Ernie Joseph "Cag" Cagnolatti (April 2, 1911,

Madisonville, Louisiana Madisonville is a town in St. Tammany Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 748 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 857 at the 2020 U.S. population estimates program. It is not part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner met ...

– April 7, 1983,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

) 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 ...

trumpeter.

Biography

He was one of six children born to Leonce "Leon" and Anna Shelby Cagnolatti. An excerpt from a piece written about Cosimo Matassa titled "Roll With It" stated that " Little Cag " shared Italian and African American parentage. He was also raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Cagnolatti began on trumpet around 1929 and played with Herbert Leary from 1933 to 1942, as well as off and on with

Sidney Desvigne Sidney Desvigne (September 11, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was an American jazz trumpeter. Desvigne played in a large number of noted 1910s and 1920s-era New Orleans Jazz ensembles, including Leonard Bechet's Silver Bell Band, the Maple Leaf Orc ...

and

Papa Celestin Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954) better known by stage name Papa Celestin was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Life and career Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son of a s ...

. Cagnolatti was a recurring member of many of the major New Orleans brass bands; he worked in the bands of George Williams in the 1940s and 1950s, and with

Alphonse Picou Alphonse Floristan Picou (October 19, 1878 – February 4, 1961) was an important very early American jazz clarinetist of New Orleans, Louisiana, who also wrote and arranged music. Early life and education Alphonse Picou was born into a prosper ...

in the early 1950s. He recorded with

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father, three of his brothers, and his nephew (Danny Barker) ...

repeatedly over the course of the 1950s and 1960s. He and Jim Robinson collaborated in the early 1960s, and he also recorded with Harold Dejan in 1962 and with the

Onward Brass Band The Onward Brass Band was either of two brass bands active in New Orleans for extended periods of time. Onward Brass Band (c. 1886–1930) This incarnation of the Onward Brass Band played often in its early history at picnics, festivals, parades, ...

in 1968. From 1974 to 1980 Cagnolatti was a mainstay 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 ...

. He suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1980 and did not play afterwards.

References

*Alden Ashforth, "Cag Cagnolatti". '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cagnolatti, Cag 1911 births 1983 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Jazz musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Onward Brass Band members African-American Catholics 20th-century African-American musicians