Lawrence Duhé (April 30, 1887 – 1960), also known as Lawrence Duhe, was an early jazz clarinetist and bandleader.

Early life

Duhé was born in

LaPlace, Louisiana LaPlace ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States, situated along the east bank of the Mississippi River, in the New Orleans metropolitan area. In 2020, it had a population of 28,841. LaPla ...

, on April 30, 1887. His father, Evariste, worked in a sugar mill and played the violin. Lawrence played with his three brothers in the Duhe Brothers Band, and their two sisters played piano and organ in churches.

Later life and career

Duhé was part of

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, Trombone, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of Music of New Orle ...

's band and followed the trombonist to New Orleans in 1910. They separated around 18 months later, and Duhé led his own band in Storyville. In 1917 he moved to Chicago, where his band played in dance halls and performed at the

1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1919 Major League Baseball season, 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion 1919 Chicago White Sox season, ...

. In 1923 he returned to New Orleans and played for most of the next decade in bands led by trumpeter Evan Thomas and trombonist Gus Fortinet. After touring with the

Rabbit's Foot In some cultures, a rabbit's foot is carried as an amulet believed to bring good luck. This belief is held by people in a great number of places around the world, including Europe, Africa, Australia and North and South America. In variations of th ...

minstrel show he worked in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

with trumpeter Frank Brown. Duhé retired from music in 1945 and died in Lafayette in 1960. '' Grove'' reports that, "Despite his prominence in the history of early jazz, Duhé is not known to have made any recordings that were issued commercially."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duhe, Lawrence 1887 births 1960 deaths People from LaPlace, Louisiana Dixieland clarinetists American jazz clarinetists American jazz bandleaders 20th-century African-American musicians