Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Sidney Bechet The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans at around the start of the 20th century. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ...

Life

Bechet was born in New Orleans. From a young age, Bechet quickly mastered any musical instrument he encountered. Some New Orleanians remembered him as a cornet hot-shot in his youth. At first he decided on the clarinet as his main instrument, and Bechet remained one of jazz's greatest clarinetists for decades. However, he is best remembered as the master of the soprano saxophone. Bechet was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort. Forceful delivery, well conceived, improvised ideas, and a distinctive wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing. New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Bâ™­ cornet The cornet is a brass instrument that closely resembles the trumpet. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ...

Bechet had experience playing in traveling shows even before he left New Orleans at the age of 20. Never long content in one place, he alternated using Chicago, New York, and Europe as his base of operations until finally settling in France in 1950. Bechet married Elisabeth Ziegler in Antibes, France in 1951. Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town, The City of Big Shoulders, The 312, The City that Works Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837  - Mayor... NY redirects here. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Antibes (Provençal Occitan: Antíbol in classical norm or Antibo in Mistralian norm) is a resort town of southeastern France, on the Mediterranean Sea in the Côte dAzur, located between Cannes and Nice. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Career

Bechet successfully composed in jazz, pop-tune, and extended concert work forms. His recordings have often been reissued. Some of the highlights include 1924 sides with Louis Armstrong in "Clarence Williams Blue Five", the 1932, 1940, 1941 "New Orleans Feetwarmers" sides, a 1938 "Tommy Ladnier Orchestra" session ("Weary Blues", "Really the Blues"), and various versions of his own composition, "Petite Fleur". The power and individualism of Bechet's musical personality are evident in all of his recordings. Existentialists in France called him "le dieu". Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901[1] – July 6, 1971) (also known by the nicknames Satchmo, for satchel-mouth, and Pops) was an American jazz musician. ... Clarence Williams ( November 8, 1893 - November 6, 1965) was a Jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, and publisher. ... Tommy (Thomas J.) Ladnier (May 28, 1900 - June 4, 1939) was an American jazz trumpeter. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement that deals with human freedom. ...

In 1941, as an early experiment in overdubbing at RCA Studios, he recorded on six different instruments: the clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. This recording can be heard under the title "Sheik of Araby". For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously taped musical recording. ... RCAs logo as seen today on many products. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ... A Yanagisawa tenor sax. ... A grand piano, with the lid up. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ...

Bechet was an important influence to alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who studied with Bechet as a teenager. Johnny Hodges in concert, Feb. ...

Shortly before his death in Paris, Bechet dictated his poetic autobiography, Treat It Gentle. He died on his 62nd birthday. City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... . ...

Tributes

Renowed blues harmonica player Sugar Blue claims to have taken his name from the Bechet recording, Sugar Blues. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Bechet is also said to have served as a prototype for the saxophonist Pablo in the novel Steppenwolf, since it was almost certainly through listening to his playing in Europe in the 1920s that Hermann Hesse became acquainted with the world of jazz music. A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... For other uses, see Steppenwolf. ... Hermann Hesse (pronounced ) (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born poet, novelist, and painter. ...

Philip Larkin wrote an ode to Bechet in The Whitsun Weddings. Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist and jazz critic. ... The Whitsun Weddings is a book of poems by Philip Larkin. ...

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 to ever be in this music. —Duke Ellington

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Further reading

• Treat It Gentle by Sidney Bechet (Twayne 1960, Da Capo 1978)
• Sidney Bechet the Wizard of Jazz by John Chilton (Macmillan 1987)

John James Chilton (born: 16 July 1932 in London, England) is a British jazz trumpeter and writer. ...

External links

• The Sidney Bechet Society, Ltd.
• Sidney Bechet on redhotjazz.com
• Profile with pictures