Article written by Pierre Giroux
“We’ll always have Paris.” Indeed! This iconic line was spoken by the aging roué Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) to the young love of his life, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), in the 1942 movie “Casablanca” at the end of their romantic interlude in Paris just before the Germans were mobilizing to enter the city in June 1940. So whether it involves fictional romantic characters, a revolutionary, a painter, a poet, a writer, a performer, or an expatriate jazz musician, Paris has always claimed a magical hold on these individuals.
It would not be surprising to find a unique Paris-based record label that aimed to preserve those albums recorded in France from the late 40s to the mid-60s, mainly by jazz musicians who had decided either to emigrate to Paris or who were passing through on concert tours or playing at local jazz clubs. During this time, many French jazz labels were involved in recordings: Barclay, Polydor, Philips, Fontana, and Vogue. Consequently, there was plenty of source material, but for various contractual and distribution reasons, these releases were seldom available outside the French market.
Fred Thomas founded Sam Records (named after his son) in 2011 without any deep knowledge or experience in the record industry, but with a firm belief that he wanted to produce first-class releases that were not overly expensive and honoured the dedication of the original recording artists. Thomas grew up and was educated in Lens, in the coal-mining region of northern France. Although music was part of Thomas’s family life while he was young, it was more likely to be classical music. Later, after moving to Paris, he embraced Punk, Rock, New Wave, and his favourite band, The Clash. Jazz did not really interest him until 1997, when his wife introduced him to it.
The genuine “ah ha” moment, however, occurred in 2006 when Thomas discovered recordings of saxophonist Nathan Davis. Having lived in Paris since 1962, he was part of that group of expatriate musicians who had established their lives in the city. Through a family connection, Thomas reached out to Davis and, with his support and cooperation, he agreed to reissue “Peace Treaty” on vinyl. The album was initially recorded in Paris in 1965 on a small French label, SFP, which, besides Davis, featured Woody Shaw (trumpet), Jean-Louis Chautemps (baritone sax), René Urtreger (piano), Jimmy Woode (bass), and Kenny Clarke (drums). Lacking any distribution network, Thomas sold 2000 copies, with 900 going to Japan. The proof of concept was thus confirmed.
However, it’s one thing to dabble in a re-issue process for a newfound jazz friend, but quite another to think about establishing a record label and everything that involves, especially since Thomas was still involved in his chosen professional career, photography. Nevertheless, Thomas was convinced there was a business opportunity in this niche activity, and he began researching and investigating in 2006. Access to master tapes was crucial, along with the accompanying photographs and liner notes. Building a distribution network was necessary, and finally, securing a reliable partner to press releases to Thomas’s exacting standards on 180-gram vinyl.
There was a less stressful way forward if Thomas had chosen to take that route. The European Union Commission passed a law stating that any mechanical recording, whether recorded or released before 1964, was in the public domain, and thus any reproduction of these albums or discs was free from royalty payments. Many quixotic little record companies emerged under this rule (primarily in Spain and the UK), using CDs and, when possible or available, pristine original LPs. Master tapes were made, cover art and liner notes were photocopied, and CDs were rolled out the door. And as the Brits are fond of saying, “Bob’s your uncle.”
Thomas only wanted to work with original masters and the related material, and if that meant paying royalties, so be it. Like many other industries in France, numerous recording companies either went out of business and sold their masters whenever possible or were acquired by multinational corporations such as Universal Music, Sony, or Warner Music.
Research suggested that Universal Music would be the best option since they had more of the underlying labels that fit Thomas’ issuing profile, and he began trying to negotiate an agreement with them. This process took over two years, but eventually, a contract was reached regarding access to the original master tapes, payment of royalties on titles, and use of the associated photographs. With this key component in place, Thomas could now select titles, build a distribution network, choose a pressing entity, and plan a first release.
By 2011, all these tasks had been completed, and what remained was the financing, which, in hindsight, might not have been that challenging. Thomas borrowed € 12,000 from his father (who else?) to produce his first two titles, each consisting of 1000 units. The first was The Chet Baker Quartet/Chet Baker in Paris, originally recorded by Barclay in 1955, featuring Baker (trumpet), the talented but ill-fated pianist Dick Twardzik, Jimmy Bond (bass), and Peter Littman (drums). The second may have been more significant: Lester Young/ La Dernier Message de Lester Young. Barclay recorded it in 1959 in Paris with Young ( tenor sax), René Urtreger (piano), Jimmy Gourley (guitar), Jamil Nasser (bass), and Kenny Clarke (drums). Two weeks after the recording, Young passed away in New York City.
Now, eleven years later, the one-man band Fred Thomas continues to carry on. He selects the one or two titles to be released or repressed each year, searches for the related documents and photographs, manages the website (www.samrecords.fr), proofs the albums before sending them out, prepares each package, large or small, before dispatching, and also finds the time to run a new storefront operation in the 10th Arrondissement. What more is there to say except:
Vive La France
Vive La Différence