Josiah "Cie" Frazier (February 23, 1904 – January 10, 1985) was an 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer. Frazier studied drums under several New Orleans jazz musicians, including Louis Cottrell, Sr., James William “Red Happy” Bolton, and Face-O Woods. He joined the Golden Rule Band with cousin

Lawrence Marrero Lawrence Henry Marrero (October 24, 1900 – June 6, 1959) was an American jazz banjoist. Early life Marrero was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 24, 1900. He grew up in a musical family: three brothers became musicians – Eddie (bass) ...

in 1921, and played in Marrero's Young Tuxedo Orchestra in the 1920s. He recorded with

Papa Celestin Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954), better known by his 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 o ...

Tuxedo Brass Band The Tuxedo Brass Band, sometimes called the Original Tuxedo Brass Band, was one of the most highly regarded brass bands of New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1910s and 1920s. The band was led by Papa Celestin in around 1910. Many noted jazz greats were ...

in 1927 and played with A.J. Piron and

Sidney Desvigne Sidney Desvigne (September 11, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played in a large number of noted 1910s and 1920s-era New Orleans Jazz ensembles, including Leonard Bechet's Silver Bell Band, the Maple Leaf Orchestr ...

in the late 1920s and early 1930s. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Frazier played in WPA bands and in

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

dance bands. In 1945, he recorded with Wooden Joe Nicholas, and worked in the 1950s with Celestin,

Percy Humphrey Percy Gaston Humphrey (January 13, 1905 – July 22, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader in New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to his band, Percy Humphrey and His Crescent City Joymakers, for more than thirty years he was lead ...

, George Williams, and the Eureka Brass Band. He played in 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 ...

in the 1960s, working there into the 1980s, and recorded in his last few decades with

Kid Howard Avery "Kid" Howard (April 22, 1908, New Orleans, Louisiana - March 28, 1966, New Orleans) was an American jazz trumpeter, associated with the New Orleans jazz scene. Howard began on drums at about age fourteen, but switched to cornet and then tr ...

, De De Burke, George Lewis,

Emile Barnes Emile Barnes (18 February 1892 – 2 March 1970) was a New Orleans jazz clarinetist. Barnes studied under Lorenzo Tio Jr., Alphonse Picou, George Baquet, and Louis Nelson Delisle (also known as "Big Eye" Louis Nelson). Active professionally in Ne ...

Captain John Handy Captain John Handy (June 24, 1900 – January 12, 1971), was an American jazz alto saxophonist, who was part of the New Orleans jazz revival. Career Handy was born in Pass Christian, Mississippi, United States. He played clarinet in New Orleans ...

, and Don Ewell. He appears in the

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

film ''

The Cincinnati Kid ''The Cincinnati Kid'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best. This quest leads him to chal ...

'' and even drummed on one session for

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...

References

Cie Frazier Josiah "Cie" Frazier (February 23, 1904 – January 10, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Frazier studied drums under several New Orleans jazz musicians, including Louis Cottrell, Sr., James William “Red Happy” Bolton, and Face-O Wood ...

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 ...

Obituary
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 13, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Cie 1904 births 1985 deaths American jazz drummers Jazz musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members Eureka Brass Band members Drummers from New Orleans