Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973)
was an American
jazz clarinet player.
Career
Nicholas's primary instrument was the
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
, which he studied with
Lorenzo Tio in his hometown of
New Orleans,
Louisiana, United States.
Late in the 1910s, he played with
Buddy Petit
Buddie Petit (born Joseph Crawford; ca. 1897 – July 4, 1931), also spelled Buddy Petit, was an American early jazz cornetist.
His early life is somewhat mysterious, with dates of his birth given in various sources ranging from 1887 to 1897. He ...
,
King Oliver, and
Manuel Perez.
He spent three years in the
Merchant Marines and then joined Oliver in Chicago from 1925 to 1927.
After time in East Asia and Egypt, he returned to New York City in 1928 and played with
Luis Russell until 1933,
playing there with
Red Allen,
Charlie Holmes, and
J. C. Higginbotham
J. (Jack) C. Higginbotham (May 11, 1906 – May 26, 1973) was an American jazz trombonist. His playing was robust and swinging.
Biography
He was born in Social Circle, Georgia, United States, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the 1930s a ...
. Later he played with Chick Webb,
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
(with Russell) and
Jelly Roll Morton.
The
Dixieland jazz revival of the late 1940s reinvigorated his career; he played with
Art Hodes
Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist.
Biography
Hodes was born in Mykolaiv, in present-day Ukrain ...
,
Bunk Johnson, and
Kid Ory,
and had a regular gig with
Ralph Sutton
Ralph Earl Sutton (November 4, 1922 – December 30, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.
Biography
Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri, ...
in 1948. In 1953, he moved to France; except for recording sessions in the U.S. in 1959-60, he remained there for most of the rest of his life.
Nicholas died in
Basle, Switzerland, in September 1973, at the age of 73.
Discography
* ''Albert Nicholas & Mezz Mezzrow'' (Jazztone, 1956)
* ''The Scobey Story Vol. 1'' (Good Time Jazz, 1959)
* ''Albert Nicholas with Art Hodes' All-Star Stompers'' (Delmark, 1964)
* ''Albert's Blues'' (77 Records, 1966)
* ''Barney Bigard/Albert Nicholas'' (RCA, 1969)
* ''A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton'' (Storyville, 1972)
* ''Albert Nicholas and The Traditional Jazz Studio'' (Supraphon, 1972)
* ''Albert Nicholas with Alan Elsdon's Band Vol. 1'' (Jazzology, 1995)
* ''Albert Nicholas with Alan Elsdon's Band Vol. 2'' (Jazzology, 1996)
* ''Story 1926–1947'' (EPM, 1998)
* ''New Orleans Clarinet'' (Sanctuary, 2006)
* ''Albert Nicholas & Herb Hall'' (GHB, 2015)
References
;Footnotes
;General references
*
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref>
Biography
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...
,
Albert Nicholasat
AllMusic
External links
* .
"Roger Richard talks to Albert Nicholas".Storyville.
Albert Nicholas (1900-1973)at the Red Hot Jazz Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Albert
1900 births
1973 deaths
American jazz clarinetists
Delmark Records artists
20th-century American musicians
Jazz musicians from New Orleans