The Creole of Color Clarinet Tradition and Its Influence on Duke Ellington’s Creative Legacy

Abstract

Early jazz suggests a plethora of distinct timbres and textures: the steady pulse of the trap set and banjo, the growling cornet, the wailing clarinet, the sliding trombone, and an array of interlocking melodies. These sounds refer to one city in particular: New Orleans. New Orleans musicians such as King Oliver, Kid Ory, Louis Armstrong, and Sidney Bechet spread these sounds through their travels on tour in the South and in Europe and through their migrations to the North and the West. In turn, many Northern musicians adopted new sounds by mimicking the styles and tones of their New Orleans peers. One musician who followed suit was Duke Ellington, who started his career in the 1920s. While subsequent generations of jazz musicians tended to dismiss the sounds of New Orleans, Ellington continued to rely on both the sounds and the authority of New Orleans in his works throughout his lifetime. From a Black musician’s standpoint, jazz from New Orleans during the 1920s brought both power and black authenticity to his playing. While the early adoption of these sounds was an initial way for Ellington to imitate the trends of other band leaders, it would later follow him throughout his career as an indicator of his own musical authenticity among his audiences. Ellington was indebted to New Orleans for its indicative tones and rhythms, its rich history and culture, and its position as an epicenter of both jazz and Black history. He reinterpreted the styles and histories of New Orleans subtly into his own musical language and expressions — so much so that it is difficult to determine if the sound he crafted is New Orleanian or merely Ellingtonian. The New Orleanian style of clarinet-playing carried a firm tradition and distinctive sound, which helped to shape Ellington’s own musical style. The evocation of New Orleans through the clarinet was first brought to him by one musician: Sidney Bechet. To breakdown the influence of the Creole of Color clarinet sound, I use a tripartite structure. First, I will explore the role of New Orleans clarinet-playing in early jazz history. In early jazz ensembles, the Creoles of Color were predominantly the champions of the clarinet; this culture possessed a vibrant community of clarinetists, which included Bechet, Jimmie Noone, Achille Baquet, George Baquet, and Barney Bigard. I will then contextualize the involvement of the Creole of Color community of clarinetists in the exportation of jazz. Their influence on Northern musicians during the early 1920s was substantial, establishing their tradition in Chicago and New York City. Lastly, I will discuss Ellington’s continuing interactions with New Orleans through his band members and repertoire. The inclusion of Bechet’s pupil, Johnny Hodges, and New Orleans clarinetist, Barney Bigard, in his band recalled Bechet’s exceptional soprano saxophone playing and the distinct clarinet tradition of New Orleans, respectively. Ellington also continued the legacy introduced to him by Bechet in pieces centered around New Orleans such as A Drum is A Woman and New Orleans Suite. Together, these three parts will reveal the rich history and culture that started for Ellington with his first exposure to Bechet’s playing in 1923 with the show How Come at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., but began centuries earlier with the Creole of Color community. My research highlights a powerful and consistent feature of Ellington’s incredibly rich musical legacy, which features sounds characteristic of American music, and more importantly, Black music.