Emile Joseph Christian (April 20, 1895 – December 3, 1973), sometimes spelled Emil Christian, 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 ...

trombonist The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

; he also played

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

and

string bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

. He also wrote a number of tunes, including "Meet Me at the Green Goose", "Satanic Blues", and "Mardi Gras Parade".

Biography

Christian was born into a musical family in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, most prominently his older brother Frank Christian was a noted cornetist and bandleader. Emile Christian played both cornet and trombone with the

Papa Jack Laine George Vitelle "Papa Jack" Laine (September 21, 1873 – June 1, 1966) was an American musician and a pioneering band leader in New Orleans in the years from the Spanish–American War to World War I. He was often credited for training many musi ...

bands.Ron Wynn, "Emile Christian" at All Music.
/ref> He went to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in late 1917 to play trombone with the

Bert Kelly Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly (22 June 1912 – 17 January 1997) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party and was an influential campaigner for free trade and the elimination of tariffs. He h ...

Jass Band. In 1918 he went to New York City to replace Eddie Edwards in the

Original Dixieland Jass Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the ...

(ODJB); he toured England with the ODJB, contributed his tune "Satanic Blues" to their repertory, and made his first recordings with this band. After a brief time in the Original Memphis Five, he returned to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. There, from 1924 into the 1930s, he played bass and trombone with various jazz bands including those of Eric Borchard and

Lud Gluskin Ludwig Elias "Lud" GluskinState of New York Certificate and Record of Birth, January 4, 1899. (December 16, 1898 – October 13, 1989) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader.Donnelly, K.J. and Philip Hayward (2012''Music in Science Fiction ...

, in European cities including

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(where he made more recordings),

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(where he recorded with

Leon Abbey Leon Alexander Anthony Abbey (May 7, 1900 – September 1975) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Biography He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 7, 1900, to Luther James Robert Abbey and Eva Lee Alexander. He started his care ...

's band). In Paris (also in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie.Tom Waltham's Ad-Libs.Daniel Nevers, "Tom Waltham : un anglais à Paris", Sonorités n°12, janvier 1985, p. 27-32. In 1935 he played with

Benny Peyton Benton E. "Benny" Peyton (July 20, 1888; January 24, 1965) was an American jazz drummer. Peyton went with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra to Europe in 1919 and remained there, forming his own group in London, the Jazz Kings, ou ...

's Jazz Kings in Switzerland.Howard Rye, "Emile J. Christian – WWI Draft Registration Card, 5th June 1917"
March 2007. Musicians – WWI Draft Registration Cards and Essays. Christian played in both Black and White bands in Europe and India before returning to the United States after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the 1950s he moved back to New Orleans, where he played with the bands of Leon Prima,

Santo Pecora Santo Pecora (born Santo Joseph Pecoraro; March 21, 1902 – May 29, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist known for his longtime association with the New Orleans jazz scene. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Pecora changed ...

, and

Sharkey Bonano Joseph Gustaf "Sharkey" Bonano (April 9, 1904 – March 27, 1972), also known as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas, was an American jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist. His musical abilities were sometimes overlooked because of his lo ...

and his own band. In 1957 he toured with the

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...

Band. He continued playing in New Orleans into 1969, in his later years mostly playing string bass. He died in 1973 in New Orleans, aged 78.

Discography

* ''Emile Christian and His New Orleans Jazz Band'', 1958 (Southland)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Emile 1895 births 1973 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz trombonists American male trombonists American male jazz composers American jazz cornetists American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Original Dixieland Jass Band members 20th-century American trombonists 20th-century American double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians Southland Records artists 20th-century American jazz composers