Gaston Gilbert Litaize (11 August 1909 – 5 August 1991) was a French organist and composer. Considered one of the 20th century masters of the French organ, he toured, recorded, worked at churches, and taught students in and around Paris. Blind from infancy, he studied and taught for most of his life at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for the Blind).
Louis Vola (La Seyne-sur-Mer, France, 6 July 1902 – 15 August 1990, Paris) was a French double-bassist known for his work with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. He is the godfather of guitarist Francois Vola.
As well as the Hot Club de France, Vola played bass for Ray Ventura, Duke Ellington and singer Charles Trenet. He was also an accomplished accordionist.
In 1934 he was a founding member of the Quintette du Hot Club de France. In a 1976 interview, Vola recalled that he discovered Joseph and Django Reinhardt playing guitars together on a beach at Toulon. Vola invited them to play with his band. Violinist Stéphane Grappelli and guitarist Roger Chaput were members of Vola's jazz ensemble. Vola later left the Quintette but eventually rejoined.
Bernard Vitet (26 May 1934 – 3 July 2013) was a French trumpeter, multi-instrumentist and composer, co-founder of the first free jazz band in France (1964) together with François Tusques, Michel Portal Unit (1972) and Un Drame Musical Instantané with Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé in 1976.
Hubert Rostaing (17 September 1918 – 10 June 1990) was a jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He also did film composition and classical music.
He began his career in Algiers with the "Red Hotters" and later moved to Paris. He might be best known for playing clarinet or saxophone in Django Reinhardt's quintet. His most known performance in that role might be his playing clarinet on Nuages. He later led a band, but after 1962 left jazz for film composing and classical music. He was orchestrator, conductor, or arranger for over 20 French films.
Jeannine "Mimi" Perrin (2 February 1926 – 16 November 2010) was a French jazz pianist, singer, and translator.
Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer. He arranged jazz interpretations of many of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as the Goldberg Variations. The Jacques Loussier Trio, founded in 1959, played more than 3,000 concerts and sold more than 7 million recordings—mostly in the Bach series. Loussier composed film scores and a number of classical pieces, including a Mass, a ballet, and violin concertos. His style is described as third stream, a synthesis of jazz and classical music, with an emphasis on improvisation.
