SIDNEY BECHET Vol.4
‘House Party’ Original Recordings 1943-1952
Sidney Bechet had such a direct and passionate
tone on the soprano-sax that he was both loved
and detested by various listeners. Both Duke
Ellington and John Coltrane considered him
among their favorite players yet, for some fans,
Bechet’s wide vibrato and insistence on playing
lead (usually the role of trumpeters in New
Orleans jazz) made him less popular. But if one
comes to Bechet’s music on his own terms, there
is a great deal to appreciate and enjoy.
Born 14 May 1897 in New Orleans, Sidney
Bechet was a prodigy. He took clarinet lessons
from Lorenzo Tio, Big Eye Louis Nelson and
George Baquet but soon surpassed each of his
teachers and while still a child was playing with
some of the top bands in New Orleans. After
working throughout the South with various
groups, in 1917 Bechet moved to Chicago where
he played with King Oliver and Freddie Keppard.
Two years later he joined Will Marion Cook’s
Southern Syncopated Orchestra, being featured
as a star soloist with Cook in New York and in
Europe. Bechet bought his first soprano-sax in
London and created a sensation overseas.
Back in New York in 1923, Bechet made his
recording debut and became the first significant
jazz horn soloist on records, playing brilliantly on
“Wild Cat Blues” and “Kansas City Man Blues”
with Clarence Williams’ Blue Five. He also
appeared on records opposite Louis Armstrong
and backing blues singers, in addition to having
an unrecorded stint with Duke Ellington’s early
orchestra.
Bechet would have been a bigger influence in
jazz had he not spent 1925-29 back in Europe,
working in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Russia and
all throughout the continent. While his style of
jazz was considered out of vogue during much of
the 1930s, Bechet worked with Noble Sissle’s
orchestra and in 1932 led his own short-lived
New Orleans Feetwarmers with trumpeter
Tommy Ladnier. In 1939 things greatly
improved when he recorded a hit version of
“Summertime” for the new Blue Note label.
The rise of the New Orleans jazz revival
movement resulted in Bechet working constantly
during the 1940s, recording many classics during
1939-41, guesting on some of Eddie Condon’s
Town Hall concerts and in 1945 trying
unsuccessfully to co-lead a New Orleans-style
band with veteran trumpeter Bunk Johnson who
unfortunately had become an unreliable
alcoholic.
This collection begins in 1943 with a couple
of extended ‘V-Disc’ performances. These special
recordings, which were made for American
servicemen stationed in Europe, feature Bechet in
exuberant form, matching wits with trombonist
Vic Dickenson (who was a perfect frontline
partner) and a rhythm section that includes the
underrated bassist Wilson Myers. Bugle Call
Rag with its exciting breaks and Ole Miss have
often been played as a medley and this rendition
is particularly rousing. After You’ve Gone starts
out as a ballad and then, after a drum break, it
really cooks.
Mezz Mezzrow was a well meaning if limited
clarinettist who loved playing ensemble-oriented
jazz and was at his best on blues. A hustler who
always fought for the music he loved even if his
own playing was far from virtuosic, during 1945-
47 Mezzrow founded and ran his own King Jazz
label. The great majority of the selections he
recorded matched his clarinet with Bechet’s
soprano and a sampling is included on this
collection.
Trumpeter Hot Lips Page is a strong asset on
the slow blues House Party and he takes an
expressive vocal on Blood On The Moon. Page
plays with great feeling and was wise enough to
leave plenty of space for the musical commentary
of Bechet and Mezzrow. Pleasant Joe takes a
guest vocal on Saw Mill Blues, adding a country
blues feeling to the music while the three horns
all comment freely.
Without Page and Joseph on the 30 August
1945 session, Bechet and Mezzrow romp freely
on Old School which is based on “Tishomingo
Blues”. They interact closely on Out Of The
Gallion, a slow blues on which Mezzrow does his
best to follow Bechet both in mood and style.
Bowin’ The Blues received its name due to the
bowed bass of veteran Pops Foster, who was a
contemporary of Bechet from New Orleans. As
with many of the Mezzrow sessions, the melody
is ambiguous and was largely made up on the
spot while the band dug into playing the blues.
Deluxe Stomp is a logical follow-up for it sounds
like the same song as Bowin’ The Blues except at
a peppier and happier tempo.
The team of singer Leola ‘Coot’ Grant and
pianist-singer Wesley ‘Sox’ Wilson were well
known in black vaudeville in the 1920s. They
were making a brief comeback in the mid-1940s
when Mezz Mezzrow enlisted them for the
18 September 1946 session. Coot Grant is
featured singing Evil Gal Blues (no relation to
the Dinah Washington hit), urged on by the
playing of Bechet and Mezzrow. Really The
Blues was originally recorded by Bechet and
Mezzrow with Tommy Ladnier in 1938. This
remake is a two-part extended blues that
expands upon the mood of the original version.
Breathless Blues features Bechet making a rare
appearance on the clarinet, blending in very well
with Mezzrow for a medium-tempo ensemble
piece that is full of joy.
With the rise of bebop in the late 1940s and
the decline of swing, Bechet found it a bit more
difficult to get good jobs. He had dreams of
opening up a music school so he hung up a sign
that proclaimed that he was teaching music.
Bechet ended up only getting one steady pupil,
but it was a future great, Bob Wilbur, who
became his protégé. Wilbur was initially strongly
influenced by Bechet until he developed his own
approach to traditional jazz. Bechet was so
impressed by Wilbur’s potential that he recorded
with him on a couple of occasions. The Broken
Windmill, a delightful Bechet original, has
Wilbur and the young but already brilliant stride
pianist Dick Wellstood teaming up with a group
of veterans. A change of pace is offered on Box
Car Shorty, which features the group being
joined by the calypso singer The Duke Of Iron.
1949 was the turning point in the career of
Sidney Bechet. He was invited to the Salle Pleyel
Jazz Festival in Paris that summer and his
performances, the hit of the festival, were greeted
by such enthusiastic audiences that he decided to
move permanently to France. Within a couple of
years he was a national celebrity, becoming much
more famous in France than he ever was in the
United States.
Black And Blue and When It’s Sleepy Time
Down South feature Bechet in London with
trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton’s band. While
Lyttelton, pianist George Webb and, to a lesser
extent, trombonist Keith Christie and clarinettist
Wally Fawkes would be major forces in the
British traditional jazz movement of the 1950s,
in this setting they were happy to play a
secondary role behind the great Bechet.
At The Jazz Band Ball was recorded a few
months before Bechet’s great success in Paris. It
teams him with the usually competitive cornetist
Wild Bill Davison. Davison had great respect for
Bechet and his simple but colorful lead proved to
be surprisingly compatible with the intense
soprano-saxophonist, leading to some musical
fireworks that are always quite musical.
Bechet visited the United States on a few
occasions during 1950-53 but after 1949 his
home was France. For the next ten years he
played before large and boisterous crowds. Two
of his most popular showcases were Petite fleur
and Les oignons, which are heard here in spirited
versions with clarinettist Claude Luter’s
orchestra.
Sidney Bechet enjoyed fame and prosperity in
France during his last years, passing away on
14 May 1959. Although it is a pity that he did
not become a household name in the United
States, he is today recognized as one of the true
giants of jazz.
Scott Yanow – author of eight jazz books including
Jazz On Film, Swing, Bebop, Trumpet Kings and Jazz
On Record 1917-76