Home » History of Jazz Timeline: 1918
History of Jazz Timeline: 1918
Joe "King" Oliver leaves Kid Ory's band to front his own band in Chicago.
Clarinetist Jimmy Noone leaves New Orleans for Chicago.
Louis Armstrong is hired by Kid Ory to replace Joe "King" Oliver on cornet.
Armstrong is also hired by Fate Marable to work the showboats.
Armstrong learns to read music while working for Fate Marable.
Louis Armstrong marries New Orleans prostitute Daisy Parker.
Although not a prolific songwriter, Louis Armstrong writes the well known song "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate."
Duke Ellington marries Edna Thompson. The Duke is currently doing very well supplying bands for dances and parties. Duke's sidemen at this point are Toby Hardwicke on bass and saxes, Arthur Whetsol on trumpet, Sonny Greer on drums and Elmer Snowden on banjo.
Bix Beiderbecke has just begun to play the cornet.
Earl "Fatha" Hines is hired by Lois Deppe (a man) in Pittsburgh to play piano. This is Earl's first job.
Coleman Hawkins attends school in Chicago and gets to hear early Jazz players such as Jimmy Noone there.
Ella Fitzgerald is born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25.
The so-called "Lost Generation" of white American youths is ripe for a new kind of music.
On January 1, James Reese Europe arrives in France.
On March 18, James Reese Europe's 369th Infantry Regiment (The Hellfighters) Band begins a six week tour of twenty-five French cities. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is the drum major.
On April 20, James Reese Europe accompanies a french combat unit into battle and becomes the first black to face combat during WWI.
Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra is formed. Will Cook will shortly become a great influence on Duke Ellington's composing skills.
Pianist Hank Jones is born in Detroit.
Vocalese singer Eddie Jefferson is born in Pittsburgh, PA on August 3.
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Disclaimer: Though we have checked our facts, this timeline may contain erroneous information. If you discover errors or omissions, please bring them to our attention.
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