Henri Crolla

Henri Crolla is a Guitariste born with Naples in 1920 and died in 1960.

Biography

Henri Crolla, butterfly curious and attentive with the others, took all the paths and short cuts of the life with only one red wire, the music. No the plan of career, nothing of programmed, but an instinct of freedom and opening to the artistic and human universes most various. And this instinct naturally led it to the jazz, music of freedom in an established structure, music resulting from the people, for the people.

Born in 1920 in a family from itinerant Neapolitan musicians, Henri Crolla is a being of meetings and as while walking, it decorates the life with its sun rays. Of the eight Crolla children, it is only the " truth napolitain" ; all the others were born during the rounds and stays in Germany and Bavaria. The war of 14-18 brings back the family to Naples, and their statute of artists tumbles down towards quasi-poor. With the rise of Fascism, they leave the Italy in 1922 for Paris. There, they settle Porte of Choisy, in what one called “the zone”, semi-shantytown vague semi-grounds, with immigrants, the gipsies and the manouches which stop there regularly. Among these neighbors manouches, the family of Django Reinhardt where " Rico" is regarded as one of the children of the tribe by the mother of Django, " beautiful Laurence". Enrico, or Rico, starts to play with the Mandoline of mom, Térésa, when it is with work. It is 3 years old, the parents survive while playing in the street, by making the sleeve, which the other children do not like. They want a true work, in factory. Enrico is the only one to follow the musical trace of Antonio and Térésa Crolla, friends of Nino Rota, but in France, it is not similar any more. Nevertheless Antonio perseveres, form of the small units (" Crolla" jazz;) encourage Enrico which requires only that. At 8 years, it starts to put the school between brackets to go to play of the Banjo to the terraces of the rich coffees, of the breweries in vogue, like the Coupole: it is reproduced on one of the pillars where the painters of Montparnasse immortalisé the personalities of the time.

At 13 years, one of the first miracles which draw the broad outlines of its life achieves: he plays in the street and meets Lou Bonin Groupe October. He has just entered naturally the universe of words and images of Jacques Prévert, Pierre Prévert, Paul Grimault, and that of the theater of action of Lou Bonin. The values of division and community of this band of multi-talented artists will remain for always its Gospels applied. Paul Grimault and Jacques Prévert " the adoptent". He will live several years at Grimault, where he discovers the Guitare, the Jazz… At Grimault, the painter Emile Savitry brings some of his/her friends musicians, the Frères Tag, and especially Django and Joseph Reinhardt, whose original formation, the String quintet of Hot Club of France invents an innovative European jazz. There, " Riton" that Prévert baptizes “Millepede” for its agility of musician, discovers all the possibilities of the true jazz: the improvisation, spontaneous creation, freedom. Very quickly it belongs to the musicians invited in the clubs where occur Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Bill Coleman, Gus Viseur, with which it plays “Sardine Box”, one of the first clubs of jazz. The War stops its course: mobilized in deserted Italy, it and returns to France. During years 40-45, it is an alternation of work of occasion and more or less important concerts, it will be naturalized French only in 1946. In 1945, musician of jazz in the process of dedication - Price of the Academy of the jazz 1947 with Léo Chauliac and Emmanuel Soudieux) -, it meets Yves Montand and becomes his musical conscience. Course Variety until 1957-58, with the composition of 40 songs, and a few intense years of rounds. Between 47 and 53, Montand and the quintet jazzy created with Bob Castela will traverse all the places of spectacles, casinos, clubs crested, popular rooms, the Star, the ABC… Until formidable the " marathon" star 1953, six months with closed counters, a memorable record, devoted by the first double-album 33-turns of this novel method, the microgroove quickly will replace the 78-turns. Then, in 1954, Montand make a pause-cinema, and Crolla composes, musics of court-measurings, documentary, with André Hodeir, association of two complementary personalities: the autodidact, and the musician musicologist at the three prices of Academy. In 1947, Montand introduces a young journalist to him: Colette. Love at first sight. And Crolla returns the courtesy in 1949 to him by presenting a " to him; girlfriend of Flore" time when it made the sleeve, in 42-43: Simone Signoret . Friendship which will never be contradicted, it is Simone which invents " Crolette" or " Crollette" , with the choice… 1954-55: The German Holy Club takes again its activities. Crolla invites Stephan Grappelli, Emmanuel Soudieux and André " Mac-Kak " Reilles for some memorable evening-jazz, in quartet elegant and race, violin, guitar, battery and double bass. This unit was the ideal according to Emmanuel Soudieux, the preferred double bass player of Django. Henri Crolla engraves his first recording-jazz at Vega. Since 1950, with Andre Hodeir, they composed more than 100 musics for court-measurings, the documentary ones, and in 1954-55 they for feature films, with FUEL OIL (Jean Gabin, Jeanne Moreau), then This crowned gamine , Parisian a , do you Want are the first musics to dance with me? with Brigitte Bardot. Its eclecticism and its musical curiosity carry out it to finance the first disc of a young author of serial music, Jean Barraqué, which one recognizes today like one of the pioneers of the kind. Crolla, although very distant from this kind of music, had had a presentiment of that there was something of interesting. Years 55-58 are very dense: popular jazz, cinema, musics (three albums 33-turns of guitar solo), turned to Russia with Montand, and 56, first test of actor with Enrico, cook, a burlesque film of Grimault and Pierre Prévert. Crolla is not very inclined to multiply the meetings of recording, the preserve music does not satisfy it, and according to him, Django very invented in this field. One cannot better do, then what good is it? But, in the discs that Vega requires of him, it chooses musicians little known, but remarkable, like Maurice Meunier, and the young whole Martial Solal (which signs sometimes Lalos Bing) with the side of faithful, Soudieux, Pierre Fouad, and of the companions brought together for a homage to Django " of its pairs" like known as the recording company. It is thanks to Crolla that Paul Paviot succeeds in making film on this homage to Django into 58, where one finds Rostaing, Joseph Reinhardt, Grappelli… Crolla of course, all old buddies. These rare moments are available since 2001 in the excellent collection Jazz in Paris (Universal).

With the Prévert-Grimault family that it left forever (the " against-bande" from Prévert), Crolla moves away from the trade of musician-truck driver, the cinema attracts it more and more, the music will remain present for the pleasure, but not for the money. And it is for the pleasure that it passes in studio to offer some notes to the first disc of young singer ACI Nicole Louvier… For the pleasure, requested by Jean-Claude Pascal, it will not take action pursuant, because the cinema activities become paramount, it is as for this reason as it is not on scene with Montand at the time of the concerts of Star 58, but it plays on the album… It is Didier Duprat which will ensure the succession the guitar, and the group is reinforced with a Trombone, as if the departure of Crolla had marked the end of the Quintette team… In 1958, its scruples of musician haunted by the idea to copy somebody carry out it to meet a young singer, and in the dash of this moment of friendship, it takes along Georges Moustaki in an old girlfriend, Edith Piaf, as it had taken along Montand at Prévert to Saint-Paul-with-Vence…

The world of the song always be familiar for him, airs of Paris which he played terraces of the coffees, family Neapolitan songs… Like Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, or Chet Baker, Crolla is a natural melodist, and he forever have condescension for this major popular art. In the band with Prévert, one made to this form of expression an average privileged person, and it helped Montand to build a song recital which will become a model.

It is about this time 1959, qu' it meets a young actor, Jacques Higelin, becomes his mentor, and suggests to him testing the song. It gave him some lessons of guitar which mark the young man for the life. End 1958, Crolla takes down the first role (with Higelin) of film of Henri Fabiani happiness is for tomorrow , turned in 1960, but he dies at the end of turning. He was 40 years old. Nobody better than put this sentence into practice to him: “It would be necessary to try to be happy, would be this only to give the example” (Jacques Prévert, Spectacles ).

Source

Biography in progress: " Ballades of Crolla" of Norbert Gabriel & Sophie Tournel

Discography available in 2007

Crolla & Co , Homage to Django of his/her companions (Jazz in Paris, Universal, 2001)
Begin the beguine (id, 2002)
When refleuriront the white lilacs (id, 2002)
Toujours in the Jazz collection in Paris, in the vol. 4 Jazz and Cinéma , airs of " Do not touch with the grisbi" by the Trio Jean Wiener-Jean Wetzel-Crolla.
In the double best CD of Grappelli (EMI), 8 titles recorded with the Club German St in 1954

In 2007, in the collection Jazz in Paris, " Musics of cinéma" compositions of Henri Crolla and André Hodeir for the cinema, between 1950 and 1060

External bonds

Bio and discography on www.djangostation.com
Bio documented on www.about-django.com

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