Interview with Leonard Bechet about his brother Sidney Bechet, the Creole social scene, and the Creole opinion of uptown blacks

Audio file
Date recorded: April 4, 1949 to April 14, 1949
Contributor(s): Performer: Lomax, Alan; Performer: Bechet, Leonard; Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: interview/commentary
Culture: Louisiana Creole, Southern U.S.
Instruments: voice
Setting: At the home of Dr. Leonard Bechet
Location: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T991
Track Number: 1
Archive ID: T991R01
Note: Leonard Bechet discusses Bunk Johnson and the other "rough and ready types" his brother Sidney hung around and played with and the musicians who influenced him. He recalls the Creole music scene in the late 1800s ("when I was just a little bitty boy… back before even [Buddy] Bolden"), which revolved around a club called the Jeunes Amis hall where Creole music and plays were performed. He tells a story of Sidney buying a young Louis Armstrong a pair of shoes for a gig.
Belongs to: Leonard Bechet 4/49
About the session: Interviews with Dr. Leonard Bechet at his home in New Orleans. A dentist by trade and occasional trombonist, Bechet was the older brother of renowned clarinetist Sidney Bechet. He recalls the Bechet family's opinion of Sidney's involvement with the hot jazz circles, the differences between the Creole and black social scenes, pre-jazz Creole music, and discusses his current profession of dentistry. He led the Silver Bells Brass Band, featuring Sidney, until World War I and was a member of the Young Superior Brass Band in the 1920s.
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