Narvin Kimball (March 2, 1909 - March 17, 2006) was a

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 ...

musician who played banjo and

string bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

and was also known for his fine singing voice. The left-handed virtuoso banjo player was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, the son of well-regarded string bass player Henry Kimball. He was playing music professionally by the mid-1920s with such groups as the bands of

Fate Marable Fate Marable (December 2, 1890 – January 16, 1947) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. Early life Marable was born in Paducah, Kentucky to James and Elizabeth Lillian (Wharton) Marable, a piano teacher. Fate had five siblings, includin ...

and

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 ...

. He married a fellow member of Celestin's Tuxedo Jazz Band, pianist

Jeanette Kimball Jeanette Kimball (18 December 1906 – 28 March 2001), née Jeanette Salvant, was a classically trained American jazz pianist who played in jazz bands for more than 70 years, mostly in New Orleans. She received the Black Men of Labor Jazz Lega ...

(née Salvant). In the 1930s during the Great Depression Kimball switched to

to play in swing bands such as Sidney Desvigne's, but music did not provide enough money; he got a day job as a mailman. He continued playing music in the evening, leading his band called "Narvin Kimball's Gentlemen of Jazz". After World War II he formed a singing group called "The Four Tones" with Fred Minor,

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 ...

, and

Louis Barbarin Louis Barbarin (nickname Lil Barb; October 24, 1902 – May 12, 1997) was a New Orleans jazz drummer. Early life Barbarin was born in New Orleans on October 24, 1902. His father was Isidore Barbarin, and his brothers Paul, Lucien, and William all ...

that enjoyed some local success. Around 1960 with the revival of interest in traditional jazz, Kimball was able to return to playing the banjo professionally again. He played regularly at such

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...

venues as

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art dealer Larry Borenstein ...

and

Dixieland Hall Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

, at the latter often leading a band under his own name. However, he kept his day job as a postman until his retirement in 1973; until then he only took brief tours outside the city while on vacation from his postal job. After this date, he toured the United States and Europe extensively with 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 ...

. His singing "

Georgia on My Mind "Georgia on My Mind" is a 1930 song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that same year by Hoagy Carmichael. However, the song has been most often associated with soul singer Ray Charles, who was a native of the U ...

" was a reliable show stopper. He was the oldest member of the band at his retirement in 1999 at age 90. When Hurricane Katrina was threatening New Orleans, in 2005, Preservation Hall leader Ben Jaffe made a point to make sure Kimball and his wife were evacuated to Baton Rouge. He died in exile with relatives in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

References

New Orleans jazzman who once stood in for Satchmo's sick bassist
Obituary from The Guardian
Narvin Kimball, Preservation Hall banjoist, dies at 97
Obituary * ''New Orleans Jazz: A Family Album ''by Al Rose and Edmond Souchon, Third Edition, Louisiana State University Press, 1984 * ''Preservation Hall'' by William Carter, W.W. Norton & Company, 1991 Jazz musicians from New Orleans 1909 births 2006 deaths American jazz banjoists American banjoists African-American banjoists 20th-century American musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people {{US-jazz-musician-stub