New Orleans Jazz

Growing up in the Uptown neighborhood and riding the streetcars around town, Charles “Buddy” Bolden could not read music, so when he took up the cornet, he listened to the music of the city and made it his own. Not only did he become active in the New Orleans music scene during the early years of Storyville, from 1895 to 1906, but he also cemented a place among those of the “jazz royalty,” earning the title of “King Bolden.”

Turn-of-the-century New Orleans was a port city, with a diverse mixture of ethnic groups about town. Germans operated breweries, as well as restaurants and saloons where they could sell their beer directly. Italian immigrants dominated the French Quarter, so much so that this section easily could have been renamed the Italian Quarter. Meanwhile, African Americans had been free men and women for 30 years, yet still had to live apart from whites due to the Jim Crow laws, enforcing a “separate but equal” status. Despite this contradiction, it was this freedom that accounted for the major difference between the music of this period and that of earlier times in the city, as blacks were free to spend their leisure time in parks, saloons, and other places of entertainment, where they could sing songs and play instruments of their choice.

PLACE CONGO. Under French rule, city leaders allowed slaves to congregate, but in an open area just outside the original city, north of Rampart Street. This area became known as Place des Nègres, or more commonly, Place Congo. By the time Americans took control, the city had grown past the Vieux Carre, and this gathering point was called Congo Square. Bringing their drums, bells, and other musical instruments, slaves would gather in the square, roughly by tribe, to play music, sing songs, and dance. Gatherings in Congo Square continued well into the 1880s. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

MINSTREL SHOWS. In the mid-19th century, New Orleans was one of the major entertainment capitals of North America. In 1853, it did not matter that Buckley’s company did not hail from New Orleans; what did matter was that people wanted to hear music from the city. (Both, courtesy of LOC.)

OPPOSITE PAGE: BRASH BRASS. The emergence of brass bands in the 1890s was not universally popular. While bars and saloons in Storyville, the French Quarter, and Faubourg Ste. Marie began hiring brass bands, many property owners in those neighborhoods complained. The delicate balance between live music venues and residences is still a struggle in New Orleans neighborhoods to this day. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

RED LIGHT. In an effort to curtail prostitution in the city, New Orleans alderman Sidney Story proposed an ordinance in 1894 to create a legal red-light district in the area just north of the French Quarter, bounded by Iberville, Basin, St. Louis, and North Robertson Streets. This district, shown here in 1906, became known as Storyville, a dubious homage to its creator, and attracted brothels, nightclubs, and bars. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

STORYVILLE TODAY. The United States’ entry into World War I in 1917 provided the catalyst for the closure of Storyville, as the Army did not want soldiers wandering into the district before shipping out to Europe. Little remains of the district today; it was demolished in the 1930s and replaced with a public housing project. This grocery store, photographed in 2005, had been Frank Early’s Saloon a century earlier. (Courtesy of Carlos May.)

“FUNKY BUTT.” Charles “Buddy” Bolden (1877–1931) grew up in a shotgun house on First Street in Uptown New Orleans. Even though he did not read music, Bolden taught himself how to play the cornet, imitating the bands he heard in public parks and watching street parades and playing his own tunes, like the popular (and vulgar) “Funky Butt.” This is the only known photograph of Bolden, taken with his band, around 1902. They are, from left to right, (front row) Jefferson Mumford and Frank Lewis; (back row) Jimmy Johnson, Bolden, Willie Cornish, and William Warner. (Above, courtesy NOPL; below, Carlos May.)

LINCOLN PARK. Located in the Riverbend section of Uptown New Orleans, Lincoln Park on South Carrollton Avenue was a popular venue for African Americans in Jim Crow New Orleans. With a roller-skating rink, dance barn, and an outdoor stage, the park regularly featured bands. Due to its location on the St. Charles streetcar line, Lincoln Park’s reputation grew across the city and out into the rural areas, attracting teen musicians like Kid Ory. (Courtesy of UNO.)

BRANDING. In addition to his saloons in Storyville, Tom Anderson also owned the Arlington Café, named after Josie Arlington, who operated one of the top brothels in the district. The café offered “private dining,” as discretion was important to many customers, no doubt. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

DUTT. Born in LaPlace, Louisiana, Edward “Dutt” Ory and his friends would take the train into New Orleans on weekends, then the streetcar to Lincoln Park, to hear Buddy Bolden and other bands. When Bolden tried to hire the teen trombonist, Ory’s sister insisted he stay home with their father in LaPlace until he was 21. Dutt kept his promise and then moved into his sister’s house on Jackson Avenue, pictured here. (Courtesy of Carlos May.)

TAILGATING. Bands playing at parks and dance halls on Friday and Saturday nights would regularly ride around in horse-drawn wagons in the afternoons, playing in the streets and advertising their gigs. The trombone player in this unknown 1905 band would likely follow Ory in his style—playing off the back of the wagon so the slide would not hit his fellow bandmates. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

ROLE MODEL. Antonio Junius “Tony” Jackson (1882–1921) was arguably the best piano player of the Storyville era. His incredible skill at improvisation served as a role model for many musicians playing in the district. Because Jackson had the ability to quickly copy a tune, he could then modify it and make it his own. Improvisation is one of the defining characteristics of jazz, and Jackson is considered to be one of its creators. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

STORYVILLE SALOONS. It is a common myth that jazz bands played in the brothels of Storyville. Those establishments did not welcome the loud, brash music of the likes of King Bolden or King Oliver, who played the saloons in the district instead. Lala’s Big 25 was one of those saloons. Its front doors are preserved at Basin Street Station, an office building and tourist welcome center in Faubourg Treme. (Courtesy of Carlos May.)

HANGOUT. Tom Anderson was a major force and presence in Storyville. His second club was located just up Basin Street from Josie Arlington’s house (in the background, with the rounded cupola). When the “sporting gentlemen” (as customers of the houses were known) finished their business at Josie’s, they would stop at the saloon for a drink and to hear some music. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

COMPETITION. As King Bolden’s bands grew in popularity, other band and orchestra leaders modified their style, playing the syncopated rhythms and doing more improv. One such bandleader was cornetist Freddie Keppard (1889–1933). Keppard founded the Olympia Orchestra, whose members included Alphonse Picou, Jean Vigne, Joe Petit, and Louis Keppard, Freddie’s brother. (Courtesy of NPS.)

OUTSIDE STORYVILLE. While prostitution was only legal within the Storyville district, brothels and saloons popped up on the uptown side of Canal Street as well. One of the bars that regularly featured early jazz bands was the Eagle Saloon, located on the 400 block of South Rampart Street. The building has long since been repurposed as office and retail space, but it is one of the few early jazz venues still standing. (Courtesy of Carlos May.)

KID’S CANAL STREET. When Kid Ory came to New Orleans on the train from LaPlace, he would then take the Tulane Belt streetcar to Canal Street. There, he found the heart of the city’s transit system and the dozens of streetcars that took New Orleanians to and from work. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

LAKEFRONT. Before the days of air-conditioning in homes, New Orleanians would take day trips to the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain to temporarily escape the summer heat. One popular lakefront destination was West End, where the New Basin Canal met the lake. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

MILITARY. While Bolden and other black bandleaders began playing syncopated rhythms, whites-only crowds still opted for Sousa-style brass band music. George DeDroit, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, organized his military-style band in 1902, playing private gigs as well as public concerts at West End. His son Johnny also led several bands in the 1910s and 1920s. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

KING. Joe “King” Oliver (1885–1938) was born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, just north of New Orleans, and moved to the city as a boy. He played cornet extensively in the Storyville district but left New Orleans after an incident in 1919, when a fight broke out in a club and police arrested him and his band. Oliver mentored a young Louis Armstrong, who joined his band as second cornet in Chicago. Even though he never returned to New Orleans, Oliver’s bands were shining examples of New Orleans Jazz throughout the 1920s. (Courtesy of SLL.)

LEGEND. Buddy Bolden’s dementia grew worse in 1906. By 1907, his family had him committed to the state mental hospital in Jackson, Louisiana, where he would remain until his death in 1933. After being brought home to New Orleans, Bolden was buried in Mid-City at Holt Cemetery, a potter’s field where indigent families bury their loved ones. His grave was unmarked and has been lost to time. In 1996, a group that included Bolden biographer Don Marquis (pictured) arranged to have a monument erected to Bolden in the cemetery. It was dedicated on September 6, 1996, the anniversary of Bolden’s birth. (Courtesy of Carlos May.)