Alcide Patrick Nunez (March 17, 1884 – September 2, 1934),[1] also known as Yellow Nunez and Al Nunez, was an American jazz clarinetist. He was one of the first musicians of New Orleans to make audio recordings.
Alcide Patrick Nunez was born in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States.[2][3] His parents were Victor Nunez and Elisa Nunez Chalaire and were of Isleño and French Creole descent respectively. The family moved to New Orleans when he was a child.[3]
He grew up amid the Marigny[2][3] and Bywater districts of New Orleans. For a time, Nunez lived at 1340 Arts Street in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans. Nunez joined to several bands in which played guitar, although switched to clarinet about 1902. He soon became one of the top hot clarinetists in the city. By 1905 he was a regular in Papa Jack Laine's band, in addition to playing with Tom Brown and sometimes leading bands of his own. Nunez could play several instruments, but mainly played the clarinet. In addition, he was able to improvise variations on the songs he heard. Before he was able to make music a full-time profession, Nunez worked for a while driving a mule-drawn wagon with fellow musician "Chink" Martin Abraham.[3]
In early 1916, he went north to Chicago with Stein's Dixie Jass Band, which was to become famous as the Original Dixieland Jass Band, but Nunez left the band shortly before they made their first recordings.[3][2] In 1917 the Dixieland Jass Band achieved great success with their recording of the instrumental "Livery Stable Blues" under the direction of Nick LaRocca; however, Nunez and Ray Lopez filed copyright for a sheet music version of the tune before LaRocca. Nick LaRocca and the band sued Nunez for $10,000. In the end the lawsuit was thrown out without decision; the judge denied that any "musicians" who could not read written music could be said to have written anything.[4]
After some time playing with Tom Brown's band in Chicago, he went to New York City with Bert Kelly's band.[3]Pee Wee Russell announced in Chicago and New York that Nunez was the greatest jazz clarinetist in the world. Nunez became Kelly's bandleader. After playing with Kelly through 1918, at the start of 1919 Nunez helped form the band the Louisiana Five, led by drummer Anton Lada. They became one of the most popular bands in New York and recorded for several record labels. In early 1920 Nunez worked with the New York dance band of Harry Yerkes but in the same year returned temporarily to the Louisiana Five, touring the United States.
In 1922, after Bert Kelly replaced him with Johnny Dodds, he returned to Chicago to lead the house band at Kelly's Stables, one of the city's top nightclubs and played with the band of Willard Robison. Soon thereafter Nuñez began to lose his teeth, impairing his ability to play clarinet. He returned to his family in New Orleans, but after getting dentures he regained his ability to play the clarinet. He joined the policy department to join the Police Band. During this time, Nunez was also part of "The Moonlight Serenaders" band and of several dance bands that played in New Orleans. He remained in New Orleans until his death.[3]
Personal lifeedit
Nunez married three times, had one child with his second wife and three children with his third. For a time in 1921, he settled in Baltimore, where he bought a large house.[3] He died of a heart attack on September 2, 1934.[3]
^ abcBranley, Edward J. (2014). New Orleans Jazz. Arcadia. p. 63. ISBN9781439642665.
^ abcdefghiAlcide Nunez 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. (2010) Hurricanebrassband.nl. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
^"Alcide "Yellow" Nuñez (1884-1934)". Red Hot Jazz Archive. November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alcide Nunez.
. Archived from the original on May 29, 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2003.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) extensive multi-page biography.
April 12, 2024
alcide, nunez, alcide, patrick, nunez, march, 1884, september, 1934, also, known, yellow, nunez, nunez, american, jazz, clarinetist, first, musicians, orleans, make, audio, recordings, nunez, 1918background, informationbirth, namealcide, patrick, nunezborn, 18. Alcide Patrick Nunez March 17 1884 September 2 1934 1 also known as Yellow Nunez and Al Nunez was an American jazz clarinetist He was one of the first musicians of New Orleans to make audio recordings Alcide NunezNunez in 1918Background informationBirth nameAlcide Patrick NunezBorn 1884 03 17 March 17 1884St Bernard Parish Louisiana U S DiedSeptember 2 1934 1934 09 02 aged 50 New Orleans Louisiana U S GenresJazzOccupation s MusicianInstrument s ClarinetYears active1902 1934 Contents 1 Biography 2 Personal life 3 References 4 External linksBiography editAlcide Patrick Nunez was born in St Bernard Parish Louisiana United States 2 3 His parents were Victor Nunez and Elisa Nunez Chalaire and were of Isleno and French Creole descent respectively The family moved to New Orleans when he was a child 3 He grew up amid the Marigny 2 3 and Bywater districts of New Orleans For a time Nunez lived at 1340 Arts Street in the St Roch neighborhood of New Orleans Nunez joined to several bands in which played guitar although switched to clarinet about 1902 He soon became one of the top hot clarinetists in the city By 1905 he was a regular in Papa Jack Laine s band in addition to playing with Tom Brown and sometimes leading bands of his own Nunez could play several instruments but mainly played the clarinet In addition he was able to improvise variations on the songs he heard Before he was able to make music a full time profession Nunez worked for a while driving a mule drawn wagon with fellow musician Chink Martin Abraham 3 In early 1916 he went north to Chicago with Stein s Dixie Jass Band which was to become famous as the Original Dixieland Jass Band but Nunez left the band shortly before they made their first recordings 3 2 In 1917 the Dixieland Jass Band achieved great success with their recording of the instrumental Livery Stable Blues under the direction of Nick LaRocca however Nunez and Ray Lopez filed copyright for a sheet music version of the tune before LaRocca Nick LaRocca and the band sued Nunez for 10 000 In the end the lawsuit was thrown out without decision the judge denied that any musicians who could not read written music could be said to have written anything 4 After some time playing with Tom Brown s band in Chicago he went to New York City with Bert Kelly s band 3 Pee Wee Russell announced in Chicago and New York that Nunez was the greatest jazz clarinetist in the world Nunez became Kelly s bandleader After playing with Kelly through 1918 at the start of 1919 Nunez helped form the band the Louisiana Five led by drummer Anton Lada They became one of the most popular bands in New York and recorded for several record labels In early 1920 Nunez worked with the New York dance band of Harry Yerkes but in the same year returned temporarily to the Louisiana Five touring the United States In 1922 after Bert Kelly replaced him with Johnny Dodds he returned to Chicago to lead the house band at Kelly s Stables one of the city s top nightclubs and played with the band of Willard Robison Soon thereafter Nunez began to lose his teeth impairing his ability to play clarinet He returned to his family in New Orleans but after getting dentures he regained his ability to play the clarinet He joined the policy department to join the Police Band During this time Nunez was also part of The Moonlight Serenaders band and of several dance bands that played in New Orleans He remained in New Orleans until his death 3 Personal life editNunez married three times had one child with his second wife and three children with his third For a time in 1921 he settled in Baltimore where he bought a large house 3 He died of a heart attack on September 2 1934 3 References edit Colin Larkin ed 1992 The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music First ed Guinness Publishing p 1843 ISBN 0 85112 939 0 a b c Branley Edward J 2014 New Orleans Jazz Arcadia p 63 ISBN 9781439642665 a b c d e f g h i Alcide Nunez Archived 2012 04 15 at the Wayback Machine 2010 Hurricanebrassband nl Retrieved 22 December 2011 Alcide Yellow Nunez 1884 1934 Red Hot Jazz Archive November 2 2020 Retrieved November 2 2020 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alcide Nunez Alcide Yellow Nunez Archived from the original on May 29 2005 Retrieved February 13 2003 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link extensive multi page biography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alcide Nunez amp oldid 1215627707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
