix Simtaine on drums.

That video is from a Belgian TV show 'Jazz in Belgium: Three Days in April', broadcast 28 November 1973.

Full video: SONUMA | Les archives audiovisuelles

The Rene Thomas Trio's three tunes are available on a Japanese CD released in 2020. Copies are available on Discogs.





I don't know of any other recordings of this particular trio. RT's discography as a leader is sadly very short.

[Litterick]

Remembering René Thomas
Fresh Sound Records – FSR-CD 993
Blue Train, Milestones, Motion, All Mornin' Long by the Trio, and a lot more besides.

The second number on the video clip is Eight Miles High, is it not? The clip comes from a 1973 documentary, Jazz en Belgique: three days in April.

[VanEpsInDeChirico]

That video is from a Belgian TV show 'Jazz in Belgium: Three Days in April', broadcast 28 November 1973.

Full video: SONUMA | Les archives audiovisuelles

Wow thanks so much for this! I cannot wait to get home and watch this full video. The quality looks much better than what is uploaded to youtube as well.

[lawson-stone]

Rene Thomas, earlier in his career, was hardly distinguishable from Jimmy Raney in terms of sound and style. Both played ES125, both very much bop players. The posted clip shows Thomas branching out quite a bit from playing bop solos over standards. Really interesting ideas.

[VanEpsInDeChirico]

Rene Thomas, earlier in his career, was hardly distinguishable from Jimmy Raney in terms of sound and style. Both played ES125, both very much bop players. The posted clip shows Thomas branching out quite a bit from playing bop solos over standards. Really interesting ideas.

Yeah, I like the straight ahead bop stuff he did earlier in his career too, but when I came across this I was really blown away. He's well into his 40s here. An age when a lot of musicians have settled into a sound they've had for decades and have no interest in changing & begin becoming somewhat watered down versions of their younger selves. A few just keep being reborn throughout their careers, allowing them to keep playing stuff equally or even more exciting than when they were young.

[grahambop]

That site also has the Bobby Jaspar quintet with Rene Thomas in 1962, I’ve never seen any video of them before.

SONUMA | Les archives audiovisuelles

[grahambop]

Rene’s playing in the first video is similar to this very good 1974 recording which I have on CD.