NEW ORLEANS-BORN JAZZ LEGEND SIDNEY BECHET (1897-1959) WOULD HAVE BEEN 120 THIS YEAR

On May 14, 1949, during a now legendary concert, Sidney Bechet celebrated his 52nd birthday on the stage of the Victoria Hall in Geneva. On May 14, 1959, he passed away at his home in Garches, near Paris. During the intervening 10 years, Sidney Bechet would leave the United States to settle in Europe, and would enjoy unprecedented popularity.

Little has been said about the priviledged relationship Sidney Bechet maintained with Switzerland, to the extent that he considered settling on the shores of Lake Geneva.

To celebrate this anniversary, we are happy to share some rare Swiss footage which is part of a recent short documentary (in French), to which our Foundation has contributed. (click here to view)

The United Music Foundation has preserved, restored and released that little known part of Sidney Bechet's legacy in a Collector's Edition box set:

" SIDNEY BECHET EN SUISSE / IN SWITZERLAND "

Limited Collector's Edition box set, numbered from 1 to 2000, presented in a slipcase with hot-stamped gold printing, including:

• A 216-page hardcover art book, 12" x 12"
• Approx. 250 photos and 140 documents, all rare or previously unseen.
• Bilingual essay (English/French) by his biographers Fabrice Zammarchi with the collaboration of Roland Hippenmeyer. English version by Jennifer Gay.
• Previously unpublished interviews with his Swiss friends.
• Forewords by his son Daniel Sidney Bechet, his student Bob Wilber, and his road manager Claude Wolff, who would later marry British legend Petula Clark.

• 4 CDs of rare or previously unreleased recordings preserved and restored from the best surviving audio sources with high definition mastering. (click here for before/after audio clips)
• Over 4 hours and 15 minutes of concerts, radio shows, and interviews from the vaults of Radio-Genève, Radio-Lausanne, and various private sources.

Awards and recognitions:

• BEST REISSUE AWARD - ACADEMIE DU JAZZ (Paris, France)
• MEMORIAV - SWISS COMMISSION FOR UNESCO AWARD (Bern, Switzerland)
• CHOC - JAZZ MAGAZINE (France)
• JAZZ JOURNAL (U.K.): *****
• LE TEMPS (Switzerland): *****

This box set available in our online shop: http://shop.unitedmusic.ch for CHF 179,00.

Until December 31st, 2017, we offer FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING (reseller price excepted).

Video presentation: