Along with his brother
Hubert, French pianist
Raymond Fol made significant contribution to European jazz in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. He started playing traditional jazz in a band with his brother and
Boris Vian from 1945 to 1947.
The Fols also played in the Be Bop Minstrels for two years, after which
Raymond Fol worked with
Jean-Claude Fohrenbach and then
Django Reinhardt from 1949-1951. He recorded with
Reinhardt the next year.
Fol also recorded and played with
Roy Eldridge,
Johnny Hodges,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Sidney Bechet,
Guy Lafitte, and
Stéphane Grappelli in the '50s and '60s. He toured Europe with
Gillespie in 1952.
Fol played in Rome for a year in 1958, and led a trio at the Mars Club in Paris in 1961, occasionally doubling on celesta. He was a guest soloist with the
Ellington orchestra in 1969 and 1974, and worked with
Ellingtonians Paul Gonsalves in 1970 and
Cat Anderson in 1977. ~ Ron Wynn