Boy Edgar

Boy Edgar, pseudonyms of George Willem Fred Edgar (Amsterdam, 31 March 1915 – 8 April 1980), was a Dutch jazz conductor, pianist and trumpeter. He was also a member of the resistance who saved Jewish children during WW2 and was promoted as a doctor after the war on an investigation into multiple sclerosis.

Life and career Boy Edgar grew up in Amsterdam as the son of a merchant in colonial products. His father was of Armenian descent and his mother Jewish and was from the Dutch East Indies. Initially, the Edgar family was doing well. During his childhood, Boy Edgar was able to visit the Dutch East Indies several times. However, during the economic crisis in the 1930s, the Edgar family's company went bankrupt. His father died in 1935 and left the family in poverty. In 1936 he won a prize for amateur soloists in Brussels and a year later he became a member of the Hague ensemble The Moochers . In 1939 he became leader of this ensemble, which he remained until the German occupier banned jazz music.

During the war he married Mimosa Frenk (1942-9-30),

In 2018, Boy Edgar was posthumously awarded by Yad Vashem for his help to Jews during the Second World War.

Discography 1965 – Now's The Time – LP Artone MGOS 9463 1966 – Finch Eye – LP Artone MDS S 3001 1969 – Various – The Dutch Jazz Scene (Compilatie) Track A1 – A5 – 7-LP Radio Nederland 109 917/923 1971 – Boy's Big Band – The Best Of Boy's Big Band – Compilation LP CBS S 52888 1973 – Live in Shaffy – LP White Elephant PE 888.017 1975 – Gerry van der Klei – Multifaced Gerry – LP Poker PO 13002 1978 – Various – Date with the Dutch – 7 × Vinyl 10" Track N1 en N2 – Radio Nederland 109 766/772 Z 1979 – Music Was His Mistress, An Hommage To Edward Kennedy Ellington – LP BV Haast Records BVHAAST 022 1999 – Now's The Time! + Finch Eye – BV Haast Records CD 9901 2014 – De geniale chaos van Boy Edgar – 678 Records SSECD-002 2015 – Return Live Recordings 1965–1966 – CD Nederlands Jazz Archief NJA 1501

Literature Marie-Claire Melzer & Marieke Klomp Boy Edgar: het dubbelleven van een alleskunner, 2015, Uitgeverij Cossee,