Lawrence James Shields (September 13, 1893 - November 21, 1953) was an early American

dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

jazz

clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Baerm ...

. He was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially.

Background

Shields was born into an Irish-American family in Uptown

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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

lived. Shields' family were musical; his brothers Harry, Pat (guitar), and Eddie (piano) all played music professionally. Shields started playing clarinet when he was 14 and played with Papa Jack Laine's bands. He was one of the early New Orleans musicians to go 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 ...

, first heading north in the summer of 1915 to join Bert Kelly's band, then with Tom Brown's band, before joining the Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) in November 1916. The following year that band made the first jazz phonograph records, propelling Shields' playing to national prominence. Around this time, he also played occasionally with

King Watzke Alex "King" Watzke (1872-1919) was a violinist and bandleader in New Orleans, Louisiana. His band enjoyed fair popularity ca. 1900-1911 or later. The band played ragtime, popular music, and possibly an early or ancestral version of what later beca ...

's band. After leaving the ODJB in 1921, he played with various bands in New York City (including briefly with

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

) before moving to Los Angeles, California where he remained throughout the 1920s, leading his own band and appearing briefly in some Hollywood films. In the 1930s, Shields returned to Chicago and joined the reformed ODJB. He then worked for a while at "Nick's" in New York before returning to play in New Orleans and, later, in California. He died in Los Angeles in 1953.

Influence

His playing, especially on phonograph records, was an important influence on later jazz clarinetists, including

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

. Larry Shields inspired Dink Johnson to begin playing the clarinet, in a 1950 interview with Floyd Levin he stated: "I was actually a drummer, you know. I had always wanted to play the clarinet since hearing Larry Shields with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band." He co-wrote the ODJB classics "

Clarinet Marmalade ''Clarinet Marmalade'', later ''Clarinet Marmalade Blues'', is a 1918 dixieland jazz standard composed by Larry Shields and Henry Ragas of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. It is played in the key of F major. It was recorded by Fletcher Henderson ...

" with Henry Ragas and " At the Jazz Band Ball", "Ostrich Walk", and "Fidgety Feet" with Nick LaRocca. These compositions became jazz classics and standards that were re-recorded by later jazz bands.

Honors

In 2006, his 1917 recording of "

Darktown Strutters' Ball "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' ...

" with the Original Dixieland Jass Band was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Larry 1893 births 1953 deaths Dixieland clarinetists American people of Irish descent Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz clarinetists Original Dixieland Jass Band members 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians

Background

Influence

Honors

See also

References

External links