Emanuel Sayles (January 31, 1907 – October 5, 1986) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

banjoist chiefly active in the

New Orleans jazz New Orleans Jazz may refer to: * Dixieland, a style of jazz music (New Orleans Jazz) * * New Orleans Jazz (NBA team), professional basketball team that relocated and became the Utah Jazz *New Orleans Jazz football club New is an adjective referri ...

scene.

Biography

Sayles was born in

Donaldsonville, Louisiana Donaldsonville (historically french: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the ...

and played violin and viola as a child, then taught himself banjo and guitar. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. He went to high school in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

, then relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

William Ridgely William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

's Tuxedo Orchestra. Following this he worked with Fate Marable, Armand Piron, and Sidney Desvigne on

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury u ...

s up and down the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

. In 1929 he participated in recordings with the

Jones-Collins Astoria Hot Eight The Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight were an American jazz band. The Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight were led by cornetist Lee Collins and tenor saxophonist David Jones. They took their name from the "Astoria Gardens" the dance hall room of th ...

. Sayles moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1933, where he led his own group and worked often as an accompanist on blues and jazz recordings with Roosevelt Sykes and others. He returned to New Orleans in 1949, playing with George Lewis (with whom he toured Japan in 1963–64) and

Sweet Emma Barrett "Sweet Emma" Barrett (March 25, 1897, New Orleans, Louisiana – January 28, 1983) was an American, self-taught jazz pianist and singer who worked with the Original Tuxedo Orchestra between 1923 and 1936, first under Papa Celestin, then William ...

. He played with Punch Miller in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

in 1960, then played again in Chicago in the house band at the Jazz, Ltd. club from 1965 to 1967. Returning once more to New Orleans in 1968, he played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Sayles also recorded with Peter Bocage,

Kid Thomas Valentine Kid Thomas (1896–1987), born Thomas Valentine, was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Kid Thomas was born in Reserve, Louisiana and came to New Orleans in his youth. In the early 1920s, he gained a reputation as a hot trumpet man. S ...

, Earl Hines, and Louis Cottrell, Jr. He recorded extensively as a leader in the 1960s for GHB,

Nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cove ...

, and

Big Lou Big Lou is a mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. It is situated west-northwest of Leavenworth, on the boundary of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Big Lou ...

. He died in 1986.

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 a ...

, Emanuel Saylesat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayles, Emanuel 1907 births 1986 deaths American jazz banjoists Jazz musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight members African-American Catholics