Polo Barnes

Paul D. "Polo" Barnes ( born November 22, 1901 in New Orleans, † April 3, 1981 ) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist of the New Orleans Jazz.

Life and work

Barnes attended the St. Paul Lutheran College. At 18, he began playing alto saxophone and founded with Lawrence Marrero the original Diamond band, which later became the Young Tuxedo Ribbon. In 1922 he played with Kid Rena and 1923 with the Maple Leaf Orchestra and the Original Tuxedo band Papa Celestin. In 1927, he left New Orleans and played with King Oliver in St. Louis. He then moved to New York City, played with Chick Webb and Edgar Dowell. 1928/29, he toured with Jelly Roll Morton (often soprano saxophone). In the 1930s he led his own band in New Orleans (1932 /33) and again played with King Oliver (1931, 1934/35 ), at Chester Zardis (1935 ) and other bands in New Orleans and Kid Howard ( 1937-1939 and 1941). In the 1940s he played from 1942 to 1945 in a Navy band in Algiers (Louisiana ) and from 1946 to 1951 with Papa Celestin.

From 1952 he was in California, where he was most of the time not active as a musician, but returned in 1958 to New Orleans back in the all-star band of Alton Purnell and Paul Barbarin (1959). 1962 to 1964 he was back in California and played on a paddle steamer in Disneyland at the Young Men from New Orleans. Then he was back in New Orleans, where he played at Preservation Hall and Dixieland Hall. In 1973/74 he toured Europe with other New Orleans veterans. In 1977, he finished his career for health reasons.

He can be heard on their own plates, but also as a sideman for Celestin, Morton, Peter Bocage and Kid Sheik. Also he composed, among others, My Josephine, which was taken in the 1920s by Papa Celestin.

His brother Emile Barnes (1892-1970) was also jazz clarinetist. He is not related to the clarinetist Walter Barnes.

Lexical entries

• Carlo Bohländer (ed.): Reclams jazz leader. Reclam, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-15-010464-5