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32 |
JAZZ |
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Sidney Storey who, in 1896, relegated New Orleans prostitution to a 38-block red light district. A twenty-five cent Blue Book was published as an official guide to these 'sporting houses', and had descriptive announcements extolling the particular advantages of each house. By 1910, there were over 200 houses of pleasure in the area, ranging from the magnificence of Lulu White's Mahogany Hall down to low dives like Brick House (in Algiers on the far side of the river) where Louis Armstrong once had a three-piece band.
It was not so much that jazz, being 'sinful' by nature, gravitated to the brothels; but rather that these places, where money flowed, were for a time the only means of well-paid employment for the jazz musician.
Possibly the greatest band to flourish in this fantastic hothouse of jazz was that of Joe 'King' Oliver, described by Armstrong as "the hottest jazz band ever heard in New Orleans between 1910 and 1917." Led by the 'King' himself (his shirt collar open and a bath towel round his neck "so's he could blow free and easy") the remainder of the band consisted of:
Buddy Christian (guitar and piano) Zue Robertson (trombone) Jimmy Noone (clarinet) Bob Lyons (bass)
We shall hear more of 'King9 Oliver when, in the next chapter, we follow the fortunes of jazz in its northward exodus to Chicago. |
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