"Big Eye" Louis Nelson Delisle (January 28, 1885 – August 20, 1949) was an 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 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He also played double bass, banjo, and accordion.

Early life and education

Nelson Delisle was born into a Creole of color family and spent most of his life in New Orleans. He studied clarinet with the elder

Lorenzo Tio Lorenzo Tio Jr. (April 21, 1893 – December 24, 1933) was an American clarinetist from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Biography Tio was born into a family of musicians, including his father Lorenzo Tio Sr. (1867–1908) and uncle Lo ...

Career

By the age of 15, Delisle worked professionally in the music venues of Storyville, an area of brothels and clubs in New Orleans. He developed a style of hot jazz, a.k.a.

, and was an influence on clarinetists

Johnny Dodds Johnny Dodds (; April 12, 1892 – August 8, 1940) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist based in New Orleans, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, ...

and

Jimmie Noone James "Jimmie" Noone (April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca ...

. Early in his career Delisle often played a C clarinet, as opposed to the more common B♭; the C was used by other New Orleans clarinetists of the era, such as

Alcide Nunez Alcide Patrick Nunez (March 17, 1884 – September 2, 1934), also known as Yellow Nunez and Al Nunez, was an American jazz clarinetist. He was one of the first musicians of New Orleans to make audio recordings. Biography Alcide Patrick Nunez ...

. In 1917, Delisle joined the reconstituted Original Creole Orchestra that included

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 ...

and Bill Johnson. The band had disbanded in Boston in the spring of that year but was reassembled in New York City in the fall of the same year. Delisle replaced

George Baquet George Francis Baquet (July 22, 1881 – Jan. 14, 1949) was an American jazz clarinetist, known for his contributions to early jazz in New Orleans. His father, Theogene V. Baquet, eminent New Orleans musician and educator, was also a clarinetis ...

, who had toured with the group in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. After a short while, Delisle was replaced by Jimmie Noone.Hazeldine, Mike. "Original Creole Band" in Kernfeld, Barry. ed. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edition, Vol. 3. London: MacMillan, 2002. p. 200. He was the regular clarinetist with the

Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight The Jones and Collins Astoria Hot Eight were an American jazz band. The Jones and 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 ...

but did not play on their 1929 recording sessions. He made his only recordings in his later years in the 1940s, by which time he was often in poor health.

References

1885 births 1949 deaths American jazz banjoists American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Dixieland clarinetists Jazz musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American accordionists 20th-century American double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight members 20th-century African-American musicians Imperial Orchestra members {{Clarinetist-stub