1 Table of Contents Adams, Dolly 3 Albert, Don 6 Alexis, Richard 12 Allen, Red 14 Almerico, Tony 16 Anderson, Andy 27 Bailey, Buster 38 Barbarin, Paul 39 Barnes, “Polo” 43 Barrett, Emma 48 Barth, George 49 Bauduc, Ray 50 Bechet, Sidney 65 Bechet, Leonard 69 Bigard, Barney 70 Bocage, Peter 53 Boswell, Sisters 84 Boswell, Connie 88 Bouchon, Lester 94 Braud, Wellman 96 Brown, Tom 97 Brownlee, Norman 102 Brunies, Abbie 104 Brunies, George 106 Burke, Ray 116 Casimir, John 140 Christian, Emile 142 1 2 Christian, Frank 144 Clark, Red 145 Collins, Lee 146 Charles, Hypolite 148 Cordilla, Charles 155 Cottrell, Louis 160 Cuny, Frank 162 Davis, Peter 164 DeKemel, Sam 168 DeDroit, Paul 171 DeDroit, John 176 Dejan, Harold 183 Dodds, “Baby” 215 Desvigne, Sidney 218 Dutrey, Sam 220 Edwards, Eddie 230 Foster, “Chinee” 233 Foster, “Papa” 234 Four New Orleans Clarinets 237 Arodin, Sidney 239 Fazola, Irving 241 Hall, Edmond 242 Burke, Ray 243 Frazier, “Cie” 245 French, “Papa” 256 Dolly Adams 2 3 Dolly‟s parents were Louis Douroux and Olivia Manetta Douroux. It was a musical family on both sides. Louis Douroux was a trumpet player. His brother Lawrence played trumpet and piano and brother Irving played trumpet and trombone. Placide recalled that Irving was also an arranger and practiced six hours a day. “He was one of the smoothest trombone players that ever lived. He played on the Steamer Capitol with Fats Pichon‟s Band.” Olivia played violin, cornet and piano. Dolly‟s uncle, Manuel Manetta, played and taught just about every instrument known to man. Dolly‟s musical education began early under the tutelage of her mother, father and Uncle Manuel. She was playing the piano at age five, but in a few years was also performing capably on guitar, bass and drums. Her first professional jobs were with Uncle Manuel. She remembered going on a job with him and helping him carry his four or five “regular” instruments. At one time, probably with the early Tuxedo Band, a young Louis Armstrong was in the band when Dolly was even younger. Manuel tried to teach Louis how to play two trumpets at once, something that Manuel was a master at. Louis couldn‟t do it. “My chops are too think,” Louis said. Dolly married Placide Adams Sr. And soon began raising a musical family. Placide Sr. Was a general contractor, and while Dolly taught the children their musical ABCs, their father instilled in them his mechanical knowledge. Place Jr. said that his father was not a musician, but he did play one blues number on the piano when he thought nobody was around. 3 4 Placide Jr. recalled that he would crawl under the house to listen to him. Dolly taught all seven children something about music. Carl played trombone, but only when a jazz funeral passed the house. Odolie played piano, as did Robert, but neither ever played professional. Calvin played bass, although not professionally either. Dolly had a great memory. She memorized every note of the seven page score of “Poet and Peasant” and played it at night for the kids before they went to sleep. “Us kids would be fooling around the piano while my mother was cooking and if we made a mistake, she would take time out to correct us, saying, „No, do it like this.‟ “Mother was a very talented woman. She could play anything and write anything and was a sight-reader. She never had to look at a piece of music twice. She was also a master seamstress. She made many of our clothes, including our First Communion suits. She wrote her own shows and produced them with members of the family starring. She wrote a show called „tumbling tumbleweeds‟ and we performed it al All Saints Church in Algiers. She also wrote poetry and song lyrics. “Mother and her brothers had their own band in the early 1930s which included Baptiste Mosely on drums and Joe Butler or Lewis James on bass. She played at a lot of private parties and was a „Silent Movie‟ pianist at the old Lyric Theater.” By the late 1930s, sons Justin and Gerald joined their mother‟s band. They played mostly at West Bank clubs, including the Varsity Club, Gay Paree and the Moonlight Inn. Their main competition was Kid Thomas and his band, who were at the Moulin Rouge. 4 5 Placide Jr. came into the band around 1941 when he was just thirteen years of age. They later played the “Million Dollar Room” at Sixth and Danneel Streets. When the job was finished at night, Dolly would go home and the three brothers would go to the Dew Drop Inn and jam all night with other musicians. Placide Jr. recalled the consequences of those all night sessions: “The next night Justin, Gerry and I would be pretty sleepy on the band stand. Mother brought a water pistol and if one of us dozed off, she would squirt us in the eye to wake us up.” Dolly continued to lead “The Adams Family Band” during the 1940s and 50s., but was also in demand to play engagements with the Bocage brothers, George Lewis and Papa Celestin. In 1962 they were frequently employed at Preservation and Dixieland Halls. On January 22, 1965, Dolly played a job at Preservation Hall. After a string bass solo on “The Saints,” Papa John Joseph turned to Dolly and said, “That number just about did me in.” With that statement he collapsed and died, falling on Dolly‟s foot. Her grand-daughter was in the audience and became hysterical. “It was a terrible traumatic experience for my mother and she would very seldom play publicly after that. Shortly after that she had the first of a series of strokes and heart attacks which almost totally disabled her.” Although the family tried to get her interested in music again, she refused to sit at the piano. She spent her last years under the close care of her sons Justin and Calvin. About a week before she died, she asked Placide Jr. to get their friend Walter Lewis to come over and tune the piano. 5 6 She thought she might start playing again. Unfortunately, this was never to be. Don Albert and His Ten Pals by Richard Allen Fall, 1972 Texas has produced much jazz, blues, white folk and gospel music. Who can forget musicians like blind Willie Johnson, Teddy Wilson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Peck Kelly, Hersal Thomas, or Jack Teagarden” Ragtimer Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana. Western swing originated in the Fort Worth- Dallas area. There is a boogie woggie piano style known as “Santa Fe” which centered around Houston, Galveston, Sugarland, and Richman, Texas. We know too little about the early blues and religious music of this state; furthermore, we know almost nothing about the music Scott Joplin heard when he roamed around Texas as a youth. There is even a type of Negro Cajun music, called Zydeco, or sodico, which has moved into Houston. Moreover, cowboy songs are strongly identified with the state. Why did this flowering take place? Because the oil and natural gas boom which began in 1901 has supported good-time music? Texas had, and still has, big spenders. The high rolling oil men loved to show their generosity in honky tonks, speakeasies and ballrooms. Since 1925 the state has led all others in mineral production. This wealth comes for the most part from oil and gas. 6 7 The ethnic groups, including the Negroes, Germans, Anglo-Saxons, Mexicans and Cajuns that settled in Texas were all musical. The mixing of their cultures made for a healthy musical climate. Doubtless the proximity of New Orleans had its effect. Jelly Roll Morton, Bunk Johnson, Leon Rappolo, Punch Miller and Wingy Manone were a few of many Orleanians who worked in Texas. Another example of New Orleans musicians in that state was Don Albert and His Ten pals, A group organized in New Orleans in 1929 but headquartered in Texas for its entire existence. Mr. Albert was born in the Creole section of New Orleans on 5 August 1908, of a most musical family. His real name is Albert Dominique and Natty Dominique is his uncle. The shorter name seemed more suitable for a band leader. His father was a singer, and numerous cousins and in-laws were and are musicians. Don began his musical career as a singer, but decided his voice was not good enough. He took up cornet at about the age of nine under Nelson Jean whose playing Don admired. Mr. Jean gave him two lessons consisting entirely of horn cleaning. This seemed pointless, and he asked his cousin Barney Bigard to take him to Luis “Papa” Tio for more study. Next he studied under Milford Piron, brother of the bandleader Armand Piron and a cousin by marriage of Don Albert. Mr. Piron taught him sight- singing for a year and a half without allowing Don to touch his instrument. Don played his first job, a Mardi Gras parade, with Big Foot Bill Phillips. Mr. Piron heard about this and there were no more lessons from him. He felt that his students should learn 7 8 the fundamentals before becoming professionals. Don also had a few lessons from the famed Creole cornetist Manuel Perez. Don played on the lake boat Susquehanna, and while waiting for the return trip to New Orleans from Mandeville heard for the first time Buddy Petit, a cornetist he admired. Other favorites on hot cornet from the twenties were Chris Kelly and Punch Miller.