Jazz royalty

Jazz royalty is a term that reflects the many great jazz musicians who have been termed as musically gifted, honorific, "aristocratic" or "royal" and had titles added to their names or nicknames due to their strong musical abilities.

Contents 1 Earliest jazz "monarchs" in New Orleans 2 Swing era 3 Later examples 4 Titles 5 Blues monarchs 6 See also 7 References

Earliest jazz "monarchs" in New Orleans

The practice goes back to New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, back before the music was commonly known as "jazz". Buddy Bolden was known as "King Bolden", as the top hot music and hot cornetist of the city.

The realization that such titles had commercial or public relations values that increased popularity also dates to this era. Violinist and bandleader Alex Watzke, observing Bolden's popularity, started billing himself as "King Watzke", and paid children coins to publicly point at him as he walked down the street and say "There goes King Watzke". While he succeeded in appending that nickname to himself, some fellow musicians used it more with amusement than with the respect accorded to Bolden. After Bolden was institutionalized in 1907, his "crown" was taken by Freddie Keppard who, in turn, "ruled" until 1914 when Joe Oliver took over the title.

Joe Oliver left New Orleans in 1919. Some later writers have assumed that the trumpet crown at that time went to Oliver's protégé Louis Armstrong, but Armstrong and his contemporaries made no such claim. Armstrong had a powerful rival in Buddie Petit, whom many ranked higher than young Armstrong in the period of 1919-1922. Neither billed themselves as "king". Oliver was known as "King Oliver" in Chicago, and was still regarded as the jazz king as late as 1925, when Louis Armstrong returned to Chicago from New York City. Armstrong's great respect and affection for Oliver was probably a factor in never claiming Oliver's kingship, although at the urging of his wife Lil Hardin Armstrong, Louis Armstrong was billed as the "world's greatest jazz trumpeter", rendering Oliver's title more ceremonial than a claim of supremacy.

Meanwhile in New York City in the 1920s, Paul Whiteman controversially began billing himself as the "King of Jazz". His nationally popular band with many hit records arguably played more jazz-influenced popular music than jazz per se, but to the dismay of many later jazz fans, Whiteman's self-conferred moniker stuck, and a motion picture The King of Jazz starring Whiteman and his band appeared in 1930. The "King of Jazz" title was a publicity stunt in 1923, by a musical instrument manufacturer that Whiteman endorsed, and Whiteman's publicists used it to good measure.^[1]

Jelly Roll Morton wrote an anthem to himself called "Mr. Jelly Lord" though surprisingly didn't bill himself "Mr. Jelly Lord." He was also one of many jazz musicians annoyed by Whiteman's claim, and had enough bravado to challenge it, by billing his band as "The Kings of Jazz" In 1924, the title never caught on.

Swing era

Benny Goodman was regularly called the "King of Swing". His rival, Artie Shaw, was often called "King of the Clarinet". Goodman's song "King Porter Stomp" was written by Jelly Roll Morton after a piano player he knew named Porter King. Later a little-known bandleader took the name "King Porter". Nat King Cole's nickname is partly inspired by the nursery rhyme "Old King Cole" and partly inspired by his impressive jazz piano technique.

There was a popular big band, led by Blue Barron, a stage name. Blue Barron once billed himself as competing for the title of "King of the Mickey Mouse Bands". Pianist Albert Ammons was referred to both as the "King of Boogie Woogie" and the "Rhythm King" in the 30s and 40s.

Later examples

Sharkey Bonano billed his band as "Sharkey & His Kings of Dixieland". What started out as the Assunto Family band acknowledged Sharkey's supremacy but claimed a lesser title for themselves, becoming the Dukes of Dixieland. Charles Mingus dubbed himself "Baron Mingus" for a brief period early in his career. Many of Al Hirt's records credited him as Al "He's The King" Hirt.

Titles

Blues monarchs

Mamie Smith was billed as the "Queen of the Blues"; Bessie Smith outdid her with the billing "Empress of the Blues". In a later era, Dinah Washington was also billed as the "Queen of the Blues". B. B. King always called himself the "Blues Boy" or "Beale Street Blues Boy" and fellow bluesmen Albert King (born Albert Nelson) and Freddie King were content to share a last name with him. They are now known as the "Three Kings of the Blues", a partial reference to the Three Magi.

See also

• The related tradition of Calypsonian nicknames
• List of honorific titles in popular music
• List of nicknames of jazz musicians

References

Jazz Topics "Jazz" Jazz Age Jazz band Jazz poetry Jazz royalty Jazz standard Big band Improvisation Jam session Scat singing Stride Swing performance Instruments Jazz bass Jazz drumming Jazz guitar Jazz piano Jazz violin Vocal jazz Genres Acid jazz Asian American jazz Avant-garde jazz Bebop Bossa nova Cape jazz Chamber jazz Cool jazz Crossover jazz Dixieland Free jazz Gypsy jazz Hard bop Jazz blues Jazz-funk Jazz fusion Jazz rap Jazzstep Latin jazz M-Base Mainstream jazz Modal jazz Neo-bop jazz Nu jazz Orchestral jazz Post-bop Punk jazz Ska jazz Smooth jazz Soul jazz Swing Trad jazz West Coast jazz Lists Musicians by instrument Bassists Clarinetists Drummers Guitarists Organists Pianists Saxophonists Trombonists Trumpeters Violinists Vocalists Percussionists by genre Bebop Chamber jazz Cool jazz & West Coast jazz Hard bop Jazz blues Jazz fusion Scat Smooth jazz Soul jazz Swing Standards Pre-1920 1920s 1930s 1940s post-1950 Albums Clubs Contrafacts Festivals Genres Institutions & Organizations Years in jazz Pre-1920: 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s: 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s Discographies Blue Note BYG Actuel Cobblestone CTI ECM ESP-Disk Flying Dutchman Freedom Groove Merchant Impulse! India Navigation Landmark Mainstream Milestone MPS Muse Prestige Riverside Strata-East