Edmond "Doc" Souchon (October 25, 1897,

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

– August 24, 1968, New Orleans) 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 writer on music. He was a pivotal figure in the historical preservation of New Orleans jazz in the middle of the 20th century. Souchon received schooling to become a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, though he was playing regularly in groups such as the Six and Seven Eighths Band in the 1910s. He helped oversee a reconstitution of this band in 1945 as a four-piece, and made many recordings of early

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...

tunes through the early 1960s. Alongside this, Souchon recorded with many noted New Orleans jazz mainstays, such as

Johnny Wiggs Johnny Wiggs (born John Wigginton Hyman, July 25, 1899 - October 10, 1977) was a jazz musician and band leader. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, Wiggs started his music career on the violin. He soon adopted the cornet and moved ...

Sherwood Mangiapane Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

Papa Jack Laine George Vital "Papa Jack" Laine (September 21, 1873 – June 1, 1966) was an American musician and a pioneering band leader in New Orleans in the years from the Spanish–American War to World War I. He was often credited for training many musici ...

, Raymond Burke, and

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) ...

. Souchon was involved early on in the management of the New Orleans Jazz Club, and served as president of the organization early in its existence. He had his own radio program on WWL, and edited the journal ''Second Line'' from 1951 until his death in 1968. Aside from his contributions to jazz journals such as ''Jazz'' and ''Jazz Report'', Souchon compiled a photo book with Al Rose entitled ''New Orleans Jazz: A Family Album'', first published in 1967 and subsequently revised in 1978 and 1984. He helped establish the National Jazz Foundation in 1942, as well as the

New Orleans Jazz Museum The New Orleans Jazz Museum is a music museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, U.S., dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of jazz music. Originally a separate museum, the collection is now affiliated with the Louisiana Stat ...

about a decade later. His record collection, which included some 2,000 recordings of New Orleans jazz, was bequeathed to the

New Orleans Public Library The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) is the public library service of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History The system began in 1895 in the Fisk Free and Public Library in a building on Lafayette Square. Abijah Fisk was a ...

, and many other music-related materials he collected are now in the possession of the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

Discography

* '' Doc Souchon and His Milneburg Boys'' (1969)

References

*"Edmond Souchon", '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Souchon, Doc 1897 births 1968 deaths American jazz guitarists Jazz musicians from New Orleans American music critics 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Louisiana American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Southland Records artists