Thomas, Rene

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Thomas, Rene

Thomas, Rene, guitarist; b. Liege, Belgium, Feb. 25, 1927; d. of a heart attack, Santander, Spain, Jan. 3, 1975. He was a self-taught guitarist, influenced by Django Reinhardt, who gained experience playing with visiting American musicians in the jazz clubs of Paris. He emigrated to N.Y. in 1958, where he played with Toshiko Akiyoshi and then Sonny Rollins, who praised Thomas’s playing. In late 1959 he was playing in Canada with Paul Bley. He returned to Europe in 1961 and finally settled back in Paris in 1963, where he played with Kenny Clarke and later the Stan Getz Quartet.

Discography

Guitar Groove (1960); Meeting Mr. Thomas (1963); Blue Note (1964); Eddy Louiss-Kenny Clarke-Rene Thomas (1974).

—Music Master Jazz and Blues Catalogue/Lewis Porter