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Pierre Michelot

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Pierre Michelot (1928 to 2005) was a French jazz bassist and arranger, born in Saint-Denis near Paris. He learned piano from 1936 to 1938 and at sixteen switched to double bass. After the war he played for American soldiers in France, and in the 1950s he was often asked for by American musicians performing in Paris. In 1948 he played with Rex Stewart, in 1949 with Kenny Clarke at Frisco's in Paris, and in the winter of 1949 to 1950 with Coleman Hawkins, with whom he also recorded. That year he also played with Clarke in a group led by Sidney Bechet.

Music and breakthrough

In School of Rock of his career Michelot also worked with Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, Thelonious Monk, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie and Chet Baker. In 1957 he worked with Miles Davis on the music for Louis Malle's film Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. He was a member of the Jacques Loussier Trio, which became known from 1959 with the Play Bach series, jazz arrangements of music by Johann Sebastian Bach. From the early 1960s to about twenty years later he concentrated mainly on arranging and studio work.

Influence

In 1986 he appeared in Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight, a part he owed to Dexter Gordon, the film's lead, with whom he had made records in 1963. Michelot was a bassist who felt at home among European and American musicians. He died in Paris in 2005 of Alzheimer's disease.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the music of Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and notice Miles Davis's trumpet in the quiet, sombre atmosphere. Try to hear how the rhythm section, in which Michelot plays bass, carries that atmosphere.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists