Jeanette Kimball (18 December 1906 – 28 March 2001), née Jeanette Salvant, was a classically trained American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist who played in jazz bands for more than 70 years, mostly in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. She received the Black Men of Labor Jazz Legacy Award in 1998.

Life and work

Born in Pass Christian, Mississippi, Kimball came from a family with French Creole roots and was the niece of blues pianist Isadore "Tuts" Washington. At seven, she began playing the piano; as a teenager, she performed as a professional musician with classical string formations, then on the field of jazz. She played in the course of her 70-year-long career in traditional jazz bands, first in 1926 in a "Society" dance band,

Papa Celestin Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954) better known by stage name Papa Celestin was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Life and career Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son of a s ...

's Original Tuxedo Orchestra, with whom she went on tour in the southern United States. In 1929, she married the banjo- and guitar player Narvin Kimball, who also belonged to Papa Celestin's band. In 1935 she left the band to raise their children. After her divorce, she used the name Kimball further and started her career anew in the mid-1940s. Among other things, she worked with Buddy Charles, Herb Leary and Sidney Desvigne. In addition, she served as organist and choir director at Holy Ghost Catholic Church. In the 1950s, Kimball worked again with Papa Celestin, when he reactivated his band, which then was under the guidance of Papa French. She was also a member of the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a p ...

and played with

Clive Wilson Euclid Aklana Wilson (born 13 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer who played in midfield and at left-back. He notably played top flight football for Manchester City, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, ...

's Original Camellia Jazz Band. She appeared in 1976 on the Jazz Festival Breda live album ''Jeanette Kimball Meets the Fondy Riverside Bullet Band''; their album ''Sophisticated Lady'' (with

Frank Fields Frank Nomer Fields (May 2, 1914 – September 18, 2005) was an American double bass player who was involved in many R&B, rock and roll and jazz recordings made in New Orleans. He was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana. In the 1930s, he played wi ...

and Freddie Kohlman) was released in 1999. That same year she was honored with the Black Men of Labor Jazz Legacy Award. In the field of jazz, Kimball worked between 1953 and 1991 with 72 recording sessions, among others with

Alvin Alcorn Alvin Elmore Alcorn (September 7, 1912 – July 10, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter. Career Alcorn learned music theory from his brother. In the early 1930s, he was a member of the Sunny South Syncopators led by Armand J. Piron. He worked ...

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father, three of his brothers, and his nephew (Danny Barker) ...

, Papa Celestin, Punch Miller and

Johnny St. Cyr Johnny St. Cyr (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966) was an American jazz banjoist and guitarist. For banjo his by far most used type in records at least was the six string one. On a famous “action photo” with Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Pepp ...

. She left New Orleans in the 1990s to live in Ohio and South Carolina. She died in Charleston, South Carolina, at the age of 94.

References

External links

Portrait by Jazzhouse
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimball, Jeanette American jazz pianists 1906 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists Preservation Hall Jazz Band members African-American Catholics African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American musicians