Sidney Bechet: The Wizard of Jazz

375 Pages·1987·43.681 MB·English

by  John Chilton (auth.)

SIDNEY BECHET
THE WIZARD OF JAZZ
SIDNEY BECHET
THE WIZARD OF JAZZ
by
JOHN CHILTON
M
PALGRAVE
MACMILLAN
Music Division
In memory of the Horton family
who were so kind to a wartime evacuee
and for Eddie Lambert
who loved Bechet's music
© John Chilton 1987
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission
of this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied
or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance
with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended).
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to
this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and
civil claims for damages.
First published 1987
Published by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG212XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
Photoset by Rowland Phototypesetting Ltd
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
in 10/1P/2pt Caledonia
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Chilton, John
Sidney Bechet: the wizard ofj azz.
1. Bechet, Sidney 2. Jazz musicians-
United States - Biography
I. Title
788'.62'0924 MU19.B23
ISBN 978-1-349-09593-3 ISBN 978-1-349-09591-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-09591-9
Bechet to me was the very epitome of jazz. . . everything he
played in his whole life was completely original. I honestly
think he was the most unique man ever to be in this music.
Duke Ellington
Also by John Chilton:
Who's Who ofJazz: Storyville to Swing Street
Billie's Blues: a Survey of Billie Holiday's Career, 1933-1959
Stomp Off, Let's Go! The Story of Bob Crosby's Bob Cats & Big Band
Teach Yourselfj azz
McKinney's Music: a Bio-discography of McKinney's Cotton Pickers
A jazz Nursery: the Story oft he jenkins' Orphanage Bands ofC harleston, South
Carolina
Louis: the Louis Armstrong Story (with Max Jones)
Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction xv
1 Creole Ancestry 1
2 The New Orleans Truant 9
3 Jazz Prodigy 18
4 Restless 27
5 Transatlantic Triumphs 35
6 Deportation Blues 45
7 The Wizard on Wax 55
8 Duel of the Giants 64
9 Mayhem in Paris 75
10 Gigging and Sewing 85
11 Big-band Days 98
12 Summertime 110
13 The Jazz Revival 124
14 One-man Band 135
15 Farewell to Louisiana 149
16 Bunk and Boston 162
17 King Jazz 174
18 Absent Enemy 189
19 Chicago Showdown 201
20 European Acclaim 212
21 Beating the Ban 224
22 Monsieur Bechet 241
23 Stardom in France 254
24 The Birth ofa Ballet 269
25 The Final Bows 282
Coda 294
References 295
Bibliography 308
Selected Discography 311
Index 315
Acknowledgements
This book could not have been completed without the help of the following
people. Their kindness and generous assistance was inspirational; I shall always
be grateful to them.
Jeff Atterton, Emelda Bechet-Garrett, Lawrence Gushee, Richard Had
lock, Mike Hazeldine, Franz Hoffmann, Mary Karoley, Robert Lewis,
Claude Luter, Evelyn McCoy (Arkansas Arts Center), Johnson McRee Jr,
Brian Peerless, William Russell, Howard Rye, Fran~ise Venet, Terkild
Vinding, Bob and Joanne 'Pug' Wilber.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the following: Bernard Addison,
Richard Allen, Ernie Anderson, George Avakian, Christian Azzi, Jean-Claude
Baker, Chris Barber, Eddie Barefield, Danny Barker, Everett Barksdale, Alan
Barrell, Collin Bates, Josephine Beaton, Ken Bell, Tommy Benford, Clyde
Bernhardt, Cuff Billett, John Blowers, Marcel Bornstein, Arthur Briggs,
Michael Brooks, Eric Brown, Lawrence Brown, Beryl Bryden, Teddy Buckner,
Garvin Bushell, James Butts, John Ciardi, Buck Clayton, Bill Clark, Derek
Coller, James Lincoln Collier, Mal Collins (Sidney Bechet Appreciation So
ciety), W. Mercer Cook, Peter Cripps, D. Criscuolo, Charlie Crump, Michael
Cuscuna, Patti D'A rta, Stanley Dance, Kenny Davern, Russell Davies, Demas
Dean, Charles Delaunay, Guy Demole, John Dengler, Dave Dexter, Ray Diehl,
Derek Drescher, Frank Driggs, Ake Edfeldt, Jack Egan, Roy Eldridge, Nesuhi
Ertegun, Wally Fawkes, John Featherstone, John Field, Kansas Fields, Dr
Desmond Flower, Clarence Ford, Charles Gabriel, Bob Glass, James Goggin,
Lorraine Gordon, Jeffrey Green, Laurie Green, David Griffiths, Eddie Gross
bart, Marty Grosz, Adelaide Hall, Hammersmith Central Library, John Ham
mond, Harry Hayes, J. C. Heard, Art Hodes, Dick Hughes, Joan Hulbert,
George Hurley, Jazz Archive (Tulane University, New Orleans), Norman Jen
kinson, Dr Helen Johnson, Mrs Lemuel Johnson, Jonah Jones, Max and Betty
Jones, Wayne Jones, Max Kaminsky, George W. Kay, G. E. Lambert, the
Honourable Gerald Lascelles, John Lawrence, Jack Lesberg, Henry Levine,
Harry Lim, Lincoln Library (Springfield, Illinois), Alfred W. Lion, Rainer Lotz,
Humphrey Lyttelton, Alan Macmillan, Oscar Madera, Don Marquis, Adele
Girard Marsala, Barry Martyn, Jim McGraw, Pierre Merlin, Tony Middleton,
Bob Mielke, Max Miller, Johnny Mince, Kurt Mohr, Fred Moore, Dan
Morgenstern, David My lne, Joe Mu ranyi, Newspaper Guild ofNe w York, Louis
Nussbaum, Ray Oehler, Dave R. Ogden, Gerard W. Organ, Bob Osgood, Mary
xii / SIDNEY BECHET
Osgood, F. Wynne Paris, Grace Wynne Paris, Johnny Parker, Sidney Parker,
David Perry, Nat Pierce, Arthur Pilkington, Mike Pointon, Lewis Porter, James
T. Powell, Dorothy Prescott (New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz),
Sammy Price, George Probert, Ruth Reinhardt, Barbara Reid, Roy Rhodes,
Charles 'Red' Richards, Trevor Richards, Shirley Rickards, Al Rose, Bob Salt
marsh, Lou Savarese, Phil Schaap, Walter Schaap, Peter Schilperoort, Arvell
Shaw, Alyn Shipton, Mrs James Shirley, Johnny Simmen, Hal Smith, John
Smith, Keith Smith, Kenneth Smith, Stephen W. Smith, Don Sollash, Monty
Sunshine, Ronald Sweetman, Mike Sutcliffe, The British Broadcasting Corpora
tion, Clarence Todd, Eric Townley, Christopher Tyle, Alfred Van Straten, Steve
Voce, Al Vollmer, Arthur Wang, Matt Walsh, Benny Waters, James Weaver,
Harold 'Buddy' Weed, George Wein, Dick Wellstood, John Whitehorn, Brian
Willan, Bert Willcox, Johnny Williams, Spencer P. Williams, Laurie Wright,
Dan Wyllie, Sol Yaged, Bernard Zacharias.
The following magazines and periodicals were consulted:
Great Britain Band Wagon, Crescendo, Dancing Times, Dancing
World, Eureka,Footnote, Holborn Guardian, Hot
News, Jazz Express, Jazz Forum, Jazz Journal, Jazz
Magazine, Jazz Monthly, Jazz Music, Jazz News, Jazz
Scene, Jazz Tempo, Jazzology, Melody Maker,
Musical News and Dance Band, Pickup, Popular
Music & Dancing Weekly, Rhythm, The Stage,
Storyville, Swing Music, Tune Times, West London
Observer, The Wire
France Bulletin du Hot club de France, Jazz hot, Jazz
magazine, Jazz, La revue du jazz, Les cahiers du jazz
Holland Doctor Jazz
Eire Hot Notes
Australia Jazz, Australian Jazz Quarterly, Jazz Notes, Quarterly
Rag
Canada Coda
Germany Berolina (das Magazin der Kempinski-Betriebe)
USA American Jazz Review, Amsterdam News, Baltimore
Afro-American, Basin Street, Boston Herald,
Cadence, Chicago Defender, Clef, Down Beat,
Esquire, HRS Rag, IARJC Journal, Illinois State
Journal, Indianapolis Freeman, International
Musician, Jazz, Jazzfinder, Jazz Information, Jazz
Music, Jazz Quarterly, Jazz Record, Jazz Register,
Jazz Report, Jazz Review, Jazz Session, Jazz Today,
Jersey Jazz, Journal of Jazz Studies, Metronome,
Mississippi Rag, Music & Rhythm, Needle, New
York Age, New York Clipper, New York Times, New