Through the composer, pianist and big band leader Claude Bolling, American music represented by Duke Ellington and Count Basie, became known and respected in Europe. Bolling, the pupil who became master, representing European music, introduced the ingenious mixture of jazz and classical music to the United States through his Suite for the flute and a piano jazz trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal which beat all records by staying in the Billboard charts for 530 weeks. Alexandre Lagoya, a leading guitarist of the XXth century, commissioned Claude Bolling for this concerto, another masterpiece of crossover
