The Dukes of Dixieland was an American,

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

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

"-style revival band, originally formed in 1948 by brothers Frank Assunto, trumpet; Fred Assunto, trombone; and their father Papa Jac Assunto, trombone and banjo. Their first records featured Jack Maheu, clarinet; Stanley Mendelsohn, piano; Tommy Rundell, drums; and Barney Mallon, tuba and string bass. The 1958 album “Marching Along with the Dukes of Dixieland, Volume 3,” lists Frank, Fred, and Jac Assunto, along with Harold Cooper (clarinet), Stanley Mendelsohn (piano), Paul Ferrara (drums), and Bill Porter (tuna and string bass). During its run the band also featured musicians such as clarinetists

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 ...

, Jerry Fuller,

Kenny Davern John Kenneth Davern (January 7, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American jazz clarinetist. Biography He was born in Huntington, Long Island, to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry. His mother's family originally came from Vi ...

, drummers

Barrett Deems Barrett Deems (March 1, 1914 – September 15, 1998) was an American swing drummer from Springfield, Illinois, United States. He worked in bands led by Jimmy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Red Norvo, and Muggsy Spanier. In ''High Society'', a 1956 ...

, Charlie Lodice,

Buzzy Drootin Benjamin "Buzzy" Drootin (April 22, 1920 – May 21, 2000) was an American jazz drummer. Career Drootin was born near Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, United States, with his family when he was five. His father played the cl ...

and guitarists Jim Hall, and

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...

. The band also recorded with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. Fred and Frank Assunto both died young, and the original Dukes of Dixieland disbanded in the early 1970s. In April 1974, producer/manager John Shoup restarted the Dukes of Dixieland with Connie Jones as leader, leased Louis Prima's nightclub atop the Monteleone Hotel in the French Quarter and renamed it "Duke's Place". The Dukes of Dixieland have not been affiliated with the Assunto family since 1974. The Assunto family has denied giving away permission to use the band name with the new line-ups, none of which have included any of the original musicians.

History

The original Dukes of Dixieland were featured on the first stereo record, released November 1957, on the

Audio Fidelity Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

label. Sidney Frey, founder and president of Audio Fidelity, had Westrex cut the disk for release before any of the major record labels. In 1978, the Dukes, under John Shoup's direction, recorded the first direct-to-disk album, and then, in 1984, were the first jazz band to record on CD. In 1980, they recorded a television special at the old Civic Theater in New Orleans, with the New Orleans Pops Orchestra and later performed in a TV special with Woody Herman, ''Wood Choppers Ball.'' In 1986, they invited jazz musician Danny Barker to perform with them at Mahogany Hall to record a television special, ''Salute to Jelly Roll Morton''. In 2001, their gospel CD ''Gloryland'' was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. In 2011, they recorded with The Oak Ridge Boys, in Nashville, Tennessee, titled ''Country Meets Dixie.'' They have performed with symphony orchestras, including the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, National, New York Pops (in Carnegie Hall), and 29 other orchestras around the world. In 2005, they traveled aboard the Steamboat Natchez up the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

s to

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, Ohio, raising money for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Relief Fund, while many of the band members' homes were still destroyed. In 2011, they performed with the Boston Pops. Their latest CD, ''Here Comes the Girls,'' features music from R&B artists such as The Meters,

Ernie K-Doe Ernest Kador Jr. (February 22, 1933 – July 5, 2001), known by the stage name Ernie K-Doe, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer best known for his 1961 hit single "Mother-in-Law", which went to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart in the U ...

, and

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

Lawsuit and controversy over band name

In a commentary to an article published by ''The Syncopated Times'', Deano Assunto, the son of trumpeter Frank Assunto (of the original Dukes of Dixieland) states: "due to a court settlement against John Shoup there is to be ‘no implying any historical connection’ between Shoup’s copy band and the original pre-1974 Dukes of Dixieland ..Your article also stated that John Shoup says that Freddie’s widow Betty Assunto gave him the rights to the Dukes of Dixieland name which is not true. In our first lawsuit against Shoup he could provide no documents to prove hat claim" The Assunto family now has a popular tribute band, "The Assunto Dukes, a Dixieland Tribute", featuring Frank's granddaughter Lexie on vocals.

Band members

Original members

* Frank Assunto * Fred Assunto * Papa Jac Assunto * Jack Maheu * Stanley Mendelsohn * Tommy Rundell * Barney Mallon

Featured artists

* Louis Armstrong * Jerry Fuller * Jim Hall *

Later alumni

* 1959–61 –

Rich Matteson Rich A. Matteson, (born Richmond Albert Matteson, January 12, 1929, Forest Lake, Minnesota – June 24, 1993, Jacksonville, Florida) was an American jazz artist, collegiate music educator, international jazz clinician, big band leader, and jazz com ...

* 1966/1967 – Jim Beebe * 1962–63 –

*1966/1967 – Eddie Hubble *1964–1967 –

*1960–1967 – Gene Schroeder 1975–80 * Mike Vax * Dick Johnson * Billy Menier * Otis Bazoon * Al Bernard * Jerry Mehan * Bob O'Rourke * Bill Huntington 1981–85 * Frank Trapani * Phamous Lambert * Bobby Floyd * Freddy Kohlman
Mike Sizer
1986–89 * Harry Waters *

Mike Waddell (musician) Michael Waddell is a clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer. He is a member of the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington department of music. He performed in the Dukes of Dixieland band in the 1980s. His 2001 jazz CD, ''Defining ...

1990–92 * J.B Scott 1990–2010 * Richard Taylor * Al Barthlow * Everett Link * Ben Smith * Tim Laughlin * Kevin Clark * Earl Bonie * Mike Fulton * Jamie Wight * Tom McDermott 2011–2012 * Kevin Clark * Ben Smith * Scott Obenschain * Ryan Burrage * Alan Broome * J.J. Juliano 2013-2013 * Kevin Clark * Ben Smith * Scott Obenschain * Ryan Burrage * Alan Broome * Paul Thibodeaux * Colin Meyers 2013–2014 * Kevin Clark * Scott Obenschain * Paul Thibodeaux * Ryan Burrage * Alan Broome * Joe Kennedy 2014– * Kevin Clark * Ryan Burrage * Alan Broome * Joe Kennedy * David Mahoney * David Phy 2016– * Kevin Clark * Owen Callahan * Mike Robbins * Joe Kennedy * David Mahoney * Wes Anderson IV

Guest/featured artists

* Danny Barker * Charlie Brent * George French * Woody Herman * Moses Hogan * Luther Kent * New Orleans Gospel Choir * Joe Williams * The Oak Ridge Boys * Reed Vaughan * Karl J. Karlsson * Francis Grinnell

References

Bibliography

*Spedale, Rhodes. ''A Guide to Jazz in New Orleans''. p. 135 *Rose, Al. ''I Remember Jazz''. pp. 14, 45, 151, 181 LSU Press *Rose, Al. ''New Orleans Jazz (A Family Album)''. pp. 1, 6, 12, 29, 40, 41, 49, 74, 77, 85, 110, 115, 138, 149, 191, 224 LSU Press

External links

Official Site of the Original Dukes of Dixieland

Official Site of the Assunto Dukes Tribute, the Only Band OFFICIALLY and LEGITIMATELY Sanctioned by the Estate of Frank and Freddie Assunto
* US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Asunto v. Shoup, 132 F. Supp. 2d 445 (E.D. La. 2000)
October 13, 2000.
Kevin Ray Clark Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dukes of Dixieland, The Dixieland revival ensembles Dixieland ensembles Jazz musicians from New Orleans Audio Fidelity Records artists Musical groups established in 1948