In 1987 clarinetist Alain Marquet, once a member of Charquet & Co., and trombonist Daniel Barda, previously of the High Society Jazz Band, began appearing together on a regular basis inside the Gilbert Leroux Washboard Group. Bob Erdos of Stomp Off Records decided to document Marquet, which prompted the formation of Paris Washboard with an original lineup of Marquet, Barda, Leroux, and pianist Louis Mazetier. Their treatment of “When We’re Smiling” proved popular enough that the studio unit settled into a permanent band. Audiences responded warmly to the group’s lively accounts of classic jazz repertoire, and engagements soon followed in France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Australia. When Gilbert Leroux chose to stop traveling, Gerard Bagot took his place. Paris Washboard made its United States debut at the 1993 Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival and has returned several times since. Tuba player Gerard Gervois enlarged the quartet to a quintet on half the tracks of the 1993 Stomp Off album California Here We Come and has continued to appear as a regular guest. The ensemble has released three further Stomp Off CDs and maintains a steady following on the European traditional jazz circuit.
