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Artist
Sidney Bechet
12+ albums
jazzswingdixielandNew Orleanssaxophone
about
Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz (beating cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months and later playing duets with Armstrong), and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing. Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim. Bechet was born in New Orleans on 14th May 1897. From a young age he was able quickly to master any musical instrument he encountered. Some New Orleanians remembered him as a cornet hot-shot in his youth. At first, though, he decided on the clarinet as his main instrument, and Bechet remained one of jazz's greatest clarinetists for decades. He is, however, perhaps best remembered as the master of the soprano saxophone. Bechet was the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort, his playing characterised by forceful delivery, well conceived, improvised ideas, and a distinctive wide vibrato. Bechet had experience playing in travelling shows even before he left New Orleans at the age of twenty. Never long content in one place, he alternated between Chicago, New York, and Europe as his base of operations until finally he settled in France in 1950. He married Elisabeth Ziegler in Antibes, France in 1951. Bechet succes
