Leon Joseph Roppolo (March 16, 1902 – October 5, 1943) was an American early jazz clarinetist, best known for his playing with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. He also played saxophone and guitar.

Life and career

Leon Roppolo ( nicknamed "Rap" and sometimes misspelled as "Rappolo") was born in Lutcher, Louisiana, United States, up-river from New Orleans. His family, of Sicilian origin, moved to the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans about 1912. His first instrument was the violin. He was a fan of the marching bands he heard in the streets of New Orleans, and wanted to play

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 ...

. An older relative with the same name played that instrument in Papa Jack Laine's Reliance Brass Band. Roppolo soon excelled at the clarinet, and played youthful jobs with his friends Paul Mares and George Brunies for parades, parties, and at

Milneburg Milneburg was a town on the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana that was absorbed into the city of New Orleans. A neighborhood to the south of this area is still sometimes known by this name; the former location of Milneburg is now i ...

on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. At the age of 15 he decided to leave home to travel with the band of Bee Palmer, which soon became the nucleus for the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. The Rhythm Kings became (along with King Oliver's band) one of the best regarded hot jazz bands in Chicago, Illinois, in the early 1920s. Roppolo's style influenced many younger Chicago musicians, most notably

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

. Some critics have called Roppolo's work on the Rhythm Kings

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 ...

the first recorded jazz solos. After the breakup of the Rhythm Kings in Chicago, Roppolo and Paul Mares headed east to try their luck on the New York City jazz scene. Contemporary musicians recalled Roppolo making some recordings with Original Memphis Five and California Ramblers musicians in New York in 1924. These sides were presumably unissued, or if issued unidentified. Roppolo and Mares then returned home to New Orleans where they briefly reformed the Rhythm Kings and made some more recordings. After this Roppolo worked with other New Orleans bands such as the Halfway House Orchestra, with which he recorded on saxophone. Roppolo exhibited ever more eccentric behavior and violent temper. This was finally too much for his family to take, and Leon was committed to the state mental hospital in 1925. Some writers have speculated that he was suffering from tertiary

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

. In his later life, Roppolo, looking old and feeble far beyond his age, would come home for periods when a relative or friend could look after him, and he would sit in with local bands on saxophone or clarinet.

Death

Leon Roppolo died in New Orleans at the age of 41, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, within sight of the old Halfway House building where he played for years.

Compositions

Leon Roppolo's compositions include the jazz standards " Farewell Blues" and "Milenberg Joys", "Gold Leaf Strut" or "Golden Leaf Strut", "

Tin Roof Blues "Tin Roof Blues" is a jazz composition by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings first recorded in 1923. It was written by band members Paul Mares, Ben Pollack, Mel Stitzel, George Brunies and Leon Roppolo. The tune has become a jazz standard and is one o ...

" (1923), and " Make Love to Me", which was a pop song using Leon Roppolo's music (from "Tin Roof Blues"), recorded by Jo Stafford in 1954, and by Anne Murray and

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, shimm ...

Personal life

Roppolo married Mabel Alice Branchard on 17 May 1920 in New Orleans. They had one child, Epifanio Leon Roppolo.

References

External links

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Leon Roppolo and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (1922-25)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roppolo, Leon 1902 births 1943 deaths Dixieland clarinetists Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz clarinetists Gennett Records artists People from Lutcher, Louisiana American people of Italian descent American jazz musicians 20th-century American musicians New Orleans Rhythm Kings members