Who the hell was Fredo?

François RAVEZ

In a 1954 issue of an accordeon magazine I read an article by Léon AGEL about Jo PRIVAT. In this article AGEL reminds that Privat was spending most of his time with romanichels learning his job with the gitans and that he played guitar as well as accordeon in the purest rabouin style.

He says that he heard wonderful concerts, after the ball, when he was lucky enough to spend the rest of the night with the whole pack : Django REINHARDT, Saranne and Pierre FERRET aka BARREAU or CAMEMBERT, Fredo and so on...

This happened back in 1936 in the rue de Lappe.

Does anyone have an idea about who could be this Fredo?

Best

François RAVEZ

PapsPier

Hi Francois,
do you think it could be Fredo Gardoni? According to a transcription of a conversation between Matelo and Jean Marie Pallen (I think that JM is Jean Marie Pallen) by Scott, Fredo Gardoni often played with the Ferre bros
http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/13498/django-baro-and-gangsters/p4

François RAVEZ

Thanks PapsPier,
Yes that's a possibility, Fredo Gardoni played a lot in the rue de Lappe too. However Gardoni is not known to have been be very fond of jazz music and it seems strange that in an accordion magazine they don't call him by his full name. From 1935 Gardoni played mostly with blind banjoist Manuel Puig.
Fredo being a diminutive for Alfred or for Frederic, I also wondered if it could have been Francis-Alfred Moermann (but FAM was just born in 1936).
Best
François

spatzo

I also think it was Gardoni as he was one of the pionniers of the accordeon in the Rue de Lappe in Paris, there are some informations in french here: http://delabelleepoqueauxanneesfolles.com/Gardoni.htm

Among the infos they precise he was known as "Frédo"...