Sidney Joseph Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
30 Facts About Sidney Bechet
2.
Sidney Bechet was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong.
3.
Sidney Bechet's older brother, Leonard Victor Bechet, was a full-time dentist and a part-time trombonist and bandleader.
4.
Sidney Bechet learned and mastered several musical instruments that were kept around the house, mostly by teaching himself; he decided to specialize in the clarinet.
5.
Later in his youth, Sidney Bechet studied with Joseph "King" Oliver, Bunk Johnson, Freddie Keppard, Lorenzo Tio, "Big Eye" Louis Nelson Delisle, and George Baquet.
6.
Sidney Bechet played in many New Orleans ensembles using the improvisational techniques of the time.
7.
Sidney Bechet liked to have his sound dominate in a performance, and trumpeters reportedly found it difficult to play alongside him.
8.
Sidney Bechet performed in parades with Freddie Keppard's brass band, the Olympia Orchestra, and in John Robichaux's dance orchestra.
9.
The group was warmly received, and Sidney Bechet was especially popular.
10.
Sidney Bechet was the first influential soprano saxophonist, and led to its rising popularity in jazz.
11.
Sidney Bechet often used a broad vibrato, similar to some New Orleans clarinetists at the time.
12.
Sidney Bechet recorded "Wild Cat Blues" and "Kansas City Man Blues".
13.
In 1924, Sidney Bechet worked with Duke Ellington for three months and made a significant impact on Ellington's early jazz style.
14.
Sidney Bechet toured Europe with multiple bands, reaching as far as Russia in mid-1926.
15.
In France, Sidney Bechet found that he was appreciated by a wider audience and had more general freedom than he did in the United States.
16.
Sidney Bechet joined with Lorenzo Tio and came to know trumpeter Roy Eldridge.
17.
In 1932, Sidney Bechet returned to New York City to lead a band with Tommy Ladnier.
18.
Sidney Bechet played in Noble Sissle's orchestra, which toured in Germany and Russia.
19.
On July 28,1940, Sidney Bechet made a guest appearance on the NBC Radio show The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, playing two of his showpieces with Henry Levine's Dixieland band.
20.
Sidney Bechet believed that the jazz scene in the United States had little left to offer him and was getting stale.
21.
In 1958, Sidney Bechet performed as a soloist and with various other renowned musicians including Buck Clayton and Sarah Vaughn in memorable, spirited concerts in the United States Pavilion at Expo 58, the World's Fair in Brussels, Belgium.
22.
Sidney Bechet composed a classical ballet score in the late Romantic style of Tchaikovsky called La nuit est une sorciere.
23.
Shortly before his death, Sidney Bechet dictated his autobiography, Treat It Gentle, to Al Rose, a record producer and radio host.
24.
Sidney Bechet had worked with Rose several times in concert promotions and had a fractious relationship with him.
25.
Sidney Bechet died in Garches, near Paris, of lung cancer on May 14,1959, on his 62nd birthday.
26.
Sidney Bechet's music has been included in the soundtracks of about 60 films, including the following: JFK, Chocolat, The Quiet American, and Midnight in Paris.
27.
Sidney Bechet was known for having an abrasive attitude, which has been compared to that of Coleman Hawkins.
28.
Sidney Bechet briefly took time off from the music industry in 1938, when he opened a tailor shop in New York.
29.
Sidney Bechet had three wives: Elizabeth Ziegler, Marie-Louise Crawford, and Norma Hale.
30.
Sidney Bechet was featured in three films and played a jazz musician.