A TRIBUTE TO SIDNEY BECHET <br /> (1897 – 1959) <br /> <br />A clarinetist and a composer, who was the first, <br />To introduce a thin oboe-like soprano sax, - <br />Today used mostly as a second instrument for <br />Jazz. * <br />A pioneer, who had brought a new vibrant color, <br />That leaped from his sax with a ferocious, full- <br />blooded insistence, - <br />As if he was attempting to cram every emotion <br />in it! <br />His playing resembled the sound of the human <br />voice, <br />Which brought in a novelty and fervor to the <br />music of jazz! <br /> <br />Sidney was taught by the Creole clarinet master <br />Lorenzo Tio; <br />And after having toured Texas and SW States <br />imparting shows; <br />In 1919 as a clarinet soloist, he joined Will <br />Marion Cook’s orchestra for touring Europe! <br />And there in a London junk shop he did find, - <br />A soprano sax who’s sound was divine! <br />The volume of the sax made him a leading soloist, <br />He remained no longer as a counterpoint clarinetist ! <br />Between 1924 -1925 his greatest recordings of <br />early jazz was made, - ** <br />Hear his classic recording of ‘Summertime’, - <br />Which makes him all time great! <br /> -Raj Nandy <br /> 11 Aug 09 <br /> New Delhi <br />POEM - DEDICATED TO BOB BLACKWELL <br /> of South Africa and a lover of Jazz! <br /> <br />* SAX WAS SUBSEQUENTLY MODIFIED WITH A WIDE <br />VARIETY, WHICH MAKES IT THE BACK-BONE OF JAZZ! <br />**SIDNEY was the only giant playing SOPRANO SAX, - <br />TILL JOHN COLTRANE popularized it in the 60s! <br />He has recorded with Louis Armstrong also! But his Solo recordings <br />Like, - ‘Summertime’ & ‘Blue Notes’, make him a Pioneering <br />Great! In 1951, he settled in Paris, and died of cancer in 1959!<br /><br />RAJ NANDY<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-tribute-to-sidney-bechet/
