Yvonne Busch (October 18, 1929 – February 28, 2014) was a
jazz musician and an influential music teacher in
New Orleans.
Life and career
Born to Edward and Bertha Scott Busch in the
9th Ward
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is bound ...
of New Orleans, Busch grew up in
Tremé, which had an active music scene.
The local music scene piqued her interest and at age eleven, on her own initiative, she left home to pursue a music education at
Piney Woods Country Life School
The Piney Woods Country Life School (or The Piney Woods School) is a co-educational independent historically African-American boarding school for grades 9–12 in Piney Woods, unincorporated Rankin County, Mississippi. It is south of Jackson.C ...
in Mississippi.
She played the trumpet and toured with the school's all-female band
Swinging Rays of Rhythm, performing at dances, clubs and
USO events in the American
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
.
In 1943 she returned to New Orleans and continued her education at the Gilbert Academy under T. LeRoy Davis, the music director of the school. Influenced by Davis, she played multiple instruments and decided to pursue a teaching career. She enrolled in the teacher-training program at
Southern University
Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...
in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of 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-sma ...
. She was the first female member
and assistant director of the university's jazz band.
In 1951 upon returning to New Orleans she became a public school teacher and taught for 32 years – a year at
Booker T. Washington, six years at
Joseph S. Clark
Joseph Sill Clark Jr. (October 21, 1901January 12, 1990) was an American writer, lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 90th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1956 and as a United States Senator from Pennsylvani ...
, and twenty five years at
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the ea ...
high school. She was briefly a member of William Houston's big band, however she withdrew because of career demands.
She also performed with the
Dooky Chase Orchestra.
As a teacher and band director she faced funding and instrument shortages and often used her own instruments and those of her acquaintances. She encouraged her students to play multiple instruments. She gave free private lessons and organized summer practice sessions for school bands. She directed large bands including
marching bands. Many of her pupils went on to become notable musicians in their own right, such as
Smokey Johnson
Joseph "Smokey" Johnson Jr. (November 14, 1936 – October 6, 2015) was an American drummer. He was one of the musicians, session players, and songwriters who served as the backbone for New Orleans' output of jazz, funk, blues, soul, and R ...
,
James Crawford,
Herlin Riley,
John Boudreaux,
James Black, and
Nat Perrilliat
Nathaniel Leonard "Nat" Perrilliat (November 29, 1936 – January 26, 1971) was an American jazz, blues, and R&B saxophonist.
He was born in New Orleans. Perilliat learned to play alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones in his youth, as well as pia ...
.
In 2005 her home was flooded during
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. Subsequently she lived in the
Dallas, Texas, area and returned to New Orleans in 2013. She died on February 28, 2014.
She was funeralized at St. David Catholic Church in New Orleans.
Legacy
Busch was the subject of a 2007 documentary film titled ''Legend in the Classroom: The Life Story of Ms. Yvonne Busch'', produced and directed by a former student and professional photographer, Leonard Smith III.
In 2012 the documentary was screened as part of the inaugural Sync Up Cinema, the film component of the Sync Up Music Conference, held at the
New Orleans Museum of Art and which is affiliated with the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
References
Further reading
*
External links
A Legend in the Classroom – The Life Story of Ms. Yvonne Buschdocumentary trailer, 2008
Yvonne Busch: music momentat
WWOZ radio
ArchiveYvonne Busch, musician and music educator
at ''JazzCorner News''
Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busch, Yvonne
American jazz educators
Jazz musicians from New Orleans
African-American jazz musicians
African-American schoolteachers
Southern University alumni
1929 births
2014 deaths
Schoolteachers from Louisiana
American women music educators
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American women
African-American Catholics