Buddie Petit (born Joseph Crawford; most likely 1896Draft Card signed by Joseph Crawford with date of birth given as December 23, 1896
/ref> or 1897 — July 4, 1931), also spelled Buddy Petit, was an American early

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

cornetist. His year of birth has been given in various sources as ranging from 1887 to 1897. He gave December 23, 1896 as his date of birth on his signed WWI Draft Card. He was born Joseph Crawford in White Castle, Iberville Parish, Louisiana but was adopted by the trombonist Joseph Petit, whose surname he took. He took

Freddie Keppard Freddie Keppard (sometimes rendered as Freddy Keppard; February 27, 1890 – July 15, 1933) was an American jazz cornetist who once held the title of "King" in the New Orleans jazz scene. This title was previously held by Buddy Bolden and su ...

's place in the Eagle Band (a place earlier held by

Buddy Bolden Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden (September 6, 1877 – November 4, 1931) was an American cornetist who was regarded by contemporaries and later jazz scholars as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of ragtime music, or "jass ...

) when Keppard left town. He was briefly lured to Los Angeles by

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...

and Bill Johnson in 1917, but he objected to being told to dress and behave differently from what he was accustomed to and returned to New Orleans. He spent the rest of his career in the area around greater New Orleans, and the towns north of

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ; ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...

, not venturing further from home than Baton Rouge and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

offered him a chance to record on their 1925 field trip to New Orleans, but Petit held out for more money and was never recorded.

Danny Barker Daniel Moses Barker (January 13, 1909 – March 13, 1994) was an American jazz musician, vocalist, and author from New Orleans. He was a rhythm guitarist for Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter during the 1930s. One of Barker's earli ...

and

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 ...

said that it was a great loss to jazz history that there are no recordings of Petit. He died on July 4, 1931, reportedly after "over-indulging" in food and drink.

References

External links

Buddy Petit (1895-1931)
on Red Hot Jazz Archive
Buddy Petit
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit, Buddie 1890s births 1931 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz cornetists 20th-century American musicians People from White Castle, Louisiana The Eagle Band members 20th-century African-American musicians Camelia Brass Band members