Jean-Louis Viale (1933-1984) was a French jazz drummer who early in his career played with Sacha Distel and Rene Urtreger and then played with Jimmy Gourley, Bobby Jaspar, and Henri Renaud at the club Le Tabou in Paris.

He also played at the Club Saint-Germain in the early 1950s and played with Clifford Brown, Frank Foster, Stan Getz, Stephane Grappelli, Gigi Gryce, Thelonious Monk, Jimmy Raney, Django Reinhardt, Zoot Sims, Martial Solal, René Thomas, George Wallington, Barney Wilen, and Lester Young.

In the early and mid-1960s he worked often as a sideman and session musician, with Raymond Fol, Johnny Griffin, Roger Guerin, Ivan Jullien, and Eddy Louiss.

In 1968 he involved in a car crash in 1968 which temporarily halted his playing. He returned in 1969 to work again with Rene Thomas, Stephane Grappelli, Jim Hall and Barney Kessel.

In the 1970s he worked with Benny Bailey, Jack Dieval, Johnny Hammond Smith, and Slide Hampton, and Rene Urtreger.

Some of his recordings are with Django Reinhardt, Bobby Jaspar, Chet Baker, Stéphane Grappelli, Pony Poindexter, Rene Thomas Quintet, Mary Lou Williams, Clifford Brown, Jimmy Raney, Claude Nougaro, Zoot Sims, Eddy Louiss, James Moody, Frank Foster, Barney Kessel, Gigi Gryce's, and others.

This is Jean playing "Nigtht in Tunisia" at "Au Club Saint Germain" in Paris, France. (Bobby Jasper - tenor sax, Benoit Quersin - bass, Sacha Distel - guitar, Rene Urtreger - piano).