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
Similar artists
-
The Young Bechet 1932-1940 (Jazz Archives No. 22)
Jazz - Released by EPM on 24 jun. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bechet, Sidney: House Party (1943-1952)
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 31 jan. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Sidney Bechet Quartet (Mono Version)
Sidney Bechet, Bob Wilber's Wildcats
Jazz - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Milestones: Sidney Bechet, Vol. 3
Jazz - Released by 21-Music on 10 okt. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Favourites (Favorites) (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 11 mrt. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blame It On The Blues
Jazz - Released by Vanilla OMP on 30 nov. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1923 - 1936
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 15 okt. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1940 - 1941
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 15 okt. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Perdido Street Blues
Jazz - Released by Documents on 1 sep. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musiques de ballets
Jazz - Released by Balandras éditions on 17 feb. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
101 - The Essential Sidney Bechet
Jazz - Released by AP MUSIC LTD on 1 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Swing Jam Sessions 1938-39
Sidney Bechet, Tommy Dorsey, Bobby Hackett
Jazz - Released by Jazz Unlimited on 30 mrt. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Milestones: Sidney Bechet, Vol. 1
Jazz - Released by 21-Music on 10 okt. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Paris Concert
Jazz - Released by Legends Live on 4 jan. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Les idoles du Jazz : Sidney Bechet, Vol. 1
Jazz - Released by Mpm on 22 dec. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Jazz Hour With Sidney Bechet: Weary Blues
Jazz - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on 25 jun. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sidney Bechet At The Salle Pleyel
Jazz - Released by Saar srl on 1 jan. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz After Midnight
Jazz - Released by Silver Classics Jazz on 15 apr. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo