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