Robert Pernet was a talented drummer in the modern jazz idiom and one of the most important Belgian jazz historians and archivists. His book "Jazz in Little Belgium" (1966), written more than 30 years ago and unfortunately out of print, is still a unique reference tool.
Since the early sixties Robert Pernet had played for ten years with the Babs Robert Quartet among others. With saxophonist Babs Robert, pianist Johnny Brouwers and bassist Paul Dubois, the band played a.o. at the Montreux Festival in 1967.
Robert Pernet also played with well known Belgian and American jazz soloists : Toots Thielemans, Sadi, Lou Bennett, Bobby Jaspar, Jacques Pelzer, René Thomas, Charles Loos, Herman Sandy, etc.
As a writer, Robert Pernet also wrote many articles for various jazz publications. He a.o. wrote for the Record Memory Club magazine. He also was advisor for several radio and tv programs, such as Flemish television BRT's "Jazz in België" and wrote numerous liner notes for Belgian jazz albums.
He was a contributor for the famous "New Grove Dictionary of Jazz" (Macmillan Reference Ltd, 1988), for which he wrote short biographies for no less than 37 Belgian historical jazz personalities.
Robert Pernet's latest book, his Belgian Jazz Discography (1999), is still available. It covers 100 years of recorded Belgian "syncopated music" (1897-1997) with an addendum at the end of the book to include the recent Belgian recordings made in 1998 and 1999.
In 2001, on the occasion of the Belgian Django d'Or awards, Robert Pernet's widow received a posthumous award, the "Muse" of Sabam, for Robert's contribution to Belgian jazz.
Armand Van De Walle
