Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John Robichaux was a Creole born on January 16, 1866 in Thibodaux, Louisiana. As a youth he learned to play brass bass, alto saxophone and drums.  By the time he was 25 he was living in New Orleans and starting his professional career as a bass drummer with the Excelsior Brass Band. During his tenure with the band from 1892 to 1903, John led his own ensembles while also playing violin.

Robichaux’s bands were highly respected in his day, and among the many ensembles he led was a 36-piece orchestra in 1913. He hired many of the city’s top musicians, such as Bud Scott, Lorenzo Tio and Manuel Perez. For 46 years he was considered to be the most continuously active dance bandleader in New Orleans. With the onset of the Black Code amendment in 1894 he was thrown into competition with the Uptown Negro bands that ultimately decreased his popularity.

A prolific composer, he wrote over 350 songs and orchestral arrangements. He predominantly played in New Orleans but also toured with the traveling musical One Mo’ Time. Violinist, drummer and bandleader John Robichaux led bands until his death of natural causes in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1939.

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