The Paris Reunion Band in Burghausen (1986)
In late 1984 tenor and soprano saxophonist Nathan Davis (born 1937) formed the Paris Reunion Band to pay tribute to drummer Kenny Clarke (who passed in January 1985) and to evoke the spirit of Paris in the late fifties and early sixties when it was home to many american jazz musicians.
For four or five years the Paris Reunion Band was making the European festival circuit each year. Of course the logistics to gather musicians which have their home in different parts of the planet were enormous and so besides core members Nathan Davis and Woody Shaw the members of the band kept changing.
On March 16, 1986 the Paris Reunion Band played in the Stadtsaal in Burghausen, a small town in the Bavarian part of Germany, during the Jazzwoche Burghausen. At that concert the band consisted of Woody Shaw and Benny Bailey(tp), Glenn Ferris (tb), Nathan Davis (ss, ts), Johnny Griffin (ts), Kenny Drew sr. (p), Jimmy Woode (p) and Alvin Queen (dr). Bavarian TV station BR3 was filming the festival, and I found four tracks on one of Otto Flückiger’s old VHS cassettes – which I am offering you here. I have decided to present the footage in two parts.
Enjoy!
