[Dixielandjazz] Early Days of Jazz in the District (aka Storyville)

[jazzchops at isp.com]

<snip>
>I am somewhat mystified by that, while readily admitting that I am not
>particularly knowledgeable about the New Orleans Jazz scene from say 1900 to
>1917 when Storyville kicked the working girls out. What I do know is merely
>this quote from Louis Armstrong. It was written by him in 1969, following a
>recollection that there were 126 gig bands in N.O. at the time, booked
>almost every night and may be subject to faulty memory as well as his young
>age (9 to 16).

For years, the standard answer to the question of "Where was jazz born?"
was it began in the brothels of New Orleans. It is my belief this
erroneous concept began partially because of what Louis mentions, that
there were a lot of bands playing in the district, BUT, after 1907.

There was a law on the books in New Orleans that no music was allowed to
be played in the district utilizing any instruments louder than strings. I
don't recall the exact wording of the law, and I can't put my hands on the
direct quote right now, but the law was overturned in 1907, and bands
began playing in the district. (See quote below.)

This becomes a problem for the "born in the brothels" theory because, if
we refer to Buddy Bolden as "the first man of jazz," then that theory gets
completely shot down, since Bolden went into the insane asylum in 1907.

It could be the brothel theory came about simply because after 1907 it was
the first time people had heard jazz on a larger scale. Obviously it's
where the association with a "lower element" and jazz music began. However
there's well-documented source material of a type of music similar to what
we now call jazz was being played all over New Orleans prior to 1907. Many
musicians referred to this music as "ragtime."

Although there certainly were a lot of musicians that worked in the
district, others wouldn't. In particular, Johnny Dodds refused to work
there, because a lot of the white clientele abused the musicians (if I
remember correctly Louis tells a tale about this very abuse.)

Here's a couple of interesting quotes I found in Don Marquis' book In
Search of Buddy Bolden, First Man of Jazz:

"A 1907 police report verifies that the proprietors (of Nancy Hanks'
Saloon, on the cornet of Marais and Iberville Streets) had been issued a
permit 'to sing, with cornet and band...'

"Despite the implication that Bolden played most everywhere, he did not
play in brothels. None of the musicians who were interviewed (for the
book) remembered playing with a band in a whorehouse, nor did they know of
anyone who had. Piano players sometimes did, but not the bands."

Bolden was remembered by many for playing in both Johnson and Lincoln
Parks in uptown New Orleans, both of which opened in 1902. In addition to
Bolden's band, the orchestra of John Robichaux also played these spots,
although his band was considered to be more refined than Bolden's, and
most of the music they played was written.

BTW, Storyville didn't "kick the girls out." The sporting houses were
closed, but not necessarily other businesses, and the working girls went
elsewhere in town or to other cities. At the same time, many public
gathering places were closed because of the influenza epidemic.

Sincerely,
Chris Tyle




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