In Search of Buddy Bolden

There are a lot of legends, myths, and stories around the origins of jazz music and the first king of jazz, Buddy Bolden.  Bolden was born in New Orleans in 1877.  Bolden took up the cornet as a young man and began performing with marching bands and dance bands around town, his own band forming around 1895.  Though the New Orleans music community was very segregated at that time (black bands and Creole bands didn't mix much), Bolden gained a following beyond his caste.  He was known particularly for the power of his playing and he brought the cornet into its position as the lead instrument in dance music.

Buddy Bolden and Band.

The dance music at that time included blues, waltzes, quadrilles, and other folk dances.  Bolden’s band played a wealth of venues around town including the Union Sons Hall dubbed "Funky Butt Hall" after the song "Buddy Bolden Blues," by Bolden's first trombonist Willie Cornish.

The rumors around Bolden's life are plentiful to the point that it's often unclear what is myth and what is fact.  Bolden always had a harem of women following him around and sitting at the foot of the band stand.  Stories of fights between the girls, Bolden's pimping, and more have become part of his legacy. 

Bolden had become severely addicted to alcohol in 1906.  He continued to play, but his playing and personal life both declined until Frankie Dusen, the 2nd trombonist in the band, took the group over and replaced Bolden with another cornetist.  1907 he was committed to a State Mental Institution where he lived until his death in 1931.

Bolden influenced the entire generation of New Orleans musicians to follow including a young Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Freddie Keppard,  Kid Ory, etc. and laid the foundations for the jazz to come in the 1910's and 1920's.

For a great read on Buddy Bolden's life and music check out Donald Marquis's book - In Search Of Buddy Bolden: First Man Of Jazz

In Search of Buddy Bolden