Bigard was also a member of the Louis Armstrong All-Stars before and after Edmond Hall joined. He sat with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for some of their biggest hits, such as “Moonlight Serenade”, “Little Brown Jug”, and “Tuxedo Junction”. When Ellington signed with Victor in 1940, Bigard (and other Ellingtonites) recorded for Bluebird under his own name. In keeping with Ellington’s small group formation featuring a lead soloist, Bigard continued to perform under his own name on Variety and subsequently Vocalion Records and OKeh until 1940. Although Ellington was present on the recording date, the session leader was Bigard. The band members are Cootie Williams (trumpet), Juan Tizol (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Harry Carney (baritone sax), Duke Ellington (piano), Billy Taylor (bass), and Sonny Greer (drums).Īll performers are members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which is often used to record small group sides. Two takes were recorded and issued, although L-0373-2 is by far the more common take. The first version of the song “Caravan” (composed by Juan Tizol and later rearranged by Duke Ellington) was recorded in Hollywood, on December 18, 1936, and performed as an instrumental by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters. He is credited as composer or co-composer on several numbers, including the Ellington standard “Indigo Mood”. Louis Blues (1958), with Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, and Eartha Kitt.īigard wrote an autobiography entitled With Louis and The Duke. He later worked with Armstrong’s touring band, the All-Stars, and others.īigard appeared and played in the film St. He began working with the trombonist group Kid Ory during the late 1940s. He did soundtrack work for Hollywood film studios and had a major on-screen role with the all-star band led by Louis Armstrong in the film New Orleans (1947). With Ellington, he was the featured clarinet soloist, while also doing part work on the tenor saxophone.Īfter leaving the Ellington orchestra, Bigard moved to Los Angeles, California. They played primarily at Harlem’s Cotton Club until 1931, then toured almost non-stop for more than a decade. In December 1927, Bigard joined the Duke Ellington orchestra in Harlem, New York. In the early 1920s, he moved to Chicago, where he worked with King Oliver and others.ĭuring this period, most of his recordings, including those with clarinetist Johnny Dodds, used the tenor saxophone, which he often played with fine lyrics, such as on Oliver’s “Someday Sweetheart”. He attended a local school and studied music and the clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. His uncle, Emile Bigard, was a jazz violinist. The son of Alexander and Emanuella Bigard, he has two brothers, Alexander Jr. Albany Leon “Barney” Bigard, 3 March 1906 – 27 June 1980, was a Harlem jazz clarinetist best known for his 15 year tenure with Duke Ellington.īigard was born in New Orleans to a Creoles family.
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