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Robert Marshall Helm (July 18, 1914 – September 1, 2002) was a 
Helm was born in
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 ...
clarinetist and saxophonist.
Helm was born in Fairmead, California
Fairmead is a census-designated place in Madera County, California, United States. It is located northwest of Madera, at an elevation of , and bordered to the northwest by Chowchilla. The population was 1,235 at the 2020 census.
A post office op ...
and began playing brass instruments when he was young. He later turned to alto saxophone and by the age of 11 was a professional tenor saxophonist who also played several other instruments. He met Lu Watters
Lucius Carl Watters (December 19, 1911 – November 5, 1989) was a trumpeter and bandleader of the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. Jazz critic Leonard Feather said, “The Yerba Buena band was perhaps the most vital factor in the reawakening of public int ...
and Turk Murphy
Melvin Edward Alton "Turk" Murphy (December 16, 1915 – May 30, 1987) was an American trombonist and bandleader, who played traditional and Dixieland jazz.
Biography
He was born in Palermo, California, United States. Murphy served in the Navy ...
in 1935 and began playing with them. Five years in the army were followed by returns to the same leaders. He recorded an album as a leader in 1954. Helm continued to play into the 1990s and in 1994–95 recorded another album, ''Hotter than That'', for Stomp Off
Stomp Off is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1980 by Bob Erdos in York, Pennsylvania. The label's first release was ''Feelin' Devilish'' by Waldo's Gutbucket Serenaders.
It was described in 1986 as concentrating on "jazz in t ...
. He died in San Rafael, California
San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...
, on September 1, 2002.
References
Dixieland revivalist clarinetists Dixieland clarinetists Dixieland bandleaders American jazz clarinetists 1914 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American musicians People from Madera County, California Jazz musicians from California Yerba Buena Jazz Band members {{US-clarinetist-stub