In memoriam: Fred Gérard

Fred Gérard (Besançon, March 18, 1924 - Ivry-sur- Seine, December 26, 2012) died just after Christmas 2012. French trumpeter Gérard played with Robert Fassin the top lead trumpet of the jazz big bands and show bands of the 1950s and 1960s.

He contributed to bands led by Alix Combelle (1948-9, 1953), Jacques Hélian (1949-51), Aimé Barelli (1951), Django Reinhardt, Noël Chiboust, Hubert Rostaing (1953), Christian Chevallier (1955-9), André Persiani (1955-8), Claude Bolling (1956-7), Michel Legrand (1956-7), Martial Solal (1956-8). Others with whom he played include Lucky Thompson, Michel de Villers, Harry Belafonte (1959), Judy Garland (1960), Pierre Michelot (1963), Dany Doriz (1966), Paris Jazz All Stars (1966), Jean-Claude Naude (1967), Sonny Grey (1970), Slide Hampton (1970), and Claude Luter (1972).

Along his ability as a lead trumpet, Fred Gérard had been a great mainstream jazz soloist influenced by Louis Armstrong, Jonah Jones, Roy Eldridge, and Charlie Shavers. He recorded many albums under his name and others with his own Five Trumpets, a trumpet ensemble featuring other great French trumpeters like Roger Guérin and Henri Van Haeke. Fred Gérard was a noted trumpet teacher and he wrote a method Approche Méthodique Moderne (1985). Last but not the least, Fred Gérard was a good composer and arranger. His funeral took place at the Church in Ivry-sur-Seine with a trumpet ensemble including Guy Touvron.

Source: Michel Laplace
More information can be found in Trompette, Cuivres & XXe Siècle by Michel Laplace (CD-Rom).