[Dixielandjazz] Pres. Hall's Stories

[Richard Broadie]

Hi Fred,
Got to meet and play with Sweet Emma when she visited So. Cal in late 1960s,
according to you, a few years after her death.. Second clue that 1963 death
was unlikely was your indication that she had a stroke 4 years after her
death, an unlikely scenario.  So I went on line and plucked out the
following to share with you.  Dick Broadie
b. 25 March 1897, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 28 January 1983, New
Orleans, Louisiana, USA. After deciding upon a musical career, Barrett
played piano in a number of New Orleans bands during the 20s including that
led by Papa Celestin. She continued working in New Orleans bands during the
30s and 40s, with units such as those led by Sidney Desvigne and John
Robichaux. In the 50s she worked with Percy Humphrey and Israel Gorman and
also led her own band of New Orleans veterans, sometimes touring. In the 60s
she suffered periods of ill-health but even a stroke did not stop her.
Somewhat flamboyant in her younger days, she was known as the Bell Gal
because of her habit of wearing bells on her garters. In her later years she
developed rather grandiose ideas about her abilities. She took it as a sign
of her due that during one tour her musicians clustered at one side of the
stage, leaving her in isolated splendor at the other, oblivious to the fact
that they were eager to stay as far away as possible from the odor of an
unclean dressing on her injured foot. For all her eccentricities, however,
Barrett helped perpetuate the music of her home-town with unending
enthusiasm.

Only met her once for a few hours on a Sun. PM jam.  Don't recall details
other than I had a lot of fun meeting her.  My parents were very involved
with the LA jazz scene back then and they spoke very highly of her after
following her brief tour of the LA area over a few weeks.   Sorry I can't be
more detailed here.  Dick Broadie



----- Original Message -----
From: "fred spencer" <drjz at bealenet.com>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 2:21 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Pres. Hall's Stories


> "Preservation Hall" by William Carter (1991) presents the story of the
> New Orleans venue and bands, with several vignettes of the musicians,
> the most interesting of which is Sweet Emma Barrett, the "Bell Gal"
> (1897-1963) who refused to fly, and replied "None of your damned
> business" when asked how old she was. She was paralyzed on her left side
> after a stroke in 1967, but continued to play with her right hand. When
> I saw her, the bass player was resting his gluteal region on the lower
> third of the piano keyboard! Another book is "Preservation Hall
> Portraits" (1968), with 100 black and white reproductions of paintings
> by Noel Rockmore, and text by Larry Borenstein and Bill Russell. Narvin
> Kimball is shown resting on his instrument case, which is a shame
> because there aren't many left handed banjoists. Regards.
> Fred
>
>
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