(Buddy Bolden's statue in Louis Armstrong Park, New Orleans, Louisiana)
(Photo by Jon Lebkowsky taken December 29, 2012)

Cosmic Buddy Bolden

Instrument

cornet

Roles

bandleader

soloist

masterful improviser

Style/Genre:

Old School jazz pioneer.

waltzes, ragtime, and popular songs of the day.

“took the guttural moan of the blues played at medium tempos, some with raunchy lyrics, mixed it with the spirit of the black Baptist church, and applied a ‘ragged’ rhythmic feel [syncopation] to his songs.”^[6]

Notable Achievements^[7]

known as "King" Bolden.^[8]

pioneer in Ragtime and Jazz^[9] coming to prominence when only at the age of 18 his band began playing in New Orleans.^[10] (1895)

“member of string ensembles that played at dances and parties.”^[5]

his bands “emphasize the wind instruments over the strings.”^[5]

“single biggest contribution to jazz (was) his focus on the blues . . . by incorporating the blues sensibility and structure into his music.”^[11]

created a style all his own by embellishing ragtime music and adding in blues tunes and blues tonality with significant improvisations.

“those who heard him agreed that he had great volume, a talent for beautiful ornamentation and a profound feeling for playing the blues on the brass horn.”^[12]

“his proto-jazz playing influenced the next generation of players like King Oliver and Freddie Keppard, masters of the four-bar break.^[12]

a self-taught cornet player.

famous for his loud, clear, powerful tones that could be heard far away.

“Clarinetist Alphonse Picou (1878–1961) said: “He was the loudest there ever was because you could hear Buddy’s cornet as loud as what Louis Armstrong played through the mike.”^[13] (bold not in original)

skilled improviser.

his band had a large following in and around New Orleans.

impressed younger musicians.^[14]

Donald M. Marquis (1933–2021), In Search of Buddy Bolden: First Man of Jazz (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006).

Danny Barker (1909–1994), Buddy Bolden and the Last Days of Storyville (New York: Continuum, 1998).

David C. Perry, Jazz Greats (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1996). Part of the 20th Century Composers series covering various jazz greats including Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Elllington, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and briefly, Ornette Coleman, Wynton Marsalis, and Keith Jarrett.

Instrument:

piano

Roles:

singer

bandleader

composer

arranger

music teacher

minstrel shows

Style/Genre:

Progressive Ragtime

Stomps

Early Jazz

Morton liked to brag he was "the suit man from suit land."^[17]

Notable Achievements:^[18]

pivotal figure from New Orleans.

“combined ragtime, French quadrilles and the hot Blues played by Buddy Bolden.”^[19]  

(According to jazz historian William (Bill) Russell (1905–1992)
this is the earliest known photo of Morton around age 17 in 1906)

performed as a solo artist and/or as part of vaudeville troupes in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and throughout the South.

first jazz arranger.

jazz promotion.

“a rov­ing snake-oil sales­man, card shark, vaude­vil­lian, pool­room hustler, gam­bler and pimp. He chose a sex­ual nick­name—“Jelly Roll” (which typically refers to the male organ)—and wore a diamond in his gold tooth”^[20]  

raconteur story teller.

wrote over 100 compositions (52 listed at Wikipedia: Jelly Roll Morton) including “Jelly Roll Blues” (written in 1905, but not recorded until 1924), “Frog-I-More Rag” (written in 1908, but not copyrighted until 1918), “King Porter Stomp” (Morton claimed to compose it in 1905, but not recorded until 1923 as a piano solo and not copyrighted until 1924), “Milenburg Joys” (recorded 1923), “Wolverine Blues” (recorded 1923), “The Pearls,” “Grandpa’s Spells” (recorded 1923), “Mr. Jelly Lord,” “Shreveport Stomp,” “Black Bottom Stomp,” “Winin’ Boy Blues,” “The Crave,” “Don’t You Leave Me Here,” “Sweet Substitute,” “Wild Man Blues,” and “I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say.”

claimed to have invented jazz in 1902,^[21] which would make him 12 years old; read his August, 1938 letter defending his jazz bona fides published in Downbeat.

played piano in brothels at age 14.

arguably "Jelly Roll Blues" was first jazz composition published (1915).

recording contract with Victor Talking Machine Company in Chicago recording with his newly named septet, “The Red Hot Pep­pers,” in­clud­ing “Black Bot­tom Stomp,” named for an African-Amer­i­can dance step from the deep South and has now been recorded over 190 times.^[20]  

"Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers" recordings are classics of 1920's jazz.

(Jelly Roll Morton on left)

+ first act booked on tours by MCA.

+ own short-lived radio show (1934).^[22]

“helped lead the transition from ragtime to jazz as a piano wizard of the first rank who could transform all sorts of music into jazz—embellishing, paraphrasing and improvising; smoothing out the rhythms of ragtime; and making everything flow and swing.”^[20]  

Morton's 30 year old composition "King Porter Stomp"^[23] became Benny Goodman's first hit and a swing standard (1935).

his oral life history recorded by Alan Lomax while Morton talks and demonstrates on his piano for the Library of Congress (1938)
 

Read John Szwed's (b. 1936) "Doctor Jazz: Jelly Roll Morton"

But beware of historical shaping of Morton's story done by Lomax for his own purposes of conforming Morton's story to Lomax's positions on 'authenticity' in musical expression and motivations, convincingly argued by Katy E. Martin:
“Distortions are abundant in [Lomax's] book, in the form of omissions, alterations, and the voices of Lomax and others working to conform Morton’s story to Lomax’s own ideas about American culture and folk music. Because of his romantic conceptions of folk culture, Lomax is compelled to attribute to Morton his own preoccupations and adjust Morton’s story to fit his own a priori model of authenticity: the racialized, oppressed organic musician whose suffering gives rise to a redeeming creative genius.”^[24]

“The composer and pianist Jelly Roll Morton envisaged a more sophisticated and coloured sound, and he expanded jazz instrumentation by enriching its textures and harmonies.”^[25]

Downbeat magazine Hall of Fame, Critic's Poll (1963).
 

U.S. Commemorative stamp (1995).

“Black Bot­tom Stomp” transcribed and pub­lished in the se­ries Es­sen­tial Jazz Editions (1999).

“Black Bot­tom Stomp” added to the Li­brary of Con­gress’s pres­ti­gious Na­tional Record­ing Registry (2006).

(Photo in public domain)

"Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax" (Rounder Records) won in two categories at the 48th annual Grammy Awards ceremony held on Feb 8, 2006.

“Black Bot­tom Stomp” included in the Smith­son­ian's au­thor­i­ta­tive “Jazz: The Smith­son­ian An­thol­ogy” (2010).
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2015).

The opener of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 30th season (2017-18), its flagship orchestra will debut arrangements of Jelly Roll Morton’s compositions, some of which are a century old.^[26]
 

Los Angeles Morgue Files. Scroll down to fourth entry on Jelly Roll Morton.

"The Saga of Jelly Roll Morton" at Jazz Rhythm.com.

Jelly Roll Morton history at DoctorJazz.co.uk.

Stephen Kinzer, "The Man Who Made Jazz Hot; 60 Years After His Death, Jelly Roll Morton Gets Respect," New York Times, November 28, 2000.

Musical Instrument:

cornet

trumpet

Roles:

bandleader

featured soloist

composer

singer

actor

Style/Genre:

Early Jazz

New Orleans Jazz

Dixieland

Swing

Vocal Jazz

Traditional Pop

Notable Achievements:^[27]

joined^[28] King Oliver's band in Chicago moving from his hometown of New Orleans (1922).

(Photo by Gianluigi Destefanis in 2010])

widely recognized as the founding father of jazz.

an instrumentalist virtuoso.

pioneered jazz style vocals and popularized scat style vocals.

along with Fletcher Henderson and many others he was the instigator of the second wave of jazz, Swing.

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb July, 1946)

recording hit songs, many of which have become jazz standards, for five decades.

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb c. 1938–1948 with colorized version on right)

his talent for improvisation helped the trumpet emerge as a solo instrument.

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb July, 1946)                                                                            

a masterful accompanist and ensemble player.

known as a tireless performer, averaging over 300 concerts a year.

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb c. April, 1947)

his celebrity extended beyong music, appearing in over 30 motion pictures.

(Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong (1901-1971) &
Joe "King" Oliver (1885-1938))

promoted extended improvised solos.

“Armstrong was jazz's first superstar. Satchmo's explosive creativity defied conventions of early New Orleans jazz; he was a charismatic showman and dazzling trumpet player who was, literally, too good for his band. His performances were largely responsible for shifting the focus from the group to the soloist, and he was also quite an innovator when it came to scat. Perhaps most importantly, his acceptance by the social elite helped popularize jazz across racial and social boundaries.”^[29] (bold not in original)

world entertainer.

America's 1st jazz ambassador.

strong vocalist.^[30]

“recorded with Clarence Williams, Fletcher Henderson, Bessie Smith and others before making his leader debut in late 1925.”^[31]

"Melancholy Blues," (1927) performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven included on golden record sent in 1977 on Voyager 1 spacecraft.
 

developed a way of playing jazz, as an instrumentalist and a vocalist, which has had an impact on all musicians to follow.

recorded hit songs for five decades, and his music is still heard today on television and radio and in films. Listen to Armstrong's music, including in his own words, at Jazz Rhythms: "Louis Armstrong: A Seminal Voice in Jazz."
 

wrote two autobiographies (click on book titles to read them), and , more than ten magazine articles, hundreds of pages of memoirs, , and thousands of letters.
 

appeared in more than thirty films (over twenty were full-length features) as a gifted actor with superb comic timing and an unabashed joy of life as in "Hello Dolly" (1964/1969) where he co-starred with Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau. He also had many television appearances.
 

composed or performed dozens of songs that have become jazz standards, such as "Dippermouth Blues/"Sugar Foot Stomp," "Heebie Jeebies," "Potato Head Blues," "West End Blues," "Basin Street Blues," and "Ain't Misbehavin'."

performed an average of 300 concerts each year, with his frequent tours to all parts of the world earning him the nickname “Ambassador Satch,” and became one of the first great celebrities of the twentieth century.
 

Timemagazine cover (1949).
 

Downbeat magazine Hall of Fame, Reader's Poll (1952).
 

Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie sang and played together only once on the song "Umbrella Man" as part of the Timex All-Star Jazz Show on NBC January 7, 1959. The joint-appearance was preplanned but not rehearsed.
 

  Cover of Life magazine, April 15, 1966.
 

 

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1972).

 

inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990 (Early Influence).

U.S. Commemorative stamp (1995).

inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (2017) as a 20th Century Early Music Influence.

50 year career

(Louis Armstrong House^[32] in Queens, New York City, NY)
(Photo by Wally Gobetz in 2007)

See and hear him play and sing (including scatting) in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1933.


 

Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Marker
in Armstrong Park, New Orleans, Louisiana
Statue sculpted in 1976 by Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012)
Photo by Richard E. Miller taken July 14, 2009

Krebs, Albin. "Louis Armstrong, Jazz Trumpeter and Singer, Dies." New York Times Obituary, July 7, 1971.

Glaser, Matt. "Satchmo: The Philosopher," in Satchmo at 100, Village Voice, June 5, 2001.

Morgenstern, Dan. "Satchmo and the Critics." in Satchmo at 100, Village Voice, June 5, 2001.

Louis Armstrong Readings.

featured soloist
composer

Dixieland
Early jazz
Trad jazz

“one of the first important soloists in jazz, beating trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months.”^[34]

“major figure in early jazz, outstanding clarinetist, only soprano saxophonist of consequence for decades, made melodically rich and emotional music.”^[35]

master of improvisation (both individual and collective) with wide vibrato.^[36]



dominating sound.^[36]

Listen to his music at Jazz Rhythm: "Sidney Bechet: First soprano saxophonist of jazz"  
 

“Bechet is far too individual to keep to the strict New Orleans tradition that no one instrument shall dominate the band. Except for (Louis) Armstrong there is no player of sufficient quality to match him in the cut and thrust of counterpoint. While the Réwéliotty players echoed the familiar phrases learned from gramophone records of the great, or subtle innovations mastered by rote, Bechet created each dip and flow of melody according to the instant prompting of imagination.”

“Even more than (Louis) Armstrong, he seems to speak through music. This not just to praise his relaxation but also his curious changes of mood. In the slow "Basin Street Blues" his saxophone throbbed in rich nightingale sadness then soared in "Muskat Ramble" with the twittering shrillness of a lark, its line of melody whirling ever higher in spiral flights of exuberant sound. When a press photographer annoyed him he fired the instrument with a sharp crack of reproach; when the pianist lagged behind the others he implored him with a musical whine.”^[37] (bold and bold italic not in original)  

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb)

performed in parades at the age of 8 with Freddie Keppard's brass band, and by the age of 15 with the Olympia Orchestra and in John Robichaux's dance orchestra.^[38]
 

(Bust of Sidney Bechet in Armstrong Park, New Orleans, Louisiana)

performed with Bunk Johnson in the Eagle Band of New Orleans (1911–12).

worked with King Oliver in the Olympia Band (1913–14).

In summary, performed in American cities of New Orleans with Freddie Keppard's Olympia Orchestra brass band, John Robichaux's dance orchestra, Bunk Johnson's Eagle Band of New Orleans (1911–1912), and with King Oliver in the Olympia Orchestra (1913–1914).

studied clarinet in New Orleans with Lorenzo Tio (1916).

in Chicago toured frequently often performing with Freddie Keppard (1914–1917).

(Photo of mug shot taken in London September 1922 of Sidney Bechet)

traveled to New York City where he joined Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra (Spring, 1919).

played in Louis Mitchell's Jazz Kings in 1919 and 1920, touring Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿.

Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra traveled to Europe touring England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and Ireland 🇮🇪 (1920–21) and performed at the Royal Philharmonic Hall in London.

sailed to Europe as a member of the Revue Nègre, including Josephine Baker (September 15, 1925), arriving at Cherbourg, France, on September 22, 1925 and opening at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, on October 2, 1925.

toured Europe with various bands reaching as far as Russia 🇷🇺 (1926).

led his own small band at Ada "Bricktop" Smith's club Chez Bricktop in Montmartre, Paris (1928).

In summary, promoted jazz internationalization by visiting and playing in London England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 at the Philharmonic Hall (1919–1920) and later (September 15, 1925), toured with members of the La Revue Nègre, including Josephine Baker arriving at Cherbourg, France, on September 22, opening at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris (October 2, 1925), and returning in 1928 to lead his small band at Chez Bricktop in Montmartre, Paris, France 🇫🇷, then on to Germany 🇩🇪 (Berlin), and Russia 🇷🇺 (June 1926).

returned to New York City to lead a band with Tommy Ladnier (1932) who performed at the Savoy Ballroom.

worked with Noble Sissle and his New Orleans Feetwarmers in 1932 (featuring trumpeter Tommy Ladnier).

ran an unsuccessful tailor shop with trumpeter Tommy Ladnier.

had a hit recording of "Summertime" (1938). Listen to a terrific version of "Summertime" by Bechet six rows down, 15th video at TheSongSummertime.Wordpress.com: dedicated to the most beautiful song ever, one hundred times.

 

Hugues Panassié (1912–1974) featured Bechet on some records (1938) and soon he was signed to Bluebird Records where he recorded quite a few classics during the next three years.
 

worked regularly in New York, appeared on some of Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts, and in 1945 tried unsuccessfully to have a band with the veteran trumpeter Bunk Johnson (whose constant drinking killed the project).

opened an unsuccessful music school where his main pupil, Bob Wilber became his protégé.

“invited to the Salle Pleyel Jazz Festival

in Paris (1949) where he caused a sensation, and decided to move permanently overseas. Within a couple years he was a major celebrity and a national hero in France 🇫🇷.”

discouraged by jazz's reception in America moved permanently to France (1950) where “his performance as a soloist at the Paris Jazz Fair caused a surge in his popularity in that country, where he easily found well-paid work.”^[40]

signed a recording contract with Disques Vogue (1953) lasting for the rest of his life where he recorded many hit tunes, including "Les Oignons", "Promenade aux Champs-Elysees," and the international hit "Petite Fleur" (1952).

composed a classical ballet score in the late Romantic style of Tchaikovsky called "La Nuit est Sorcière" ("The Night Is a Witch").



Downbeat magazine Hall of Fame, Critic's Poll (1968)

The Recordings of Sidney Bechet by Mal Collins as of June 2011

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb)

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb)

(Portrait of Duke Ellington (center), Cat Anderson (left), and Sidney De Paris(?) (right), unknown far right)
(Aquarium, New York, N.Y., ca. Nov. 1946)
(Photo by William P. Gottlieb)

Instrument:

piano ++

orchestra +++ ++

(Duke Ellington introducing his orchestra before the concert at Rang Bhavan in Bombay India on Oct. 9-10, 1963 with colorized version on right)

Roles:

composer

big bandleader

Style/Genre:

Big band Swing

combos

Notable Achievements:^[41]

over 3,000 compositions.^[42]

charming, erudite, well spoken, polite with sophisticated elegance.^[43]

orchestra leader 1923 through 1974.

loyal to his musicians and only ever personally fired three of them: Bubber Miley (in 1929) for alcoholism, (although it is falsely reported that he only ever personally fired just Miley or just Mingus), Charles Mingus (in 1953) for attacking bandmate Juan Tizol as well as splitting his chair with an axe, and Ben Webster in 1937. Wikipedia: Ben Webster reports in the fourth paragraph that Webster was fired for cutting up Ellington's clothing and Clark Terry reporting that Webster slapped Duke and Webster was then given two weeks notice. There is also possibly a fourth musician personally fired by Ellington named Rudy Jackson, who was co-credited as composing "Creole Love Call" along with Ellington and Buber Miley. Jackson had plagiarized the song from King Oliver's tune "Camp Meeting Blues."^[44]
 

often called his music "beyond category."

“That Ellington was "beyond category" is indisputable. Following his own dictum of keeping one foot in the academy and one in the street, Ellington evolved a musical language that imposed formal order on the rhythms, timbres, and attitudes of African-American everyday life. He struck a fine balance between organizational discipline and individual expressive freedom; and merged the traditionally distinct roles of composer and bandleader by embedding the writing process in a Deweyian social process of performative experimentation.”^[45]

tailored music to his soloists.^[46]

most recorded jazz composer.^[47]

composed "Black, Brown and Beige" (1943).

Timemagazine cover (1956).

Downbeat magazine Hall of Fame, Reader's Poll (1956)

along with Billy Strayhorn composed the film score for “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959).

“The late Ellington pieces that will be featured—Such Sweet Thunder (1957), Suite Thursday (1960) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)—show how well Ellington mastered the integration of rhythm section and band; these extended pieces prove that he is one of the great musical thinkers as well as one of the great masters of musical form.”^[48]

(Duke Ellington in San Remo, Italy 🇮🇹 in 1964)

President Lyndon Johnson presented Duke Ellington the President’s Gold Medal (1966).

President Richard M. Nixon (on right) presented Duke Ellington with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, D.C.. (1969)

13 Grammy Awards.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1966).

denied Pulitzer Prize (1965), but awarded the deceased Duke Ellington a special citation to commemorate the centennial of his birth (1999).

French Legion of Honor (1973).

image on a United States Commemorative stamp^[49] (1986)

influenced millions of people around the world.

50 year career

over 20,000 performances in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.^[42]

recorded albums with Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong

worked musically with Florenz Ziegfeld, Irving Berlin, Jimmy Durante, Al Jolson, Mary Lou Williams, Will Marion Cook, Lena Horne, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Mahalia Jackson, Charles Mingus, Frank Sinatra, Maurice Chevalier, and Bing Crosby

wrote oratorios, suites, concertos, and even opera, as well as for the Broadway stage, movies, television, and nightclubs.

frequently collaborating with writing partner Billy Strayhorn (1915–1967), created over 1,500 pieces of music, and nearly 6,000, if brief musical interludes are included.
 

wrote the shows "Jump for Joy," “Man with Four Sides,” and “My People” (for the Century of Negro Progress Exposition in Chicago) (1963).

classical music includes “The Liberian Suite” (commissioned for the centenary of Liberia 🇱🇷), background music for Shakespeare’s "Timon of Athens," and versions of Tchaikovsky’s "Nutcracker Suite" and Grieg’s "Peer Gynt Suite."

film scores include "Black and Tan Fantasy,"
"Cabin in the Sky,"
and "Assault on a Queen"

In 1950, Ellington was featured in three film shorts: "Salute to Duke Ellington," "Symphony in Swing," and "Date with Duke"

accepted a commission from the American Ballet Theatre to develop "The River," a ballet choreographed by Alvin Ailey, as well as a commission from the New York Public Broadcasting Service station, WNET, to complete a comic opera.

received sixteen honorary doctorates from U.S. universities.

received the Order of the Star of Ethiopia 🇪🇹

awarded the Order of Lenin from the Soviet Union