Jean Vaissade

Jean Vaissade is a French accordionist and composer , born in 1911 and died on June 1 , 1979 in Vincennes ( Val-de-Marne ). Husband of Rina Ketty from 1938 to 1940, he composed the melodies of her great successes like Sombreros and Mantilles. He remarried on April 15, 1947 with Raymonde Fournial (1911-1978).

Jean Vaissade was prolific as a bal musette accordionist, recording numerous sides for numerous labels and earning him the title le vedette-the star.

His parents, originally from Recoules-d’Aubrac in Lozère, worked as wine merchants on rue des Pyrénées in Paris.

Django first recorded in mid 1928, playing at the side of accordionist Jean Vaissade. On these early sides, Django’s banjo is joyful and exuber- ant, almost overpowering the accordion’s melodic lines. He also recorded for His Master’s Voice. It allows the young Django Reinhardt to launch his career by recording with him in 1928. He was Edith Piaf ‘s first accompanist around 1934 .

 As Vaissade said of Django, “Already everyone admired him, for if he didn’t yet have the mastery he was eventually to display, he was already carving out a style that was different from anyone else’s. I remember thinking how fantastic he was when I heard him play…. He stuck his fingers to his nose and played incredible, complicated things the other banjo players who worked with us could not have even imagined.”

Discography 

Bel Ami (fox-trot) – A woman, an accordion, a caboulot , Gramophone, K-8393:

La Morena – When one is a sailor , Gramophone, K-8627;

We dance in Mexico City – In Honolulu , Gramophone, K-8654;

La Javache – Everything is pink , Gramophone, K-8680;

It’s my julot – But he waltzes so well , Gramophone, K-8638;

Return of the storks .

Tributes 

A commemorative monument is erected at the Pont de Gournier near the village of Cougoussac in the commune of Recoules-d’Aubrac ( Lozère ), the village where his parents came from.