Joseph Robichaux (March 8, 1900 – January 17, 1965) 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 ...

pianist. He was the nephew of

John Robichaux John Robichaux (1866–1939) was an American jazz bandleader, drummer, and violinist. He was the uncle of Joseph Robichaux. Career He was born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States, on January 16, 1866. John Robichaux moved to New Orleans, L ...

Life and career

Robichaux was born in

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

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, United States, and played piano from a young age and studied at

New Orleans University New Orleans University was a historically black college that operated between 1873 and 1934 in New Orleans. It was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church and affiliated with a number of preparatory schools located in various parts of the stat ...

. After working in the O.J. Beatty Carnival, he played with Tig Chambers briefly in 1918. He then returned to New Orleans and played with Oscar Celestin, Earl Humphrey, Lee Collins, and

The Black Eagles Black Eagles ( es, Águilas Negras) is a term describing a series of Colombian drug trafficking, right-wing, counter-revolutionary, paramilitary organizations made up of new and preexisting paramilitary forces, who emerged from the failures of t ...

(1922–23). He arranged for the Jones-Collins Astoria Hot Eight in 1929 and also recorded with them; he also accompanied

Christina Gray Christina Gray (born November 1, 1978) is a Canadian politician. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. First elected in 2015, in 2019 Gray was re-elected as the member representing Edmonton-Mill Woods. She is the Official Oppos ...

on record that year. In 1931, he formed his own ensemble, which featured

Eugene Ware Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

on trumpet, Alfred Guichard on clarinet and alto saxophone,

Gene Porter Eugene Porter (June 7, 1910 – February 24, 1993) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Early life Porter was born in Pocahontas, Mississippi on June 7, 1910. He began on cornet, but when his instrument was stolen he picked up saxop ...

on tenor sax, and Ward Crosby on drums. They journeyed to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to record for

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

in August 1933, laying down 22 mostly stomping, uptempo sides and two alternate takes in a marathon five day recording schedule, which included Rene Hall on tenor banjo. Vocalion issued 10 records over the next year and two tracks with

Chick Bullock Charles (Chick) Bullock (September 16, 18981900 U.S. Federal Census, Township #5, Silver Bow, Montana, enumeration district 90, page 5. Bullock's birth date is confirmed by his entries in the Social Security Death Index and the California Death ...

vocals were issued under his name on Banner, Domino, Oriole, Perfect, and Romeo. Problems with the musicians' union in New York prevented them from being able to play live there, and they returned to New Orleans not long after recording. Robichaux expanded the size of his ensemble over the course of the 1930s;

Earl Bostic Eugene Earl Bostic (April 25, 1913 – October 28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, which h ...

was among those who joined its ranks. They toured Cuba in the mid-1930s. The band also recorded for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in 1936, recording four sides in New Orleans, but these were all rejected. In 1939, Robichaux's ensemble disbanded, and he found work performing solo, mostly in New Orleans. He recorded as an accompanist on R&B recordings in the 1950s, and played with

Lizzie Miles Elizabeth Mary Landreaux (March 31, 1895 – March 17, 1963), known by the stage name Lizzie Miles, was an Afro- Creole blues singer in the United States. Biography Miles was born in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, ...

. Late in his life he played with

George Lewis George Lewis may refer to: Entertainment and art * George B. W. Lewis (1818–1906), circus rider and theatre manager in Australia * George E. Lewis (born 1952), American composer and free jazz trombonist * George J. Lewis (1903–1995), Mexica ...

(1957–64) and

Peter Bocage Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(1962); he also performed 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 died of a heart attack, in New Orleans, at the age of 64 in 1965.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Complete Robichaux'' (Blue-Disc, 1980)

As sideman

With

* ''Dr. Jazz'' (Verve, 1957) * ''

George Lewis & Turk Murphy at Newport ''George Lewis & Turk Murphy at Newport'' is a live album by George Lewis' Sextet and Turk Murphy's Septet recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) * ''The Perennial George Lewis'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Oh, Didn't He Ramble!'' (Verve, 1959) * ''Blues from the Bayou'' (Verve, 1959) * ''George Lewis in Tokyo 1964'' (King, 1964) * ''Plays Hymns'' (Milneburg, 1965) * ''George Lewis & His New Orleans All-Stars'' (Catalyst, 1976) * ''Live at Club Hangover'' (Dawn Club, 1983) * ''George Lewis in Japan'' (G.H.B., 1994) With others *

, ''New Orleans Legends Live Volume 23'' (Jazzology, 1982) * Louis Nelson, ''Louis Nelson Big Four'' (G.H.B., 1996)

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

, Joe Robichauxat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Life and career

Discography

As leader

As sideman

References

Further reading