Person

Diéval, Jack

1920-2012

Born in Douai, in northern France, the son of jazz musicians, Jack Dieval was a jazz pianist and composer. His parents, members of the DéDé Jazz Band saw to it that he got proper musical training at the Douai Conservatory with Victor Gallois. He began playing professionally in Lille at the age of 14. He worked briefly for Radio Tunis in 1942, then headed to Paris where he worked with Alix Combelle from 1943 to 1946. He accompanied singer Henri Salvador in 1949. In 1953 he stated his own quintet which included Bill Tamper on trombone and Jean-Claude Fohrenbach on saxophone. From 1954 to 1972 he hosted the radio show “Jazz au Champs-Elysée” which became “Musique au Champs-Elysée in 1964. During the 1970s and later, he also played with and directed various groups, including a duo with Michel Gaudry and a trio with Philippe Combelle; he composed such pieces as “Le serpent vert,” becoming known as the “Debussy de jazz.” He also composed soundtracks for television and began to produce and host such television broadcasts as“Paris carrefour du monde” and “Club du piano.” He sometimes collaborated with musicians like Guy Lafitte and lyricist-poet Boris Vian, who wrote lyrics for two of his pieces: “Ce n’est que l’ombre d’un nuage” and ”J’ai donné rendez-vous au vent.” He became vice-president of SACEM (the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique) in 1982, and later served on its board of directors. He received SACEM’s Grand prix du jazz in 2001.