Charles Neville (December 28, 1938 – April 26, 2018) was an American R&B and

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 ...

musician best known as part of

The Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

. Known onstage as "Charlie the horn man", his saxophone playing helped earn the group a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for best pop instrumental performance.

Early life

The second oldest of the four Neville brothers, Charles Neville was born in

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

on December 28, 1938, to Arthur Lanon Neville Sr. and Amelia (Landry) Neville and was raised in the Calliope housing project with his musical brothers,

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, and

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...

. Their uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, was lead singer of the Mardi Gras Indian group

The Wild Tchoupitoulas The Wild Tchoupitoulas were originally a group of Mardi Gras Indians formed in the early 1970s by George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry. Landry, with his Autochthon American (Choctaw) heritage, had been an active performer in the Mardi Gras Indian sty ...

. Charles left home when he was 15 to play

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

with the Rabbit's Foot Minstrel Show. When back in New Orleans, he played in the house band at the

Dew Drop Inn Dew Drop Inn may refer to: *Dew Drop Inn (New Orleans, Louisiana) *Dew Drop Inn (Mountain View, Arkansas) *Dew Drop Inn (musical), 1923 Broadway musical {{disambiguation ...

. He served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

from 1956 to 1958 and discovered the music scene on

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...

while stationed in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, later touring with

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

and Bobby (Blue) Bland.

Career

He joined the band of fellow New Orleanian

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

, but his addiction to heroin landed him short jail terms for the shoplifting that sometimes supported his habit. He finally overcame his addictions in 1986. Beginning in 1963 he served three and a half years at

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

at Angola for possession of marijuana. He practiced in the prison music room with other incarcerated New Orleans musicians, notably pianist

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. J ...

and drummer James Black. Moving to New York City after release from prison, he explored modern jazz and toured with

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor was ...

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include " Slip Away", " Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), " Patches" (1970) and "Strokin" (1986). Ea ...

, and

O. V. Wright Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright (October 9, 1939 – November 16, 1980) was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritativ ...

. In 1976 he returned to New Orleans when his maternal uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, called Charles and his brothers

, and

together to record with his Mardi Gras Indian group,

. The blend of traditional and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

music on ''The Wild Tchoupitoulas'' album (1976) has made it an icon of New Orleans musical culture. Shortly afterward, the four brothers formed

, recording more than a dozen albums and building a worldwide following. For years they were the closing act on the main stage of the

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

. Charles's saxophone playing was especially notable on the title track of their best-selling album, ''

Yellow Moon Yellow Moon may refer to: * ''Yellow Moon'' (Neville Brothers album), 1989, or the title song * ''Yellow Moon'' (Don Williams album), 1983, or the title song * ''Yellow Moon'' (EP), a 2006 EP by Akeboshi, or the title song * "Yellow Moon", a 196 ...

'' (1989), and helped earn the group its only

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

, for best pop instrumental performance, for the album's, "Healing Chant". He moved to rural Massachusetts in the 1990s with his wife, Kristin Neville, and children and continued to perform and record with family members and a wide variety of musicians for the rest of his life. His recordings include an album with the groups Diversity, with jazz and classical musicians, and Songcatchers, with Native American musicians. Neville is interviewed on screen and appears in performance footage with the Neville Brothers in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of

New Orleans music The music of New Orleans assumes various styles of music which have often borrowed from earlier traditions. New Orleans, Louisiana, is especially known for its strong association with jazz music, universally considered to be the birthplace of th ...

and its influence on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

. In the film, the band performs "Fire on the Bayou" with guests

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

and Ian Neville. In 2008 he released his own album, reflecting his interests in Eastern spirituality, ''Safe in Buddha’s Palm''. He returned often to New Orleans, playing with his jazz combos at Snug Harbor and with his daughter, jazz and funk singer Charmaine Neville. He also performed with two of his sons, Talyn and Khalif, as the New England Nevilles. After 2012 he toured with

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

's solo band and appeared with him for Aaron's first performance at the

French Quarter Festival French Quarter Festival is a free, annual music festival held in early April, located in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1983 with the first festival held in 1984, the festival features primarily New Orleans m ...

in 2017. Charles's last Jazz Fest performance was with

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

in 2017. He was scheduled to join in "The Neville Family Groove", a musical celebration of the Nevilles at

Tipitina's Tipitina's is a music venue located at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History Local music enthusiasts opened the venue on January 14, 1977.WP:External link content guidelines or they will be removed --> * Interview, with playlist and transcript {{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Charles 1938 births 2018 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Neville family (show business) Grammy Award winners African-American musicians American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent The Neville Brothers members 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people