Barney Bigard
| Barney Bigard | |
|---|---|
 From left: Jack Teagarden, Sandy DeSantis, Velma Middleton, Fraser MacPherson, Cozy Cole, Arvell Shaw, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard. At the Palomar Supper Club, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, March 17, 1951. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Barney Bigard |
| Born | March 3, 1906 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA |
| Died | June 27, 1980 (aged 74) |
| Genres | Swing, Dixieland |
| Occupations | Clarinetist, Bandleader |
| Instruments | Clarinet, Tenor saxophone |
| Associated acts | Duke Ellington Louis Armstrong Barney Bigard Sextet Joe "King" Oliver |
Albany Leon Bigard[1] (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980), aka Barney Bigard, was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet.
Bigard was born in New Orleans and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. He moved to Chicago in the early 1920s, where he worked with Joe "King" Oliver and others. During this period, much of his recording with Oliver and others, including clarinetist Johnny Dodds, was on tenor saxophone, an instrument he played often with great lyricism, as on Oliver's hit recording of "Someday Sweetheart".
In 1927 he joined Duke Ellington's band in New York, where he stayed until 1942. With Ellington, he was the featured clarinet soloist, while also doing some section work on tenor.
After leaving Ellington's Orchestra, he moved to Los Angeles, California and did sound track work, including an onscreen featured role with an allstar band led by Louis Armstrong in the 1946 film New Orleans.
He began working with trombonist Kid Ory's band during the late 1940s, and later worked with Louis Armstrong's touring band, the All Stars, and others. He died in Culver City, California.
Bigard wrote an autobiography entitled With Louis and The Duke, and he is credited as composer or co-composer on several numbers, notably the Ellington standard "Mood Indigo".
Contents |
[edit] Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators
The first version of the song Caravan (composed by Juan Tizol and later rearranged by Duke Ellington) was recorded in Hollywood, 18th December 1936, and performed as an instrumental by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators. Two takes were recorded, of which the first (Variety VA-515-1) was published. The band members were Cootie Williams (trumpet), Juan Tizol (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Harry Carney (baritone sax), Duke Ellington (piano), Billy Taylor (bass), and Sonny Greer (drums). All of the players were members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which would often split into smaller units to record small-band discs. Even though Ellington was present at the recording date, the session leader was Bigard.
[edit] Bibliography
- With Louis and The Duke ISBN 978-0333402108) - Barney Bigard's autobiography.
[edit] References
- ^ Bigard, Barney (1986). With Louis and the Duke. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 6.
[edit] External links
Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators, "Clouds in My Heart," 1936. Recording posted on YouTube: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barney_Bigard&action=edit§ion=3
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- 1906 births
- 1980 deaths
- Swing clarinetists
- Clarinetists
- Dixieland clarinetists
- Big band bandleaders
- Jazz musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana
- People from New Orleans, Louisiana
- African American musicians
- American jazz clarinetists
- Louisiana Creole people
- Musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana
- Duke Ellington Orchestra members
- American jazz musician stubs
- American clarinetist stubs
