"High Society" is a multistrain melody, originally a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

copyrighted in April 1901 by Porter Steele, which has become a traditional

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

. The piccolo

obligato In Western classical music, ''obbligato'' (, also spelled ''obligato'') usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ''ad libitum''. It can also be used, more specifically, to indica ...

is not found in Steele's first version of the song; it appears to have originated in an orchestration by Robert Recker from later in 1901. In

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

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 ...

adapted the piccolo part into a

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

variation, sometimes considered one of the earliest documented jazz solos. The Picou variations became standard in New Orleans jazz (unusual in a form that values improvisation); many traditional jazz clarinetists from the generation just after Picou until today have copied or closely paraphrased Picou's solo, sometimes followed by their own improvisations on a second chorus. Picou himself recorded it a number of times in his later life, including recordings with

Kid Rena Henry "Kid" Rena (August 30, 1898 – April 25, 1949) was an American jazz trumpeter, who was an early star of the New Orleans jazz scene. Biography He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Rena may have taken lessons from Manuel ...

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 ...

and for films. The first couple of bars were frequently quoted by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

in his improvisations. The tune was recorded as a march by

Charles A. Prince Charles Adams Prince (1869 – October 10, 1937) was an American conductor, bandleader, pianist and organist known for conducting the Columbia Orchestra and, later, Prince's Band and Orchestra.''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound'', p. 860. He m ...

's band in 1911. The first jazz recording of it was made by

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of Mute (music), mutes in jazz. Also a notable c ...

's Creole Jazz Band in 1923, with Johnny Dodds on clarinet. Apparently unaware that the tune was already copyrighted,

Gennett Records Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and H ...

filed a copyright on the tune as a Joe Oliver original. In the 1920s

Walter Melrose Walter Melrose (October 26, 1889– May 30, 1973) was a music publisher and lyricist in the 1920s and 1930s. Background He was born in Sumner, Illinois, and was the brother of Lester Melrose, with whom he established a music store in Chicago. Th ...

added lyrics to it (which are never performed) and republished it, as he did to several jazz compositions in order to claim a larger share of the royalties.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:High Society (Composition) 1901 compositions 1900s jazz standards Dixieland jazz standards Instrumentals Compositions by Porter Steele March music

See also

References