Jef Gilson: A Selected Bibliography
This selected bibliography was compiled during my work on the liner notes for the new Byard Lancaster box set of Jef Gilson-produced albums, The Complete PALM Recordings, 1973-1974, out now on Souffle Continu. This listing roughly follows the format used by John Gray in his indispensable classic Fire Music: A Bibliography of the New Jazz, 1959-1990. This selection focuses on sources presenting Gilson in his own words and covering his activities as musician and producer. For references relative to Gilson’s activities as a critic, see Vincent Cotro’s 2023 essay. Straight interviews (as opposed to profiles) are noted. All sources are in French, except where noted. Entries are listed chronologically.
Gilson, Jeff [sic]. "Cher frère jazz…: Pour le jazz français." Jazz Magazine, June 1960, 5. [Letter to the editor.]
Masson, Jean-Robert. "Enquêtes: Un pur." Jazz Magazine, January 1962, 30-31.
Ginibre, Jean-Louis. "Antibes 65: Entretien avec Jef Gilson." Jazz Magazine, September 1965, 59-61. [Interview.]
Cressant, Pierre [pseud.]. "Jef Gilson rejoint l’avant-garde." Jazz Hot, January 1968, 9-10. [Interview.]
Gilson, Jef. "Jazz à Madagascar." Jazz Hot, October 1968, 18-19. [Interview first published in Courrier de Madagascar, followed by text by Gilson.]
Leclerc, Yves. "Une chorale de paroisse… qui swinge!" La Presse, September 14, 1972, C6.
L’Indépendant du jazz. October 1974 to May 1980. [Information sheet edited by Gilson, 21 issues.]
Dubiniou, I. H. [pseud.] "Jef Gilson et ses 'découvertes.'" L’Indépendant du jazz, October 1974, 4-5. [Chronological discussion of Gilson’s discography, likely written by himself.]
Gilson, Jef. "En vérité: Jef Gilson." Jazz Magazine, December 1974, 22-23. [Answers to questionnaire.]
Cressant, Pierre [pseud.]. "Jef & PALM." Jazz Hot, January 1975, 15, 38. [Interview.]
Dutilh, Alex. "Jef Gilson: La sérénité." Jazz Hot, July/August 1979, 16-19, 77-78. [Interview.]
Bergerot, Franck. "Cris et chuchotements chez les producteurs: PALM, Jef Gilson." Jazzophone, January/March 1980, 18-20. [Interview.]
Gilson, Jef. L’Harmonie du jazz: Connaître et utiliser les accords et les gammes. 3 vols. Paris: PALM, ca. 1978-81. [Treatise on jazz harmony.]
Arnaud, Gérald. "Gilson tourne la page." Jazz Hot, July/August 1983, 36, 81.
Cotro, Vincent. "Un précurseur: Jef Gilson." In Chants libres: Le free jazz en France, 1960-1975, 81-93. Paris: Outre Mesure, 1999. [Study of selected Gilson recordings from a musicological perspective, includes Gilson’s answers to short questionnaire.]
Gilson, Jef. The Best of Jef Gilson, The Archives, and Gilson et Malagasy. Jazzman 042, 063, and 065, 2011-2014, CDs/LPs. [Gilson compilations including essays by Francis Gooding and Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau, in English.]
Crépon, Pierre. "Wire Playlist: Jef Gilson’s PALM Label, Independent Jazz Production in 1970s France." The Wire, June 2021. [PALM playlist with commentary, in English.]
Cotro, Vincent. "Deux musiciens-critiques: Jef Gilson et Claude Lenissois à Jazz Hot, 1962-1966." In Quand les musiciens de jazz (s')écrivent, edited by Pierre Fargeton and Yannick Séité, 94-111. Paris: Hermann, 2023. [Study of Gilson and Claude Lenissois’s written contributions to Jazz Hot in 1960-66, contains partial bibliography.]