Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonis… Read Full Bio ↴Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
He was one of the first important soloists in jazz (beating cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months and later playing duets with Armstrong), and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing.
Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim.
Bechet was born in New Orleans on 14th May 1897. From a young age he was able quickly to master any musical instrument he encountered. Some New Orleanians remembered him as a cornet hot-shot in his youth. At first, though, he decided on the clarinet as his main instrument, and Bechet remained one of jazz's greatest clarinetists for decades. He is, however, perhaps best remembered as the master of the soprano saxophone. Bechet was the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort, his playing characterised by forceful delivery, well conceived, improvised ideas, and a distinctive wide vibrato.
Bechet had experience playing in travelling shows even before he left New Orleans at the age of twenty. Never long content in one place, he alternated between Chicago, New York, and Europe as his base of operations until finally he settled in France in 1950. He married Elisabeth Ziegler in Antibes, France in 1951.
Bechet successfully composed in jazz, pop, and extended concert work forms. His recordings have often been reissued. Some of the highlights include 1924 sides with Louis Armstrong in "Clarence Williams Blue Five", the 1932, 1940, and 1941 New Orleans Feetwarmers sides, a 1938 Tommy Ladnier Orchestra session ("Weary Blues", "Really the Blues"), and various versions of his own composition, "Petite Fleur".
In 1941, as an early experiment in overdubbing at RCA Studios, he recorded on six different instruments: the clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. This recording can be heard under the title "Sheik of Araby".
Shortly before his death in Paris, Bechet dictated his autobiography, Treat It Gentle. He died on 14th May 1959 - his sixty-second birthday.
Legacy and honors
Bechet successfully composed in jazz, pop-tune, and extended concert work forms. He knew how to read music but chose not to, due to his highly developed inner ear; he developed his own fingering system and never played section parts in a big band or swing-style combo. His recordings have often been reissued.
Sidney Bechet's primary instruments were the clarinet and the soprano sax. His playing style is intense and passionate, and had a wide vibrato. He was also known to be very proficient with his instruments and a master at improvisation (both individual and collective). Bechet liked to have his sound dominate in a performance, and trumpeters found it very difficult to play alongside him.
Bechet's song Si tu vois ma mère was prominently featured in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris (2011).
Some of the highlights of his career include 1923 sides with Louis Armstrong in the Clarence Williams Blue Five; the 1932, 1940, 1941 New Orleans Feetwarmers sides; a 1938 Tommy Ladnier Orchestra session ("Weary Blues", "Really the Blues"); a hit 1939 recording of "Summertime"; and various versions of his own composition, "Petite Fleur".
In 1939, Bechet co-led a group with pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith that recorded several early versions of what was later called Latin jazz, adapting traditional méringue, rhumba and Haitian songs to the jazz idiom.
On July 28, 1940, Sidney Bechet made a guest appearance on NBC Radio's The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street show, playing two of his show pieces ("Shake It and Break It" and "St. Louis Blues") with Henry Levine's Dixieland band. Levine invited Bechet into the RCA Victor recording studio (on 24th Street in New York City), where Bechet lent his soprano sax to Levine's traditional arrangement of "Muskrat Ramble."
On April 18, 1941, as an early experiment in overdubbing at Victor, Bechet recorded a version of the pop song "The Sheik of Araby", playing six different instruments: clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. A hitherto unissued master of this recording was included in the 1965 LP Bechet of New Orleans, issued by RCA Victor as LPV-510. On the liner notes, George Hoeffer quotes Bechet as follows:
"I started by playing The Sheik on piano, and played the drums while listening to the piano. I meant to play all the rhythm instruments, but got all mixed up and grabbed my soprano, then the bass, then the tenor saxophone, and finally finished up with the clarinet."
In 1944, 1946, and 1953 he recorded and performed in concert with the Chicago jazz pianist and vibraphonist Max Miller, private recordings that are part of the Max Miller archive and have never been released. These concerts and recordings are covered completely in John Chilton's authoritative book on Bechet.
Bechet was an important influence on the alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who studied with him as a teenager.
In 1919, Ernest Ansermet, a Swiss classical conductor, wrote a tribute to Bechet, one of the earliest (if not the first) to a jazz musician from the classical field of music, linking Bechet's music with that of Bach.
In 1968, Bechet was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
The New York Times music writer Robert Palmer wrote of Bechet: "by combining the 'cry' of the blues players and the finesse of the Creoles into his 'own way,' Sidney Bechet created a style which moved the emotions even as it dazzled the mind."
"Bechet to me was the very epitome of jazz ... everything he played in his whole life was completely original. I honestly think he was the most unique man to ever be in this music." — Duke Ellington.
The British poet Philip Larkin wrote an ode to Bechet in The Whitsun Weddings.
In popular culture
Sugar Blue, the renowned blues harmonica player, took his name from the Bechet recording "Sugar Blues", saying:
"I needed a nickname ... all the good ones were taken! You know 'Muddy Waters', 'Blind Lemon', 'Sonny Boy' ... until one night a friend and I were leaving a concert — a Doc Watson concert — when somebody threw out of the window a box full of old 78s: I picked one up and it said "Sugar Blues" by Sidney Bechet ... That's it! I thought it was perfect ... so here I am".
Bechet is said to have inspired the character of the saxophonist "Pablo" in the novel Steppenwolf. Hermann Hesse likely learned about jazz by listening to his playing in Europe in the 1920s.
In the novel Replay by Ken Grimwood, Bechet is featured performing at an underground Paris jazz club in the novel. This appearance is anachronistic as the scene takes place in 1963; Bechet died in 1959.
In music
Bob Dorough, who played with Bechet, recorded a tribute song, called "Something for Sydney," on his Right On My Way Home album.
Van Morrison mentions Bechet in his song "See Me Through Part II (Just A Closer Walk With Thee)".
The French chanteuse Patricia Kaas recorded the song, "L'Enterrement de Sidney Bechet" ("The Funeral of Sidney Bechet"), on her 1990 album Scène de vie.
Raquel Bitton pays tribute to Sydney Bechet in her CD Paris Blues, singing "Petite Fleur" (2006).
Radiohead used his single "Egyptian Fantasy" as the exit song for their 2012 tour.
In film/TV
In the 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, Woody Allen, the director and clarinetist, repeatedly referred to Bechet. He named one of his children adopted with his wife Soon-Yi Previn after Bechet.
Bechet is portrayed by Jeffrey Wright in two episodes of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
In the 2009 Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog, Bechet is mentioned by Louis, the trumpet playing alligator, during the musical number "When We're Human."
He was one of the first important soloists in jazz (beating cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months and later playing duets with Armstrong), and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing.
Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim.
Bechet was born in New Orleans on 14th May 1897. From a young age he was able quickly to master any musical instrument he encountered. Some New Orleanians remembered him as a cornet hot-shot in his youth. At first, though, he decided on the clarinet as his main instrument, and Bechet remained one of jazz's greatest clarinetists for decades. He is, however, perhaps best remembered as the master of the soprano saxophone. Bechet was the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort, his playing characterised by forceful delivery, well conceived, improvised ideas, and a distinctive wide vibrato.
Bechet had experience playing in travelling shows even before he left New Orleans at the age of twenty. Never long content in one place, he alternated between Chicago, New York, and Europe as his base of operations until finally he settled in France in 1950. He married Elisabeth Ziegler in Antibes, France in 1951.
Bechet successfully composed in jazz, pop, and extended concert work forms. His recordings have often been reissued. Some of the highlights include 1924 sides with Louis Armstrong in "Clarence Williams Blue Five", the 1932, 1940, and 1941 New Orleans Feetwarmers sides, a 1938 Tommy Ladnier Orchestra session ("Weary Blues", "Really the Blues"), and various versions of his own composition, "Petite Fleur".
In 1941, as an early experiment in overdubbing at RCA Studios, he recorded on six different instruments: the clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. This recording can be heard under the title "Sheik of Araby".
Shortly before his death in Paris, Bechet dictated his autobiography, Treat It Gentle. He died on 14th May 1959 - his sixty-second birthday.
Legacy and honors
Bechet successfully composed in jazz, pop-tune, and extended concert work forms. He knew how to read music but chose not to, due to his highly developed inner ear; he developed his own fingering system and never played section parts in a big band or swing-style combo. His recordings have often been reissued.
Sidney Bechet's primary instruments were the clarinet and the soprano sax. His playing style is intense and passionate, and had a wide vibrato. He was also known to be very proficient with his instruments and a master at improvisation (both individual and collective). Bechet liked to have his sound dominate in a performance, and trumpeters found it very difficult to play alongside him.
Bechet's song Si tu vois ma mère was prominently featured in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris (2011).
Some of the highlights of his career include 1923 sides with Louis Armstrong in the Clarence Williams Blue Five; the 1932, 1940, 1941 New Orleans Feetwarmers sides; a 1938 Tommy Ladnier Orchestra session ("Weary Blues", "Really the Blues"); a hit 1939 recording of "Summertime"; and various versions of his own composition, "Petite Fleur".
In 1939, Bechet co-led a group with pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith that recorded several early versions of what was later called Latin jazz, adapting traditional méringue, rhumba and Haitian songs to the jazz idiom.
On July 28, 1940, Sidney Bechet made a guest appearance on NBC Radio's The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street show, playing two of his show pieces ("Shake It and Break It" and "St. Louis Blues") with Henry Levine's Dixieland band. Levine invited Bechet into the RCA Victor recording studio (on 24th Street in New York City), where Bechet lent his soprano sax to Levine's traditional arrangement of "Muskrat Ramble."
On April 18, 1941, as an early experiment in overdubbing at Victor, Bechet recorded a version of the pop song "The Sheik of Araby", playing six different instruments: clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. A hitherto unissued master of this recording was included in the 1965 LP Bechet of New Orleans, issued by RCA Victor as LPV-510. On the liner notes, George Hoeffer quotes Bechet as follows:
"I started by playing The Sheik on piano, and played the drums while listening to the piano. I meant to play all the rhythm instruments, but got all mixed up and grabbed my soprano, then the bass, then the tenor saxophone, and finally finished up with the clarinet."
In 1944, 1946, and 1953 he recorded and performed in concert with the Chicago jazz pianist and vibraphonist Max Miller, private recordings that are part of the Max Miller archive and have never been released. These concerts and recordings are covered completely in John Chilton's authoritative book on Bechet.
Bechet was an important influence on the alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who studied with him as a teenager.
In 1919, Ernest Ansermet, a Swiss classical conductor, wrote a tribute to Bechet, one of the earliest (if not the first) to a jazz musician from the classical field of music, linking Bechet's music with that of Bach.
In 1968, Bechet was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
The New York Times music writer Robert Palmer wrote of Bechet: "by combining the 'cry' of the blues players and the finesse of the Creoles into his 'own way,' Sidney Bechet created a style which moved the emotions even as it dazzled the mind."
"Bechet to me was the very epitome of jazz ... everything he played in his whole life was completely original. I honestly think he was the most unique man to ever be in this music." — Duke Ellington.
The British poet Philip Larkin wrote an ode to Bechet in The Whitsun Weddings.
In popular culture
Sugar Blue, the renowned blues harmonica player, took his name from the Bechet recording "Sugar Blues", saying:
"I needed a nickname ... all the good ones were taken! You know 'Muddy Waters', 'Blind Lemon', 'Sonny Boy' ... until one night a friend and I were leaving a concert — a Doc Watson concert — when somebody threw out of the window a box full of old 78s: I picked one up and it said "Sugar Blues" by Sidney Bechet ... That's it! I thought it was perfect ... so here I am".
Bechet is said to have inspired the character of the saxophonist "Pablo" in the novel Steppenwolf. Hermann Hesse likely learned about jazz by listening to his playing in Europe in the 1920s.
In the novel Replay by Ken Grimwood, Bechet is featured performing at an underground Paris jazz club in the novel. This appearance is anachronistic as the scene takes place in 1963; Bechet died in 1959.
In music
Bob Dorough, who played with Bechet, recorded a tribute song, called "Something for Sydney," on his Right On My Way Home album.
Van Morrison mentions Bechet in his song "See Me Through Part II (Just A Closer Walk With Thee)".
The French chanteuse Patricia Kaas recorded the song, "L'Enterrement de Sidney Bechet" ("The Funeral of Sidney Bechet"), on her 1990 album Scène de vie.
Raquel Bitton pays tribute to Sydney Bechet in her CD Paris Blues, singing "Petite Fleur" (2006).
Radiohead used his single "Egyptian Fantasy" as the exit song for their 2012 tour.
In film/TV
In the 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, Woody Allen, the director and clarinetist, repeatedly referred to Bechet. He named one of his children adopted with his wife Soon-Yi Previn after Bechet.
Bechet is portrayed by Jeffrey Wright in two episodes of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
In the 2009 Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog, Bechet is mentioned by Louis, the trumpet playing alligator, during the musical number "When We're Human."
Blue Horizon
Sidney Bechet Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Blue Horizon' by these artists:
Amy Speace If I die before my mother does Then I would fly…
David Wilcox Her car is how she left it. No dust has…
Dean Ford There's a grey horizon And the sun don't shine When the bomb…
Emitt Rhodes Rhodes I've been waiting for such a long time I've been …
Graham Parker We'd follow the sound Of the dirt tracking bikes Into th…
Heidi Blickenstaff Push the pedal to the floor. The UHaul starts to fly. Bland…
Jacques Denjean and His Orchestra Blue horizon Waits a beautiful day Goodbye to things that bo…
Marla Lewis Wanna fly beyond the Blue Horizon? Take a ride up through…
Maysa Finally, we are here On this moonlit island Here in your arm…
My Glorious Under the blue horizon Down on the desert sand I lay in…
Sophia Nohr Many miles i left behind me I wont look back Something might…
The Black Sorrows Love takes a fatal turn Some thing you never learn Truth c…
The Cats I can see us drift apart Oh, my love, oh, not…
小野賢章 こんな暑い日に話すのは 思い出や夢じゃなくて 「あの海へみんなで行こうよ」シャツを脱いで 微かに潮風の匂いがしただけで…
Maysa Finally, we are here On this moonlit island Here in your arm…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Sidney Bechet:
2.19 Blues The two-nineteenth brought my baby away The two-nineteenth …
After You're Gone Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
Ain't Misbehavin No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
All of Me All of me Why not take all of me? Can't you see I'm…
Basin Street Blues Won't you come along with me To the Mississippi We'll take a…
Big Chief BIG CHIEF La nuit tombe sur le village indien et soudain Bi…
Black And Blue Cold empty bed, springs hard as lead Pains in my head,…
Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Blues in Third Hold tight hold tight hold tight hold tight Foo-ra-de-ack-a…
Blues Take 2 The two-nineteenth brought my baby away The two-nineteenth b…
Bugle Call Rag You're bound to fall for the bugle call; You're gonna brag…
Cake Walking Babies Cake walkers may come, cake walkers may go, But I wanna…
Caravan Night and stars above that shine so bright The myst'ry…
Careless Love Love, oh love, oh careless love You've fly through my head…
Cliff's Boogie Blues I don't care what the weatherman says When the weatherman s…
Coquette Hear me, why you keep fooling Little coquette, making fun o…
Dear Old Southland Dear old Southland I hear you calling me. And I long…
Ding Dong Daddy I reckon you all don't know me at all I just…
Embraceable You Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you! Embrace me, you irrepl…
Everybody Loves My Baby Yeah, everybody loves my baby But my baby don't love nobody…
Freight Train Blues I hate to hear that freight train blow, boo-hoo I hate…
Hold Tight Hold tight hold tight hold tight hold tight Foo-ra-de-ack-a-…
I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
I Know That You Know Life's a game, but who can play it all alone Ev'ry…
I Take to You Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
I'll Never Be the Same I'll never be the same Stars have lost their meaning for…
I'm A Ding Dong Daddy I reckon you all don't know me at all I just…
If I Could Be With You Finally found a fella Almost completely divine But his voc…
It Had To Be You It had to be you, it had to be you. I…
Ja Da You've heard all about your raggy melody Everything from op…
Jack I'm Mellow I'm so high and so dry I'm sailin' in the sky Just…
Jada You've heard all about your raggy melody Everything from ope…
Jeepers Creepers I don't care what the weatherman says When the weatherman sa…
Jungle Drums Hey, I'm in love, My fingers keep on clicking to the…
Just One of Those Things It was just one of those things Just one of those…
Lady Be Good Listen to my tale of woe, It's terribly sad but…
Laura You know the feeling of something half remembered Of somethi…
Love Me With A Feeling Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
Madame Bécassine C′est Madame Bécassine La gentille marchande de vin, Elle a …
Mon Homme It's cost me a lot But there's one thing that I've…
Mood Indigo You ain't never been blue; no, no, no, You ain't…
My Melancholy Baby Yeah, everybody loves my baby But my baby don't love nobody…
Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning Nobody knows the way I feel This morning, this morning Nob…
Oh Didn't He Ramble Ashes to ashes dust to dust If the women dont get…
Oh Didn't He Ramble? ashes to ashes dust to dust if the women dont get…
Oh Lady Be Good Listen to my tale of woe, It's terribly sad but…
Okey Doke Is that true? yes Okey dokey yo Is that true? yes…
Old Fashioned Love I'm in love with a plain old-fashion girl (love with…
On the Sunny Side of the Street Walked with no one and talked with no one And I…
Panther Dance Hold that tiger Hold that tiger Hold that tiger Hold that…
Perdido Steet Blues Perdido I look for my heart It's perdido I lost it way down…
Perido Street Blues Won't you come along with me To the Mississippi We'll take…
Petite Fleur Si les fleurs Qui bordent les chemins Se fanaient toutes dem…
Petite Fleur Lm Stillness in the grove Not a rustling sound Softly shines …
Preachin' Blues Now in the good book on page 21 Says ev'ry married…
Revolutionary Blues 2 The two-nineteenth brought my baby away The two-nineteenth b…
Riverboat Shuffle All you cotton toters, Mississippi floaters, Gather all …
Rose Room I want to take you to a little room A little…
Runnin' Wild My gal and I, we had a fight And I'm…
Saint Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
September Song Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December But…
Sleepy Time Down South Homesick tired All alone in a big city Why should…
Sleepy Time Gal Wouldn't it be a change for you and me to…
Song Of Songs Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December But…
St Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
St. James Infirmary It was down by old Joe's barroom, on the corner…
St. Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Stompy Jones ashes to ashes dust to dust if the women dont get…
Strike up the Band Let the drums roll out Let the trumpet call While the peop…
Summertime [Instrumental]…
Sweet Lorraine Everything is set, skies are blue, Can't believe it yet, but…
That Old Black Magic Old black magic has me in its spell Old black magic…
The Blues and Freud II The two-nineteenth brought my baby away The two-nineteenth b…
The Sheik of Araby "I'm the Sheik of Araby, Your love belongs to me. At…
The Song Of Songs Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December But…
Tiger rag Hold that tiger Hold that tiger Hold that tiger Hold that ti…
Viper Mad just viper mad must have my fun i'm never sad it…
What Is the Thing Called Love I was a hum-drum person Leading a life apart When love flew…
When It' Sleepy Time Down South Homesick tired All alone in a big city Why should…
Who Who's Sorry Now? Who's Sorry Now? Who's heart is aching for …
Wild Cat Blues Blues Brothers, The Blues Brothers & Friends: Live From Hous…
You Rascal You Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
You're Lucky to Me Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@gratefulyankee377
A classic legend with such an enduring song that illustrates the pure essence of Bechet's talent and mastery of jazz
@sandraturner807
thanks Mr Yorke
@mattp6388
Omg Sidney Bachet! My kids looked at me funny when I introduced this to them but I think they are starting to understand his true genius. Amazing pioneer and musician
@alainwernert1845
Ok je m
@isaackahn7188
Cannot believe this is played on clarinet! Genius!
@morganwitthoft2321
Welcome to Advanced Blues 310. This is the textbook for the whole semester.
@glynsmith4590
That vibrato makes me shiver as it did when first heard it (aged 10!!)
@pygmygodeus9450
Gorgeous. One of the first jazz pieces I was introduced to.
@mamajayjayjackson769
I guess I've only heard on black and white movies...ive never heard of him or his recordings
@pygmygodeus9450
This recording was on the first version of a 6 LP set, The Smithsonian Collection of Jazz. Back in the 70s I took a wonderful community college class, The History of Afro-American Music, that focussed on jazz. It was taught by this great jazz pianist, Wilbert Baranco. He knew Fats Waller and Art Tatum and told us funny anecdotes about them. The homework was simple but time-consuming, good ear training. For the midterm & final, Mr. Baranco played random tracks from that six record set and we had to identify the name of the piece, the band leader, and the band leader’s birthdate and birthplace (!). I spent hours every week listening to those 12 sides in the listening lab. Such a great teacher and intro to jazz. This tune by Bechet was really one of my favorites on that set. Later I found out that usually Bechet played soprano sax—on here it’s clarinet.