Interview with Leonard Bechet about his Silver Bells band, the Bechet family, and Sidney's early musical ability

Audio file
Date recorded: April 4, 1949 to April 14, 1949
Contributor(s): Performer: Lomax, Alan; 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: T1001
Track Number: 2
Archive ID: T1001R02
Note: Discussion of Bechet's Silver Bells band, and the players who were involved. He names his siblings and recalls their strict family life. Explains Sidney's early musical ability around 12 or 13 years old – he first played a flute.
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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