François Chassagnite was one of the greatest French jazz trumpeters. He toured around the world and sat in with many of the greats, from Chet Baker to Canadian Gil Evans and Malian Salif Keita. He was a regular organizer of the famous Marciac Jazz Festival's master classes, where he used to invite Wynton Marsalis and other great US jazz players like Terence Blanchard. Chassagnite passed away last summer and this album was his last recording session. Chat-ssagnite is a fitting homage to this major figure in European jazz. In the November 1983 issue of Jazz Hot, Chet Baker was asked if he heard a lot of good trumpeters in the new generation. He said, "Oh, not a lot. But there is that young Frenchman, François Chassagnite."
