Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Spring 2006 - (Page 9) The Louisiana State Museum’s Jazz Collection includes many photographs of the Crescent City’s stellar drummers, from jazz’s earliest days to the musicians we see today. Soon, in public libraries across the state, you’ll be able to see a traveling exhibit featuring New Orleans jazz drummers, but in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek. Baby Dodds One of the greatest and most influential of all early New Orleans jazz drummers, Warren “Baby” Dodds (1898-1959), began playing with Willie Hightower’s band, the American Stars, around 1910. His first performances were at ice cream parties — and his only pay was ice cream. When he was 16, Dodds played in the Storyville district with a four-piece band. In his 1955 autobiography, The Baby Dodds Story (cowritten with Larry Gara), Dodds explained the variety of music he played: “New Orleans is a seaport town and boats would come in from all parts of Europe [W]e’d play ‘Over the Waves’ for the sailors and different nationality songs We’d also jazz up songs like ‘In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree.’ We used to take waltz tunes and change them into four-four time. And ‘High Society’ we always played as a straight march. Now they play it as a jazz number We played what was later called ragtime but was then called syncopation. It was picked up off of Scott opposite page, far left: Sammy Penn (1902-1969) was born in Morgan City, La. A self-taught drummer, he began playing with the Jake Johnson Band at a very young age. When he moved to New Orleans shortly thereafter, he found jobs with Chris Kelly, Henry “Kid” Rena, and the Eureka Brass Band. He eventually stayed with “Kid” Thomas Valentine’s band for many years. opposite page, center: Arthur “Zutty” Singleton (18981975) was one of the most influential drummers of early jazz. He popularized the use of brushes and drum solos. Zutty got his start at the Rosebud Theater in New Orleans with Steve Lewis in 1915. During World War I he went to Europe to fight and was wounded. Zutty played in several bands in New Orleans after the war, including Papa Celestin’s, Luis Russell’s, and with Fate Marable on riverboats. opposite page, upper right: In 1960 Barry Martyn left his home in London, England, for New Orleans to study drumming with Josiah “Cie” Frazier (1904-1985). Many consider Frazier’s playing the epitome of New Orleans-style jazz drumming. In his early years Frazier worked in the orchestras of top New Orleans leaders, such as A. J. Piron, Sidney Desvigne, Oscar “Papa” Celestin, and John Robichaux. By 1961 he played regularly at Preservation Hall. opposite page, lower right: At the age of 12, Samuel “Baby” Lovett (1894-1989) began playing with Geary “Bunk” Johnson’s band in Storyville. By 1927 he had settled in Kansas City where he built a career as a sought-after drummer. this page, top: “Papa” Jack Laine (1873-1966) was a top bandleader in New Orleans. In the 1890s he formed the Reliance Brass Band and created at least five more simultaneously working bands, all with the same name. Many of the early influential white jazz musicians played in his bands, including Tom Brown, Albert and George Brunies, Tony Parenti, and Nick LaRocca. The Reliance Bands were primarily marching bands. Laine retired them after World War I. In this 1919 photograph Jack Laine is playing with his son Alfred “Baby” Laine’s Jazz Band in Alexandria, La. this page, center: Joe Watkins (1900-1969), shown here in 1955, began teaching himself to play the drums around 1918 and eventually worked with Ernest “Punch” Miller, Avery “Kid” Howard, and Isaiah Morgan. His long career with clarinetist George Lewis started in the mid-1940s and continued until health problems curtailed his career in the 1960s. this page, left: Warren “Baby” Dodds (18981959) got his start playing in parades in New Orleans. He played in several other bands in New Orleans before joining Fate Marable's riverboat band in 1918. While working on the riverboat, he played with Louis Armstrong, Johnny St. Cyr, and Pops Foster, among others. He stayed in Marable's band until King Oliver asked him to join his band in San Francisco in 1921. Dodds followed Oliver to Chicago and was the drummer in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. Spring 2006/LOUISIANA CULTURAL VISTAS 9
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