Leon Roppolo (March 16, 1902 – October 5, 1943) was a prominent early jazz clarinetist, best known for his playing with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Roppolo also played saxophone and guitar March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in Leap years). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the early 1920s in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... A clarinetist (sometimes also spelled clarinettist) is a musician who plays the clarinet. ... The New Orleans Rhythm Kings were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early/mid 1920s. ... Saxophones of different sizes play in different registers. ... A guitar is a musical instrument characterized by its visually dominant body and neck. ...

Leon Roppolo in the early 1920s

Leon Joseph Roppolo (nicknamed "Rap") was born in Lutcher, Louisiana, upriver from New Orleans. His family moved to the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans about 1912. Young Leon's first instrument was the violin. He was a fan of the marching bands he heard in the streets of New Orleans, and wanted to play clarinet. An older relative with the same name played that instrument in Papa Jack Laine's Reliance Brass Band. Leon Roppolo, photo from 1920s, from period archival newspaper The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... Leon Roppolo, photo from 1920s, from period archival newspaper The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Tom is short for Thomas). ... Lutcher is a town located in St. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... George Vital Laine aka Papa Jack (September 21, 1873 - June 1, 1966) was the most busy and perhaps the most important band leader in New Orleans in the years from the Spanish-American War to World War I. Laine in 1906 Many of the New Orleans musicians who first spread...

Roppolo soon excelled at the clarinet, and played youthful jobs with his friends Paul Mares and George Brunies for parades, parties, and at Milenburg on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. In his teens Roppolo decided to leave home to travel with the band of Bee Palmer, which soon became the nucleus for the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. The Rhythm Kings became (along with King Oliver's band) one of the best regarded hot jazz bands in Chicago in the early 1920s. Many considered Roppolo to be the star. His style influenced many younger Chicago musicians, most famously Benny Goodman. Some critics have called Roppolo's work on the Rhythm Kings Gennett Records the first recorded jazz solos. Paul Mares (June 15, 1900 – August 18, 1949), was an early jazz cornet & trumpet player, and leader of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. ... George Brunies aka Georg Brunis (February 6, 1902 - November 19, 1974) was a well known early jazz trombonist. ... Landsat image of Lake Pontchartrain Map showing Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrains north shore at Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville, Louisiana in 2004 Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans during Hurricane Georges in 1998 Lake Pontchartrain (local English pronunciation ) (French: Lac Pontchartrain, pronounced ) is a brackish lake in southeastern Louisiana, the... The New Orleans Rhythm Kings were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early/mid 1920s. ... Joe King Oliver, (December 19, 1885 – April 8, 1938) was a bandleader and jazz musician. ... Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Official website: http://egov. ... The 1920s were a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David Goodman, (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was a famous Jazz musician, known as King of Swing, Patriarch of the Clarinet, The Professor, and Swings Senior Statesman. // Childhood and early years Goodman was born in Chicago, the son of poor Jewish immigrants who lived... Gennett (pronounced with a soft G) was a United States based record label which flourished in the 1920s. ...

After the breakup of the Rhythm Kings in Chicago, Roppolo and Paul Mares headed east to try their luck on the New York City jazz scene. Contemporary musicians recalled Roppolo making some recordings with Original Memphis Five and California Ramblers musicians in New York in 1924. These sides were presumably unissued, or if issued unidentified. Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Roppolo and Mares then returned home to New Orleans where they briefly reformed the Rhythm Kings and made some more recordings. After this Roppolo worked with other New Orleans bands such as the Halfway House Orchestra, with which he recorded on saxophone.

Roppolo exhibited ever more eccentric behavior and violent temper. This was finally too much for his family to take, and Leon was committed to the state mental hospital. Some writers have speculated that he was suffering from tertiary syphilis. Syphilis (historically called lues) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by a spirochaete bacterium, Treponema pallidum. ...

In his later life, Roppolo, looking old and feeble far beyond his age, would come home for periods when a relative or friend could look after him, and he would sit in with local bands on saxophone or clarinet.

Leon Roppolo died in New Orleans at the age of 41, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, within sight of the old Halfway House building where he played for years.