Maxim Saury

Maxim Saury (born February 27, 1928, Enghien-les-Bains - November 15, 2012, Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French jazz clarinetist and bandleader.

French jazz clarinetist Maxim Saury, in concert November 30, 1996

Though Saury's father played violin professionally, he did not take to the instrument as a young child and only began playing when he was twelve years old. He switched to clarinet because he admired the playing of Hubert Rostaing. Shortly after World War II he began playing with Christian Azzi and Claude Bolling, and briefly led a trio in 1949. In the 1950s he founded his own large ensemble called the New Orleans Sound; this band included Jean-Claude Naude and went on several tours worldwide. He played with Barney Bigard in the US in the late 1960s and returned to play in the US twice in the 1970s. As a representative figure in French traditional jazz, he was frequently invited to play music, or the role of a musician, in film and television, including in Bonjour Tristesse, Les Tricheurs, Mon oncle, and Adieu Philippine.

References

• André Clergeat, "Maxim Saury". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.