Eddie Bernard

"Eddie" or "Eddy" Bernard (actually Edouard Bernard, born February 18, 1927, † February 15, 1984) was a French jazz pianist of swing, later modern jazz. "Eddie" Bernard started playing the piano at the age of five and had classical piano lessons at the age of nine. Early influences were Fats Waller, Earl Hines and Erroll Garner. After the liberation of Paris in 1944, he played with the saxophonist Michel de Villers in the Badinage jazz club; In 1945 he worked with Villers, Hubert Fol and Boris Vian. Then in 1946 Django Reinhardt brought him into his band; At his Blue Star Session on April 16, 1947, when the two tracks "Minor Blues" and "Peche à la Mouche" were recorded, Reinhardt added the piano to his sextet. Bernard then played with Alix Combelle, in 1949 with Sidney Bechet. In 1959 he performed with Claude Luter in Hamburg, in 1965 in Paris with Stuff Smith.