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
Artistas similares
-
The Legendary Sidney Bechet
Jazz - Editado por Bluebird - Legacy el 10 feb. 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 - Editado por AVID Jazz el 20 oct. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Olympia Concert 8 Decémbre 1954 (Live)
Sidney Bechet, Claude Luter Et Son Orchestre
Jazz - Editado por Lantower Records el 6 nov. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Si tu vois ma mère
Jazz - Editado por Supreme Tunes Records el 17 dic. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sidney Bechet, Essentials
Jazz - Editado por Wnts el 11 oct. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ken Burns Jazz-Sidney Bechet
Jazz - Editado por Columbia - Legacy el 3 nov. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Sidney Bechet
Jazz tradicional & Nueva Orleans - Editado por RCA Bluebird el 10 feb. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le jazz de sidney
Jazz - Editado por Carillon Music el 31 ene. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ambiance Bechet (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1952)
Jazz - Editado por Jazz Classics el 1 ene. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Sidney Bechet Vol. 3/4 (1941) - Jazz Tribune No. 18
Jazz tradicional & Nueva Orleans - Editado por RCA Records Label el 21 nov. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Si tu vois ma mère (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Old Europe el 29 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The King Jazz Records Story
Jazz - Editado por Storyville el 1 feb. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sidney Bechet
Dixie - Editado por Archive of Folk & Jazz Music el 19 sep. 1969
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
100 ans de jazz
Jazz tradicional & Nueva Orleans - Editado por RCA Victor el 25 may. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
50 Masterpieces
Jazz tradicional & Nueva Orleans - Editado por Tsk Music el 5 dic. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Sidney Bechet, ses plus grands succès (feat. Olivier Franc)
Jazz - Editado por Frémeaux & associés el 28 feb. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Definitive
Jazz tradicional & Nueva Orleans - Editado por Columbia el 3 nov. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo