Ray Ventura

Raymond Ventura, known as Ray Ventura (Paris, April 16th 1908 - Palma de Majorque, Spain, March 29th 1979), is a leader and editor of French music. He was the uncle of the singer and guitarist Sacha Distel.

Biography

Still high-school pupil, Raymond Ventura starts by assembling a jazz band with comrades of Janson-of-Sailly. Mr Albert Cuisin having rooms of reception to a few meters of the College, street of the Pump, it lends his buildings so that the young formation can be exerted. Ray Ventura plays for the first time in public at the time of the fashionable receptions organized by Mr Cuisin. Influenced by the orchestras of Paul Witheman in America and Hylton Jack in Great Britain, it founds one of the first orchestras with sketches of France, " Ray Ventura and its Collégiens" (first disc in 1929; concerts and rounds as from 1931). It joins together in its training of the musicians of talent who will mark the French song: Paul Misraki (pianist, type-setter, arranger), Spitz Gasté (guitarist, banjo, type-setter), Coconut Aslan (singer and percussionnist, of its true name Gregoire Arslanian), joined by Raymond Legrand (orchestrations) in 1934. Andre Hornez, lyric writer, also play an eminent role in the formation of Ray Ventura, because the majority of great successes of the Schoolboys of Ray Ventura are due to Paul Misraki for the music and André Hornez for the words.

Under the influence of Ray Ventura, of which the musicians are also actors and singers, the orchestras with sketches multiply: Fred Adison and OJ Bubble before the Second world war, Raymond Legrand under the Occupation, Jacques Hélian with the Release. During the war, Ray Ventura must take refuge in South America, where he undertakes rounds with new musicians like Henri Salvador and André Ekyan. Of return in France the shortly after the war, Ray Ventura and its formation gain new successes ( Maria de Bahia , 1947; Mid-August the , 1949, two songs of Paul Misraki), and play in several films ( We will go to Paris ; We will go to Monte Carlo ). About 1950 the fashion is not any more with the full orchestras, and Ray Ventura leaves the scene to be devoted to the music publishing (it will contribute thus to launching Georges Brassens). With do the pre-1940s fashions of the years 1970, the Full orchestra of Splendid give again the one second youth with some of great successes of pre-war period of Ray Ventura ( What one waits to be happy?)

Principal songs with success of " Ray Ventura and its collégiens"

All is very well, Madam the Marchioness (words of Paul Misraki, Bach and Henri Laverne); does
What one wait to be happy?
That is better than to catch the scarlet fever
the shirts of the archduchess
As everyone
It that of is always taken
Mid-August

The music of all these songs is of Paul Misraki.

Cinema

1953 : Women of Paris of Jean Boyer, scenario writer and producing
We will go to Paris
We will go to Monte Carlo.

Sources

C. Brunschwig, L. - J. Calvet, J. - C. Klein, Hundred years of French song , Paris, Editions of the Threshold, 1981;
Pierre Saka and Yann Plougastel, the French song and French-speaking , Paris, Larousse, 1999.
Various notes of discs recorded by the orchestra Ray Ventura.

See too

External bond

Catalog of films

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