R.I.P.: Jimmy Gourley

Jimmy Gourley
(born June 9, 1926, St. Louis/MO;
died Dec. 7, 2008, Villeneuve-Saint-George/France)

The guitarist Jimmy Gourley died December 7th in Villeneuve-Saint-George, a suburb of Paris, at the age of 82. Gourley played with several Chicago bands before moving to Paris in 1951 where he performed with musicians such as Martial Solal and Bobby Jaspar, but also with many of the American expatriates living in Paris at the time. In 1954 he returned to Chicago for three years, then moved to Paris permanently in November 1957. He played with Kenny Clarke at the Blue Note club, but also had his own trio, often with the organist Eddy Louiss. In the early 1970s Gourley ran his own club in the Canary Islands. In 1994 he took French citizenship. Gourley was able to introduce a bebop-influenced guitar style to Europe where most guitarists in the 1950s were heavily influenced by the dominating influence of Django Reinhardt. Source: Jazzinstitut Darmstadt.
Obituary: Cyperpresse.