Pianist, composer, producer, and bandleader Claude Bolling enjoyed his first successes as a kingpin in the mainland European trad jazz movement of the 1950s and '60s. A skilled pianist who was heavily influenced by Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson, Earl Hines, and Art Tatum, he also persisted in performing ragtime and old-style jazz during the years when U.S. and European pop culture was dominated by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Beginning in 1975, Bolling created his own personal hellip; pra" Read more
Claude Bolling, a French composer, arranger, and jazz pianist, was born April 10, 1930 in the city of Cannes in southern France. Raised in Paris, Bolling has lived in the city all his life, with the exception of a period during World War II which he spent in Nic Bolling began taking piano lessons at the age of 11 or 12 and was performing in public by the time he was 1
Having been tutored as a young teen by musicians Earl Hines and Willie “The Lion” Smith, Bolling began his professional career as a performer at the age of 16 when he assembled Les Parisiennes, a band in the style of Duke Ellington. At 18, he began his recording career, recording music with Rex Stewar After a stint in the French military, Bolling continued to perform on stage and to record music with European jazz musicians, as well as with American musicians as they visited Pari
Claude Bolling was introduced to the magic world of jazz by a schoolmate friend and became enamored with the music of Thomas Fats Waller. At just 15 years old he gained recognition and high marks at an amateur contest organized by Jazz Hot and Hot Club from France in Paris. He soon became interested in the music of several other masters of the piano like Willie
