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