New Orleans Jazz

The Great Depression made it difficult for many musicians to make a living. Journeymen players were forced to give up their passion professionally, taking on other jobs merely to survive. In some cases, the country’s economic collapse destroyed even the top-tier musicians. King Oliver, for example, lost all his savings when the Chicago bank he used collapsed, and he died in poverty. Many of the stars survived, however, such as Ory in Los Angeles and Armstrong in New York, along with Larocca and Bonano, who floated back and forth between Chicago, New York, and New Orleans. The music itself also evolved and changed as radio grew in popularity and the big-band sound came on the scene. It was harder for small clubs and saloons to stay afloat, so musicians migrated to larger orchestras. By the 1950s, when historians and true fans of the genre realized the original generation of jazz musicians was growing old and dying, heightened efforts were launched to record their music and preserve their stories.

ON THE RADIO. WSMB Radio’s house orchestra is pictured here in 1930. The station’s offices and studios were located on the 13th floor of the Maison Blanche Building, at the intersection of Canal and Dauphine Streets downtown. The members are, from left to right, Mr. Gorman, cello; Albert Fisher, bass; Carl Mandever, violin; Mr. Pertuit, piano; Bill Gillen, trumpet; Pascal Ugarte, drums; Irving Fazola, sax/clarinet; Sal Finnegella Sr., trumpet; Sal Finnegella Jr., sax/clarinet; and Charlie Kigsky, trombone. The two men on the far right are unidentified. (Courtesy of LSM.)

RCA SESSION. This is Jelly Roll Morton’s last recording session, in 1939, for RCA. Pictured from left to right are (front) Sidney Bechet on clarinet, Albert Nicholas on clarinet, and Albert “Happy” Cauldwell on saxophone; (back) Sidney DeParis on trumpet, Zutty Singleton on drums, and Jelly Roll Morton on piano. Morton passed away two years later. (Courtesy of LSM.)

ZUTTY. Arthur “Zutty” Singleton (1898–1975) started like many New Orleans musicians in the early 1900s by playing pickup gigs and theater lobbies. He served (and was wounded) in the US Navy during World War I. Upon his return to New Orleans, he played with a number of jazz bands, including those of Papa Celestin, Big Eye Louis Nelson, and John Robichaux, as well as on riverboats with Fate Marable. In the 1920s, Singleton moved to Chicago and, in 1928, replaced Baby Dodds on the drums for the second incarnation of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five. He then followed Armstrong to New York in 1929. Seen here around 1939, Singleton (drums) is with Joe Marsala (clarinet) and Teddy Wilson (piano) at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. (Courtesy of LOC.)

GIGOLO. Louis Prima (1910–1978) was from a Sicilian family who lived in New Orleans. Prima played trumpet in a number of Italian-owned clubs in town, but his vocals garnered him much more recognition. Moving to New York in 1934, he organized the New Orleans Gang, combining scat and swing with traditional Dixieland. Prima moved out to Los Angeles, mainly to avoid entanglements with the Italian mob. He opened the Famous Door nightclub, which led to movie appearances. In 1937, Prima returned to New York, where he began to record and perform Italian songs such as “Angelina.” After meeting Keely Smith in 1951, the two began to record together and were married a short time thereafter, later divorcing in 1961. Prima was chosen for the voice of King Louie in Disney’s The Jungle Book in 1967. (Courtesy of LOC.)

BANJO. Johnny St. Cyr (1890–1966) played in the Olympia, Superior, and Tuxedo Orchestras and then on riverboats with Fate Marable during the 1910s. He went to Chicago with King Oliver and later became a member of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five. He is seen here recording with the Original Creole Stompers in 1949. Pictured from left to right are Louis Nelson, trombone; Herb Morand, trumpet; Austin Young, bass; Albert Burbank, clarinet; and Johnny St. Cyr, guitar. Albert Jiles is on drums, partially visible on the left. (Courtesy of LSM.)

DISNEY. Here, Kid Ory plays on a riverboat at Disneyland as part of the Young Men of New Orleans in 1960. Johnny St. Cyr (barely visible on left, behind Ory) led the group from 1960 until his death in 1966. (Courtesy of LSM.)

SECOND LINE. The tradition of the second-line parade is a long one. This Stanley Kubrick photograph from 1950 shows the Eureka Brass Band as the “first line” in a parade of the Signs of the Zodiac Social Aid and Pleasure Club, which is the “second line” to the band. The sax player is unidentified; the sousaphone player is Joseph “Red” Clark. (Courtesy of LOC.)

DUKES. The original Dukes of Dixieland was a family band, formed by the Assuntos in 1948, with brothers Frank and Fred on the trumpet and trombone, respectively, and their father, “Papa Jac,” on the trombone and banjo. They recorded regularly and played around town. This photograph shows the band playing at the Municipal Auditorium in 1950. From left to right are Frank Assunto, trombone; Monk Hazel, drums; Fred Assunto, trumpet; Chink Martin, bass (behind Fred Assunto); Jeff Riddick, piano; and Pete Fountain, clarinet. Sharkey Bonano is on the right. (Courtesy of LSM.)

BANANA. Joseph “Sharkey” Bonano (1904–1972) was born in the Milneburg neighborhood of New Orleans. As a youth, he played locally before he began to travel. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he played with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, replacing Nick Larocca. Unlike many New Orleans musicians, “Sharkey Banana” (at the mic) often returned to New Orleans to record and play, as seen here with his band in 1950. (Courtesy of LOC.)

EDUCATION. During the Great Depression, government programs like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) sponsored education programs for teens. Musicians and teachers were trained to work with young people, and then they went out to teach music. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

DANCING. At left is a 1940s advertisement for the Dew Drop nightclub, hotel, and barbershop, located on LaSalle Street in New Orleans. From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, the Dew Drop was a popular dance venue, attracting a number of jazz groups as well as emerging R&B and rock-n-roll performers. Below, the club’s sign is shown how it appears today. (At left, courtesy of NOPL; below, Carlos May.)

JUMBO. Grammy-winning trumpet player Al Hirt (1922–1999) was a man of many talents. In addition to recording the theme song for the 1960s superhero show The Green Hornet, Hirt was the owner of a Bourbon Street nightclub and a minority owner of the New Orleans Saints when the team was created in 1967. Widely regarded as an ambassador of New Orleans, Hirt also was one of the founders of the Krewe of Bacchus carnival parade. (At right, courtesy of NNA; below, LSM.)

BIG BANDS. New Orleans hotels, such as the Roosevelt on Canal Street, embraced the swing era of the big bands in the 1930s and 1940s. The Roosevelt’s Blue Room featured a big band as its house orchestra. Unfortunately, the drain on local talent that hit New Orleans in the 1930s to 1940s meant that hotels had to book non-native dance orchestras. Ray Pearl’s orchestra would periodically come down from Chicago to play the Blue Room. Though originally from Ohio, Ted Lewis began to copy New Orleans–style jazz in the 1910s. By the 1930s, he was leading a swing-style big band. The Roosevelt continues to offer musical entertainment in the Blue Room as well as the Fountain Lounge. (Both, courtesy of NOPL.)

REVIVAL CATALYST. William Gary “Bunk” Johnson (1879–1949) claimed to be a member of Buddy Bolden’s band, but research into the early years indicates he was not a regular. Johnson (left) lost his front teeth in a fight in 1931, but was able to get dentures by 1939. He made his first recordings in 1942 and enjoyed some success while touring in the mid-1940s, such as this gig in New York City, where he played with Lead Belly. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

REVIVAL LEADER. Born Joseph Louis Francois Zenon in the French Quarter, George Lewis (1900–1968) began his professional career in 1917, playing for Buddy Petit, Kid Ory, and Chris Kelly. Unlike many other talented black musicians, Lewis did not leave New Orleans. He worked for several years as a stevedore during the Great Depression, moonlighting with several bands. Lewis became better known in the 1940s, when Bunk Johnson chose him to play clarinet in his revival band. When Johnson’s health declined, Lewis took over leadership of the band, playing with Lewis Marrero, Al Pavageau, Jim Robinson, Alton Purnell, and Baby Dodds. By the 1960s, Lewis was playing regularly at Preservation Hall, influencing a new generation of players. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

YOUNG EAGLE. Leeds “Lee” Collins (1901–1960) played with the Young Eagles, the Columbia Band, and the Tuxedo Brass Band as a teenager. He later replaced Louis Armstrong on cornet in King Oliver’s band in Chicago and also played with Jelly Roll Morton. In Chicago, in the 1930s and 1940s, Collins (center) played with the Dodds brothers, Zutty Singleton, and several other New Orleans musicians. Returning to New Orleans, Collins helped form the Jones-Collins Astoria Hot Eight, named after the Astoria Hotel on Rampart Street. After 1945, he led the house band at the Victory Club, where this photograph was taken on his 50th birthday. (Courtesy of NOPL.)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS. Recorded at the French Quarter studios of WDSU in 1950, Sharkey Bonano’s band played with/against Papa Celestin’s band. Bonano’s band consisted of Sharkey, Lester Bouchon, Charlie Miller, Jeff Riddick, Chink Martin Sr., and Monk Hazel. Papa’s band included Celestin, Alphonse Picou, Bill Matthews, and Louis Barbarin. (Courtesy of LSM.)

POPS. Louis “Pops” Armstrong (1901–1971) went from the streets of New Orleans and the Colored Waifs’ Home for Boys to playing for King Oliver and following him to Chicago. Armstrong spent most of the Great Depression in California. He achieved commercial success in both Chicago and New York, hitting his peak when “Hello Dolly” knocked The Beatles off the top of the pop charts. While he never returned to New Orleans for more than a few visits, Armstrong is considered the main icon of New Orleans jazz. (Above, courtesy of LOC; at right, LSM.)

HISTORIAN. Edmond “Doc” Souchon (1897–1968) was one of the early leaders in the historical preservation of New Orleans jazz. While studying to become a physician in Chicago, Souchon played with a number of bands in the 1910s. He later recorded in the 1940s and was at the forefront of the establishment of the New Orleans Jazz Club and the New Orleans Jazz Museum. (Courtesy of LSM.)

MINT CONDITION. Doc Souchon’s efforts to preserve the jazz heritage of New Orleans came to fruition with the establishment of the New Orleans Jazz Club in 1949, which led to the opening of the New Orleans Jazz Museum in 1961. The museum had several locations over time, including the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street, and accumulated an interesting collection of memorabilia, such as Eddie Edwards’s trombone. (Edwards is shown here donating the instrument to Souchon and the museum.) The museum went bankrupt in 1973, and the collection went into storage. It was subsequently donated to the Louisiana State Museum, which reopened the collection in 1978 at the Old US Mint on Esplanade Avenue. (Courtesy of LSM.)