Baro Ferret
Pierre Joseph "Baro" Ferret (1908–1976) was a gypsy jazz guitarist and composer. He was known by his gypsy nickname "Baro," which meant "Big One" or even "King" in Romany. Through his brother Jean "Matelo" Ferret, Baro met Django Reinhardt, and the two men became both friends and rivals. From 1931, the Ferret brothers, along with their third brother Etienne "Sarane" Ferret, and cousin René "Challain" Ferret, were favorite sidemen of Reinhardt. Baro recorded around 80 sides with Reinhardt. The Ferret brothers played with musicians including Didi Duprat. Baro retired as a full-time musician during World War II and devoted himself to running bars and to black market businesses during the German occupation of Paris, an activity he continued into the early 1970s. As a composer, Baro's "valses bebop" were years ahead of the times. His works such as "Panique...!," "La Folle" ("The Madwoman"), "Swing Valse" (written with Belgian-French button accordionist Gus Viseur), and "Le Depart de Zorro" were modernistic, surreal, and dark, part Musette, part modern jazz. His nephews, Jean "Matelo" Ferret's sons Boulou and Elios Ferré continue to perform gypsy jazz. |
Birth and Death Data: Born 1908 (Rouen), Died 1978
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1939
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar
Notes: Sometimes listed as Pierre Ferret.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gramophone | 0LA1059 | 10-in. | 5/4/1936 | Oriental shuffle | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Jazz/dance sextet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1062 | 10-in. | 5/4/1936 | Limehouse blues | Stephane Grappelli ; Quintette du Hot Club de France ; Django Reinhardt | Jazz/dance sextet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1290 | 10-in. | 10/15/1936 | Nagasaki | Stephane Grappelli ; Quintette du Hot Club de France ; Django Reinhardt | Jazz/dance sextet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1291 | 10-in. | 10/15/1936 | Swing guitars | Stephane Grappelli ; Quintette du Hot Club de France ; Django Reinhardt | Jazz/dance sextet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1292 | 10-in. | 10/15/1936 | Georgia on my mind | Quintette du Hot Club de France ; Freddy Taylor | Jazz/dance ensemble, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1293 | 10-in. | 10/15/1936 | Shine | Stephane Grappelli ; Quintette du Hot Club de France ; Django Reinhardt ; Freddy Taylor | Jazz/dance sextet, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1294 | 10-in. | 10/15/1936 | In the still of the night | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Jazz/dance sextet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1702 | 10-in. | 4/21/1937 | Exactly like you | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Jazz/dance quintet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gramophone | 0LA1704 | 10-in. | 4/21/1937 | You're driving me crazy | Quintette du Hot Club de France | Jazz/dance quintet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL6987 | 10-in. | 3/2/1939 | Valse des niglots | Trio de Guitares Pierre Ferret | Guitar trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL6988 | 10-in. | 3/2/1939 | Ti-pi-tin | Trio de Guitares Pierre Ferret | Guitar trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Decca | 4969 | 10-in. | 3/21/1939 | Swing 39 | Quintette du Hot Club de France | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 4970 | 10-in. | 3/21/1939 | Japanese sandman | Quintette du Hot Club de France | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 4971 | 10-in. | 3/21/1939 | I wonder where my baby is tonight | Quintette du Hot Club de France | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 4973 | 10-in. | 3/22/1939 | My melancholy baby | Quintette du Hot Club de France | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 4975 | 10-in. | 3/22/1939 | Twelfth year | Quintette du Hot Club de France | instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ferret, Baro," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110764.
Ferret, Baro. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110764.
"Ferret, Baro." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Ferret, Baro - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98020111
Wikidata: Pierre “Baro” Ferret - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q808539
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/228426483
MusicBrainz: Pierre “Baro” Ferret - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e5baf949-b9bf-41c3-a677-ca4cc691780c
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