Danny Barker in City of Mobile - early 20th Century

from Hear Me Talkin' To Ya: The Classic Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It, page 51:

Cootie Williams, that style he played, he got that from Chris Kelly. Chris used to go to Mobile [Alabama], where they had the same caste system as New Orleans. He played a dicty dance there one night and played nothing but barrelhouse with that plunger. He was the first one I saw play with a plunger. [...] And he also played church music, especially Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. He really moved people. He should have been a preacher. But he preached so melodiously with his horn that it was like somebody singing a song, and he would go into the blues from there. When he went to Mobile …   more >>

cite as

Nat Hentoff and Nat Shapiro, Hear Me Talkin' To Ya: The Classic Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It (London, 1992), p. 51. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1433682091254 accessed: 28 March, 2024

location of experience: City of Mobile

Listeners

Danny Barker
banjoist, Composer, Guitarist, Singing […]
1909-1994

Listening to

hide composers
Swing low, sweet chariot performed by Chris Kelly

Experience Information

Date/Time early 20th Century
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by 5011Henning on Sun, 07 Jun 2015 14:01:31 +0100
Approved on Mon, 22 Aug 2016 17:16:34 +0100