Napoleon began with classical training, and was performing publicly by age 5. In the 1910s, he was one of the first musicians in the northeastern United States to embrace the new "jass" style brought to that part of the country by musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana. With pianist Frank Signorelli he formed the group "The Original Memphis Five" in 1917. He became one of the most sought after trumpeters of the 1920s.[4] The group were very prolific, one of the most prolific in New York City at the time, and in 1922-1923 alone made over a hundred recordings.[4] Napoleon's 1927 version of "Clarinet Marmalade" was a particular success.[5] The Original Memphis Five split in 1928. During the 1930s, Napoleon mainly worked as a session trumpeter, working in the RCA Radio Orchestra in the early 1930s,[4] and in 1937 unsuccessfully tried to form his own orchestra.[6] He also worked as a network house conductor and trumpet soloist for NBC from around 1929 to 1937.[7] He recorded with the Cotton Pickers and the Charleston Chasers and also worked with blues singers Leona Williams and Alberta Hunter.[4]
Napoleon joined Jimmy Dorsey's then Los Angeles-based group in the mid-1940s, and he appeared with the band in the film Four Jills in a Jeep.[6] Parting with Dorsey in 1947, he moved back to New York and worked as a studio musician at NBC until 1949-1950 when he reformed The Original Memphis Five. During the early 1950s the group became noted for their performances at Nick's in New York City. He also worked frequently with his nephew Marty Napoleon, a jazz pianist. On July 3, 1959, Napoleon and The Five performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, later released as an album.[8] In 1966, he opened up his own club named "Napoleon's Retreat" in Miami, Florida where he lived until his death, although continued to perform Dixieland jazz in the club up until the 1980s.[6]
^Allmusic.com and Wikidata gives date of death as 30 September 1990.
^ abcdBarnhart, Scotty (2005). The World of Jazz Trumpet: A Comprehensive History & Practical Philosophy. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 190. ISBN978-1-61774-762-5.
^"Phil Napoleon Orch - Clarinet Marmalade 1927". National Archive. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ abc. Redhotjazz.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
phil, napoleon, born, filippo, napoli, september, 1901, october, 1990, early, jazz, trumpeter, bandleader, born, boston, massachusetts, wynn, observed, that, napoleon, competent, though, unimaginative, trumpeter, whose, greatest, value, many, recording, sessio. Phil Napoleon born Filippo Napoli 1 2 September 1901 1 October 1990 2 3 was an early jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Boston Massachusetts Ron Wynn observed that Napoleon was a competent though unimaginative trumpeter whose greatest value was the many recording sessions he led that helped increase jazz s popularity in the mid 20s 2 Richard Cook and Brian Morton writing for The Penguin Guide to Jazz refer to Napoleon as a genuine pioneer whose playing was profoundly influential on men such as Red Nichols and Bix Beiderbecke 1 Phil NapoleonJackie Gleason and Phil Napoleon on stageBackground informationBirth nameFilippo NapoliBorn 1901 09 02 September 2 1901Boston Massachusetts USDiedOctober 1 1990 1990 10 01 aged 89 Miami Florida USGenresJazzInstrument s TrumpetYears active1910s 1980s Napoleon began with classical training and was performing publicly by age 5 In the 1910s he was one of the first musicians in the northeastern United States to embrace the new jass style brought to that part of the country by musicians from New Orleans Louisiana With pianist Frank Signorelli he formed the group The Original Memphis Five in 1917 He became one of the most sought after trumpeters of the 1920s 4 The group were very prolific one of the most prolific in New York City at the time and in 1922 1923 alone made over a hundred recordings 4 Napoleon s 1927 version of Clarinet Marmalade was a particular success 5 The Original Memphis Five split in 1928 During the 1930s Napoleon mainly worked as a session trumpeter working in the RCA Radio Orchestra in the early 1930s 4 and in 1937 unsuccessfully tried to form his own orchestra 6 He also worked as a network house conductor and trumpet soloist for NBC from around 1929 to 1937 7 He recorded with the Cotton Pickers and the Charleston Chasers and also worked with blues singers Leona Williams and Alberta Hunter 4 Napoleon joined Jimmy Dorsey s then Los Angeles based group in the mid 1940s and he appeared with the band in the film Four Jills in a Jeep 6 Parting with Dorsey in 1947 he moved back to New York and worked as a studio musician at NBC until 1949 1950 when he reformed The Original Memphis Five During the early 1950s the group became noted for their performances at Nick s in New York City He also worked frequently with his nephew Marty Napoleon a jazz pianist On July 3 1959 Napoleon and The Five performed at the Newport Jazz Festival later released as an album 8 In 1966 he opened up his own club named Napoleon s Retreat in Miami Florida where he lived until his death although continued to perform Dixieland jazz in the club up until the 1980s 6 References Edit a b Cook Richard Brian Morton 2008 1992 The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings The Penguin Guide to Jazz 9th ed New York Penguin pp 1066 1067 ISBN 978 0 14 103401 0 a b Wynn Ron 1994 Ron Wynn ed All Music Guide to Jazz M Erlewine V Bogdanov San Francisco Miller Freeman pp 491 492 ISBN 0 87930 308 5 Allmusic com and Wikidata gives date of death as 30 September 1990 a b c d Barnhart Scotty 2005 The World of Jazz Trumpet A Comprehensive History amp Practical Philosophy Hal Leonard Corporation p 190 ISBN 978 1 61774 762 5 Phil Napoleon Orch Clarinet Marmalade 1927 National Archive Retrieved 6 December 2013 a b c Phil Napoleon Redhotjazz com Archived from the original on 26 September 2011 Retrieved 6 December 2013 The Cumberland News 14 Aug 1939 Phil Napoleon And His Original Memphis Five Concertvault com Retrieved 6 December 2013 External links EditPhil Napoleon recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings Phil Napoleon Discography at Discogs Phil Napoleon at The Red Hot Jazz Archive Phil Napoleon Biography at Solid Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phil Napoleon amp oldid 1164534583, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
