Alphonse Picou

Alphonse Picou Floristan (* October 19, 1878 in New Orleans, † February 4, 1961 there ), was a Creole clarinetist and one of the earliest jazz musicians in New Orleans. In addition to George Baquet and his teacher Lorenzo Tio Picou was with his smooth gameplay as the most important clarinettist of the first generation of New Orleans jazz. Under today's jazz clarinetist, he is best known for his development of the clarinet part in become the standard high society, which should prove to be one of the most influential of the early jazz.

Life and work

Picou had first learned the age of fourteen trombone before he switched to clarinet and first played Ragtime Orchestra in the Indepence of Boo Boo Fortunea before he joined Accor in 1894 Diana band. At the turn of the 19th and 20th century played Picou in the Excelsior Brass Band and moved it to the Olympia Orchestra of Freddie Keppard. He then worked at George Moret, John Robichaux, and Bunk Johnson. In the years before the First World War, he played in the Tuxedo Brass Band in New Orleans. Around 1915 he briefly played in Chicago with Manuel Perez in Arsonia café, but returned after two years returned to New Orleans. His compositions like " Onzaga Blues", "Olympia Rag ", " Alligator Hop " and " Snake Rag ", partly created by order of King Oliver, have been played a lot. In 1918 he played in the band of Wooden Joe Nichols. He proposed in the 1920s in salon orchestras and brass bands through that played different music essentially. He retired in 1932 from the music business and worked from then on as a plumber .. the time of the Dixieland revival of the 1940s Picou returned to the stage, played and recorded with Papa Celestin and Kid Rena. He led his own small group in New Orleans in the 1950s and has performed with the Eureka band. When he died in 1961, there was a detailed "Jazz Funeral" with 2,500 participants through the streets of New Orleans.

Lexigraphic entries

• Martin Kunzler, jazz lexicon. Vol 2 Rowohlt, Reinbek 2002; ISBN 3-499-16513-9.