Sidney Bechet In Switzerland

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was a brilliant musician whose fascinating and sometimes dramatic life could make a great Hollywood movie. Born in New Orleans and self-taught on the clarinet when he was eight, Bechet was playing in public by the time he was ten and was soon working with Freddie Keppard, the best cornetist in the city at the time. He began to travel in the South in 1915, moved to Chicago in 1918, was in New York the following year, and toured Europe with Will Marion Cook’s Southern Syncopated Orchestra during 1919-20. While overseas, Bechet bought a soprano sax, he quickly mastered it, and it gradually became his main instrument. Always having a fiery and competitive personality, he managed to get deported from England due to being involved in a fight. In New York in 1923, Bechet became the first major African-American jazz horn player to be showcased on record, being featured extensively on soprano during “Wild Cat Blues” and “Kansas City Man Blues” with the Clarence Williams Blue Five. After appearing on some other classic recordings, Bechet was back in Europe by 1925. He got into a gun fight with guitarist Mike McKendrick in late 1928 which resulted in an 11-month prison sentence and being deported from France. Despite that, Bechet was in Europe until 1931. Other than an exciting record date with his New Orleans Feetwarmers in 1932 and work with Noble Sissle�