by Scott YanowAlix Combelle was Frances best-known tenor saxophonist of the 1930s and 40s, an excellent player influenced by Coleman Hawkins but able to hold his own on a few famous performances with Hawkins, Benny Carter, and Django Reinhardt. He started on drums, switching permanently to tenor (and occasional clarinet) in 1932. Combelle played with Gregor et ses Gregoriens (1932-1933), Arthur Briggs, Michel Warlop, and Ray Ventura, and often led his own groups. He visited the U.S. twice in the 1930s and was offered a job with Tommy Dorsey, but preferred to stay in Paris. Somehow, during the World War II occupation of France by the Nazis, Combelle was able to continue recording swinging jazz. He drifted into obscurity by the late 40s, although getting the opportunity to play with such visiting Americans as Buck Clayton, Jonah Jones, and expatriate Bill Coleman, and made his last full record as a leader in 1960. Fortunately, three CDs have been released by Classics that contain all of Alix Combelles sessions as a leader during 1935-1943 with the whos-who of French jazz.