Art Nouveau & Jazz in Liège

When we talk about Art-Nouveau in Belgium, we usually talk about Brussels or Antwerp, but forget that a beautiful collection of Art-Nouveau buildings can be admired in Liège. The Walloon city of Liège has more than 200 buildings in Art Nouveau style.

These buildings you can find in the neighborhoods that were built at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, such as Fragnée, Fétinne, Botanical Garden, Sint-Gillis, Sainte-Marguerite, Cointe and in the north of Outremeuse. One of the first buildings in this style in Liège is the House Bénard, built in 1895 by Paul Jaspar, who was the brother-in-law of the famous architect Paul Hankar, who together with Victor Horta, Henry van de Velde and Gustave Serrurier-Bovy belonged to the most important Architects of the Art Nouveau in Belgium. Paul Jaspar was one of the most active architects in Liège together with Maurice Devignée and Victor Rogister.

Maison Bénard

The Liège Art-Nouveau is clearly inspired by the Brussels architectural style, but has specific embellishments, such as stone sculptures (heads of busts), sgraffito and forging work. The Liège Art Nouveau sometimes - as in the first works by Paul Jaspar - also refers to the local Maasland style..

In addition to a famous brother -in -law - architect Paul Hankar was internationally known - Paul Jaspar also had a famous cousin, namely Bobby Jaspar (1926-1963). The birthplace of Bobby Jaspar - a Belgian jazz saxophonist / fluteist is 'The Jasperhouse' on the rue du Vieux Mayeur 44, built in 1906 and designed in Art Nouveau style by his great -uncle the architect Paul Jaspar. A memorial plaque on the house reminds.

With the Liège saxophonist Jacques Pelzer, pianist Francy Boland and vibronist Sadi, Bobby Jaspar was part of the Jazzensemble The Bob Shot, the first 'BE-Bob' jazz band in Belgium.In 1950 he went to Paris, where the jazz scene took off, thanks to the presence of large American musicians and good local musicians. Bobby Jaspar soon became one of the leading figures of modern jazz in Paris. His incredible saxophone technology and daring improvisations, lyricism and constant search for experiment make him one of the most acclaimed European jazz men in the 1950s.

In Paris he married the American pianist and singer Blossom Dearie which he had met there in 1955.

Shortly after their marriage, Bobby Jaspar moved to the United States, where he would meet the top of the jazz world. His BE-BOP Inspiration was influenced by other styles and Jaspar tried to combine his soft saxophone with the techniques of Sonny Rollins and Warne Marsh, but always while maintaining his original sense of lyric. He was also a very good jazz composer. Bobby Jaspar was very popular with American musicians and participated in many recordings sessions, with Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Donald Byrd.

In 1961/62 he returned to Europe for a year, where he gave concerts in different countries and some of his last recordings made with Chet Baker, the American trumpet player and with the Italian pianist Amedeo Tommasi.

Meubels en graf van Gustave Serrurier-Bovy

He only became 37 years old and is buried in the cemetery of Robermont, also known as the Père-Lachaise of Liège. And this cemetery also the beautiful Art Nouveau grave can be found of one of the prominent architects of the Art-Nouveau in Belgium: the architect / furniture designer Gustave Serrurier-Bovy (1958-1910), who besides refined furniture also designed jewels, vases and lighting. And he had a shop/studio, both in Liège and Paris ...

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