Hugues Panassié

Who was Hugues Panassié?

Hugues Panassié was a French jazz critic and producer. His most famous works were Hot Jazz: The Guide to Swing Music and The Real Jazz, published in 1936 and 1942, respectively.

He is also remembered for financing a number of jazz records by artists such as Sidney Bechet and Tommy Ladnier.

Panassié was an admirer of the "hot" style of jazz music played by Louis Armstrong in the 1930s. He famously dismissed bebop as "a form of music distinct from jazz". He looked down upon West Coast jazz as inauthentic, due to most musicians in the style being white.

Panassié was the founding president of the Hot Club de France. During World War II he allegedly used records as a way to defy Nazi authority in France. His friend, American Mezz Mezzrow, describes one of Panassié's memorable achievements in his autobiography Really the Blues as follows:

He is also known for the quote, "when [Charlie Parker] developed what was called 'Bop,' he ceased to be a real jazz musician".

In 1956, RCA Victor published an LP record, Guide to Jazz, a compilation including 16 recordings by prominent jazz artists with liner notes by Panassiè.