Fats Sadi

{{Short description|Belgian jazz musician, vocalist, and composer}} "'''Fats'''" '''Sadi Pol Lallemand''' (23 October 1927, Andenne, Belgium – 20 February 2009, Huy) was a Belgian jazz musician, vocalist, and composer who played vibraphone and percussion.<ref>[http://www.jazzinbelgium.org/mus/sadi.htm Jazz in Belgium biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308210801/http://www.jazzinbelgium.org/mus/sadi.htm |date=8 March 2005 }}</ref> He chose the name "Sadi" because he disliked his last name, which means "the German" in French. He led a quartet and nonet and won the Belgian Golden Django for best French-speaking artist in 1996.

==Career== His first instrument was xylophone, which he played in a circus in the 1930s.<ref name="Feather">{{cite book |last1=Feather |first1=Leonard |last2=Gitler |first2=Ira |title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-507418-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/biographicalency00feat/page/579 579] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalency00feat/page/579 }}</ref> After World War II, he turned professional playing the vibraphone. He performed with Bobby Jaspar in the Bob Shots, then with Don Byas.<ref name="Feather" /> From 1950 to 1961, he lived in Paris, where he played with Aimé Barelli, Django Reinhardt, and Martial Solal.<ref name="Feather" />

In the 1960s, he moved to Brussels, Belgium, and was a member of Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band.<ref name="Feather" /><ref>[http://www.jazzprofessional.com/report/ClarkeBoland_2.htm Brown, Tony. "The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band: Where it all began" (1968) www.jazzprofessional.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213130115/http://jazzprofessional.com/report/ClarkeBoland_2.htm |date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> He worked for RTBF, the TV channel of the French Community in Belgium. Sadi became seriously ill in January 1995 and appeared rarely on stage.

==Discography== ===As leader=== * ''The Swinging Fats Sadi Combo'' (Blue Note, 1954)<ref>Discogs listing for The Swinging Fats Sadi Combo album[https://www.discogs.com/release/4757223-The-Swinging-Fats-Sadi-Combo-The-Swinging-Fats-Sadi-Combo]</ref> * ''Mr. Fats Sadi, His Vibes and His Friends'' (MPS, 1966)

===As sideman=== '''With Don Byas''' * ''Don Byas featuring Mary Lou Williams & Beryl Booker'' (Vogue, 1953) * ''Memorial'' (Vogue, 1973) * ''Don Byas'' (Inner City, 1980)

'''With Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band''' * ''Handle with Care'' (Atlantic, 1963) * ''Swing, Waltz, Swing'' (Philips, 1966) * ''Sax No End'' (SABA, 1967) * ''Out of the Folk Bag'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''17 Men and Their Music'' (Campi, 1967) * ''Faces'' (MPS, 1971)

'''With Bobby Jaspar''' * ''Bobby Jaspar & His Modern Jazz'' (Vogue, 1954–1955) * ''Bobby Jaspar/Henri Renaud'' (Vogue, 1953–1954)

'''With Sahib Shihab''' * ''Seeds'' (Vogue Schallplatten, 1970) * ''Companionship'' (Vogue Schallplatten, 1971)

'''With others''' * André Hodeir, ''The Vogue Sessions'' (Vogue) * Django Reinhardt, ''Bruxelles/Paris'' (Musidisc, 1938–1953) * Zoot Sims, ''Jazz in Paris: Zoot Sims & Henri Renaud'' (EmArcy) * Martial Solal, ''The Complete Vogue Recordings Vol. 2'' (Vogue, 1953–56) – Quartet co-led by Fats Sadi

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071024140050/http://users.skynet.be/sky19290/disco.htm Discography] * [http://www.jazzinbelgium.com/musician/sadi Page on jazzinbelgium.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadi, Fats}} Category:1927 births Category:2009 deaths Category:People from Andenne Category:20th-century Belgian male singers Category:20th-century Belgian singers Category:Belgian jazz composers Category:Belgian male composers Category:Belgian jazz musicians Category:Belgian jazz singers Category:Blue Note Records artists Category:Jazz vibraphonists Category:Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band members