Jacques Bailly, Willy Donni, Bruno Castellucci & José Bedeur
On June 4, 1962, the first Festival International de Jazz ‘Adolphe Sax' took place in the Belgian town of Dinant, where Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, was born in 1814. Not surprisingly, most artists on the program are saxophonists. A Belgian quartet, consisting of tenor saxophonist Jacques Bailly, guitarist Willy Donni, drummer Bruno Castellucci, and bassist José Bedeur, opens the festival. The second highlight of the festival is a trio of Belgian pianist François Boland, who appeared with American bassist Jimmy Woode and Belgian drummer Freddy Rottier. They are joined by four international guest saxophonists: German tenorist Klaus Doldinger, Belgian altoist Jacques Pelzer, British altoist Derek Humble, and Austrian saxophonist Karl Drewo. Following individual solo features and a joint encore, a true saxophone legend appears on stage: veteran American tenorist Coleman Hawkins. Accompanied by his compatriots Jimmy Woode (bass) and “Kansas” Fields (drums) and French pianist George Arvanitas, Coleman Hawkins plays an hour-long concert that includes "Disorder At The Border", "Autumn Leaves", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Moonlight In Vermont", "All The Things You Are" and “Ow!”. This concert is the perfect conclusion of the first jazz festival in honor of Adolphe Sax.
