Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet was the first important jazz soloist on records in history (beating Louis Armstrong by a few months). A brilliant soprano saxophonist and clarinetist with a wide vibrato that listeners either loved or hated, Bechet's style did not evolve much through the years but he never lost his enthusiasm or creativity. A master at both individual and collective improvisation within the genre of New Orleans jazz, Bechet was such a dominant player that trumpeters found it very difficult to play with him. Bechet wanted to play lead and it was up to the other horns to stay out of his way.
Sidney Bechet studied clarinet in New Orleans with Lorenzo Tio, Big Eye Louis Nelson, and George Baquet and he developed so quickly that as a child he was playing with some of the top bands in the city. He even taught clarinet, and one of his students (Jimmie Noone) was actually two years older than him. In 1917, he traveled to Chicago, and in 1919 he joined Will Marion Cook's orchestra, touring Europe with Cook and receiving a remarkably perceptive review from Ernst Ansermet. While overseas he found a soprano sax in a store and from then on it was his main instrument. Back in the U.S., Bechet made his recording debut in 1923 with Clarence Williams and during the next two years he appeared on records backing blues singers, interacting with Louis Armstrong and playing some stunning solos. He was with Duke Ellington's early orchestra for a period and at one point hired a young Johnny Hodges for his own band. However, from 1925-1929 Bechet was overseas, traveling as far as Russia but getting in trouble (and spending jail time) in France before being deported.
Most of the 1930s were comparatively lean times for Bechet. He worked with Noble Sissle on and off and had a brilliant session with his New Orleans Feetwarmers in 1932 (featuring trumpeter Tommy Ladnier). But he also ran a tailor's shop which was more notable for its jam sessions than for any money it might make. However, in 1938 he had a hit recording of "Summertime," Hugues Panassie featured Bechet on some records and soon he was signed to Bluebird where he recorded quite a few classics during the next three years. Bechet worked regularly in New York, appeared on some of Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts, and in 1945 he tried unsuccessfully to have a band with the veteran trumpeter Bunk Johnson (whose constant drinking killed the project). Jobs began to dry up about this time, and Bechet opened up what he hoped would be a music school. He only had one main pupil, but Bob Wilber became his protégé.
Sidney Bechet's fortunes changed drastically in 1949. He was invited to the Salle Pleyel Jazz Festival in Paris, caused a sensation, and decided to move permanently overseas. Within a couple years he was a major celebrity and a national hero in France, even though the general public in the U.S. never did know who he was. Bechet's last decade was filled with exciting concerts, many recordings, and infrequent visits back to the U.S. before his death from cancer. His colorful (if sometimes fanciful) memoirs Treat It Gentle and John Chilton's magnificent Bechet biography The Wizard of Jazz (which traces his life nearly week-by-week) are both highly recommended. Many of Sidney Bechet's recordings are currently available on CD.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
The Quintessence Sidney Bechet 1932-1943: New York- Glovesville- Chicago
Klassischer Jazz & New-Orleans-Jazz - Erschienen bei Fremeaux Heritage am 30.07.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bechet joue Bechet (Mono Version)
Jazz - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sidney Bechet Quintessence 2 (1944-1958) (New York - Paris - Boston 1944-1958)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Fremeaux Heritage am 28.03.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Runnin' Wild
Jazz - Erschienen bei Blue Note Records am 01.01.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sidney Bechet At Storyville
Jazz - Erschienen bei 1201 MUSIC am 01.10.1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bechet Souvenirs
Jazz - Erschienen bei Legacy Recordings am 03.03.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Sidney Bechet
Jazz - Erschienen bei Bluebird - Legacy am 10.02.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Five Classic Albums Plus (On Parade / Ambiance / Deux Heures Du Matin Au Vieux-Colombier / Rendez-Vous / Bechet Revient) (Digitally Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei AVID Jazz am 20.10.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Olympia Concert 8 Decémbre 1954 (Live)
Sidney Bechet, Claude Luter Et Son Orchestre
Jazz - Erschienen bei Lantower Records am 06.11.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Si tu vois ma mère
Jazz - Erschienen bei Supreme Tunes Records am 17.12.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Sidney Bechet, Essentials
Jazz - Erschienen bei Wnts am 11.10.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Sidney Bechet
Klassischer Jazz & New-Orleans-Jazz - Erschienen bei RCA Bluebird am 10.02.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le jazz de sidney
Jazz - Erschienen bei Carillon Music am 31.01.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ambiance Bechet (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1952)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazz Classics am 01.01.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Sidney Bechet Vol. 3/4 (1941) - Jazz Tribune No. 18
Klassischer Jazz & New-Orleans-Jazz - Erschienen bei RCA Records Label am 21.11.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Si tu vois ma mère (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Old Europe am 29.10.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The King Jazz Records Story
Jazz - Erschienen bei Storyville am 01.02.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo