Arthur Frank Hazel (August 15, 1903,

Harvey, Louisiana Harvey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Harvey is on the south side (referred to as the "West Bank") of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans–Metairie, Louisiana, Metairie–Kenne ...

- March 5, 1968,

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 ...

), better known as Monk Hazel, was a

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

and

cornetist The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopra ...

.Rye, Howard; Barry Kernfeld.
"Hazel, Monk".
''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

Career background

In addition to being a drummer, Hazel occasionally took solos

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

and

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

. Hazel performed with several bandleaders in and around New Orleans in the 1920s, among them Abbie Brunies,

Tony Parenti Tony Parenti (August 6, 1900 – April 17, 1972) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. After starting his musical career in New Orleans, he had a successful career in music in New York Cit ...

, Jules Bauduc, and

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 ...

. Hazel's father was a drummer as well. Early on Monk played drums with Emmett Hardy, who gave him his first cornet, and then with Stalebread Lacombe. In the 1920s, Hazel worked with many bands including those led by Abbie Brunies (the Halfway House Orchestra),

(with whom he recorded in 1928) and

. From the late 1920s to the early 1930s, Hazel led his own Bienville Roof Orchestra (which played atop the Bienville Hotel at Lee Circle, and made recordings in 1928) and then spent time in New York playing with Johnny Wiggs,

Jack Pettis Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and with his own group (1929–31). Hazel was in Hollywood for a period (working with

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

) but eventually came back to New Orleans, performing with Joe Caprano (1937) and the Lloyd Danton Quintet. Hazel spent 1942-43 in the Army and then worked for a time outside of music. During his final 20 years, Hazel was once again active in New Orleans, recording with his own band in 1945 and performing with

Sharkey Bonano Joseph Gustaf "Sharkey" Bonano (April 9, 1904 – March 27, 1972), also known as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas, was an American jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist. His musical abilities were sometimes overlooked because of his lo ...

(1949-52), George Girard, Mike Lala,

Santo Pecora Santo Pecora (born Santo Joseph Pecoraro, March 21, 1902 – May 29, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist known for his longtime association with the New Orleans jazz scene. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Pecora changed h ...

and virtually every other important name in New Orleans jazz. As a leader, Monk Hazel recorded four titles in 1928 for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

and a full album for

Southland Records Southland Records is a record label in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States specializing in blues and jazz. Southland Records was founded in 1953 by Joe Mares, a clarinetist and younger brother of trumpeter Paul Mares. He created the label af ...

in 1954;

Pete Fountain Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr. (July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016), known professionally as Pete Fountain, was an American jazz clarinetist. Early life and education LaFontaine was born to Pierre, Sr. and Madeline, in a small Creole cottage-style fr ...

and

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album '' Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the them ...

were among his sidemen on the latter recording.

References

* ''New Orleans Jazz, A Family Album'', Rose & Souchon, LSU Press, 1984 * ''Who's Who of Jazz'', John Chilton, Da Capo, 1985 American jazz drummers American jazz cornetists Dixieland drummers Dixieland cornetists Jazz musicians from New Orleans 1920 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American drummers American male drummers People from Harvey, Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians New Orleans Rhythm Kings members Southland Records artists Brunswick Records artists {{US-brass-musician-stub