Alcide Louis "Slow Drag" Pavageau (March 7, 1888 – January 19, 1969) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist and

double-bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

ist.

Biography

Pavageau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started his career as a dancer, mastering a dance called the Slow Drag which resulted in his nickname. He learned the guitar as a young man from his cousin Ulysses Picou, a singer in New Orleans. Pavageau came from a musical family and was related to families like the Tios, Picous and Pirons who formed some of the earliest jazz bands. He played

Buddy Petit Buddie Petit (born Joseph Crawford; ca. 1897 – July 4, 1931), also spelled Buddy Petit, was an American early jazz cornetist. His early life is somewhat mysterious, with dates of his birth given in various sources ranging from 1887 to 1897. He ...

Bunk Johnson Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (December 27, 1879 – July 7, 1949) was an American prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans. Johnson gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have been younger by as much as a dec ...

, and

Herb Morand Herbert Morand (1905 – February 23, 1952) was an American jazz trumpeter, associated with the New Orleans jazz scene. Morand began on trumpet at age eleven after hearing King Oliver. He played with Nat Towles in New Orleans, then moved to New ...

. Johnson bragged that he taught Louis Armstrong how to play cornet by ear. He started playing bass in 1927 when he was 39 years old and joined

George Lewis George Lewis may refer to: Entertainment and art * George B. W. Lewis (1818–1906), circus rider and theatre manager in Australia * George E. Lewis (born 1952), American composer and free jazz trombonist * George J. Lewis (1903–1995), Mexica ...

's band from 1943 and also played in

's band in New York City in 1945. He toured with Lewis through the end of the 1950s. In 1961, while playing with the Louis Cottrell Trio, he recorded ''New Orleans: The Living Legends'' for

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

. He worked at

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art dealer Larry Borenstein f ...

in the 1960s and recorded one album as a leader in 1965 in addition to frequent recording with Lewis. Pavageau was the son of Ferreol "Joseph" Pavageau and Alice Philippe. He was the descendant of a marriage between two of the oldest Creole families in New Orleans. His family traced their roots to wealthy French planters who were displaced by the Haitian Revolution and friends of Bienville, the founder of New Orleans. For almost 40 years he was the Grand Marshal of the Second Line of the Mardi Gras Parade. The second line is known for twirling ornamental umbrellas during their gatherings. The twirling of umbrellas may have been adapted from the early Italian immigrant custom of using umbrellas at funeral processions. Alcide died in 1969 in New Orleans at the age of 80. Although rumors abound about Alcide Pavageau being a nephew of renowned New Orleans

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

queen

Marie Laveau Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881)''Marie Laveau The Mysterious Voodoo Queen: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans'' by Ina Johanna Fandrich was a Louisiana Creole people, Louisiana ...

, this is not true.

Discography

As leader

* ''Slow Drag's Bunch'' (Jazz Crusade)

As sideman

* Sweet Emma Barrett, ''New Orleans' Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band'' (Preservation Hall, 1964) *

Louis Cottrell Jr. Louis Albert Cottrell Jr. (March 7, 1911 - March 21, 1978) was a Louisiana Creole jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was the son of the influential drummer Louis Cottrell, Sr., and grandfather of New Orleans jazz drummer Louis Cottrell ...

, ''The Louis Cottrell Trio: Bourbon Street'' (Riverside, 1961) *

, ''New Orleans 1944'' ( American Music) * Bunk Johnson, ''Hot Jazz'' ( RCA Victo, 1946) *

, ''New Orleans Jazz Band And Quartet'' (Riverside, 1954) * George Lewis, ''

George Lewis & Turk Murphy at Newport ''George Lewis & Turk Murphy at Newport'' is a live album by George Lewis' Sextet and Turk Murphy's Septet recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 and released on the Verve label.

'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1957) * George Lewis, ''The Perennial George Lewis'' (Verve, 1958) * Jim Robinson, ''Jim Robinson's New Orleans Band'' (Riverside, 1961) * Jim Robinson, ''Jim Robinson Plays Spirituals And Blues'' (Riverside, 1961)

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

Alcide Pavageau Alcide Louis "Slow Drag" Pavageau (March 7, 1888 – January 19, 1969) was an American jazz guitarist and double-bassist. Biography Pavageau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started his career as a dancer, mastering a dance called the ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

External links

Alcide Pavageau
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavageau, Alcide 1888 births 1969 deaths American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members