Results for "Johnny Dodds"

Johnny Dodds

Born: April 12, 1892

From the early days of the brass bands in New Orleans, to the hot jazz of the Roaring Twenties in Chicago, a key figure in the musical progression was the fluid toned, amazingly versatile clarinetist, Johnny Dodds. . Born on April 12, 1892, in New Orleans, by his early teens his father bought him his first clarinet. He was self taught but did take lessons from Lorenzo Tio Sr, a well respected musician in the city. He took a more serious interest in the instrument at around age seventeen, playing with local ensembles as the Eagle Band, and the legendary Tuxedo Band, led by “Papa Celestin during the early formative years of jazz

Take Five with Clarinetist Davide Sgarra

by AAJ Staff
June 1, 2026

Meet Davide SgarraDavide Sgarra is an Italian jazz clarinetist and saxophonist based in Brooklyn, New York. Born and raised near Varese in northern Italy, he went on to earn his Bachelor of Music from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in the Netherlands and his Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music in New York ...

The Top 25 Songs Featuring Clarinet

by Dean Nardi
April 21, 2026

As Ian Dury might have sung had he played the clarinet, “Hit me with your licorice stick." (That is “rhythm stick" for those not fluent in punk rock.) From the intricacies of classical music to the smooth swing of jazz to Klezmer--the folk music of the Eastern European Jewish population--the instrument resonates throughout a good portion ...

The Brief Reign of King Oliver

by Karl Ackermann
June 12, 2025

In 2020, I published A Map of Jazz: Crossroads of Music and Human Rights (WS Publishing), a book that looks at the culture of jazz on a timeline with cultures of the world. At more than 500 pages, the book is incomplete by necessity; there is no well-marked path, and the history is sometimes nebulous. However, ...

The Legacy of Lillian Hardin Armstrong

by Karl Ackermann
April 10, 2025

In 2020, I published A Map of Jazz: Crossroads of Music and Human Rights (WS Publishing), a book that looks at the culture of jazz on a timeline with cultures of the world. At more than 500 pages, the book is incomplete by necessity; there is no well-marked path, and the history is sometimes nebulous. However, ...

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five were a pioneering jazz ensemble formed in 1925, often regarded as one of the most influential groups in the history of jazz. The band, led by Armstrong on cornet, featured notable musicians such as clarinetist Johnny Dodds, trombonist Kid Ory, and pianist Lil Hardin. The Hot Five's recordings, including iconic tracks like "West End Blues" and "Potato Head Blues," played a crucial role in shaping the development of early jazz, particularly in terms of improvisation, solo performance, and the role of the individual voices within the band.

2021: The Year in Jazz

by Ken Franckling
December 31, 2021

The jazz world continued grappling and adjusting in year two of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Jazz Day again went virtual for the most part. Singer Tony Bennett put the final stamp on his touring--and likely recording--career after his Alzheimer's disclosure. Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield was headed to federal prison. The National Endowment for the Arts welcomed four ...

Susie Meissner: I Wish I Knew

by C. Michael Bailey
September 8, 2020

Over the past decade and three previous recordings, Philadelphia-based vocalist Susie Meissner has crafted an intelligently conceived and thoughtfully paced survey of the Great American Songbook. Meissner's considerations of the standard jazz repertoire, in concert with pianist John Shaddy's sturdy arrangements and educated performance manner, have emerged, evolving from chaste and reverent beginnings, into rich and ...

Women in Jazz, Part 1: Early Innovators

by Karl Ackermann
February 4, 2019

"Lil Hardin [Armstrong]...often imagined herself standing...at the bottom of a ladder, holding it steady for Louis as he rose to stardom." (Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, 2012). “The all-female band is an anomaly in music, one that must constantly prove itself as a 'band,' and not just 'girls playing music together.'" (Mary Ann Clawson, 1999). Everything ...

Chicago Jazz Roots (1922 - 1929)

by Russell Perry
November 27, 2018

In the last hour we listened to the music of the first great jazz composer, Jelly Roll Morton, and Sidney Bechet, the only soloist in early jazz to seriously challenge Louis Armstrong. In addition to Joe “King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong, the Chicago scene bristled with black and white bands, initially ...