Barney Bigard born 3 March 1906

Bigard was born in New Orleans to a family of Creoles. The son of Alexander and Emanuella Bigard, he had two brothers, Alexander Jr. and Sidney.His uncle, Emile Bigard, was a jazz violinist. He attended local schools and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. In the early 1920s he moved to Chicago, where he worked with King Oliver and would also record with Jelly Roll Morton, Johnny Dodds and Louis Armstrong while in the Windy City. 

In 1927 Bigard joined Duke Ellington's orchestra in New York, where he was part of the Harlem Renaissance. He played with Ellington until 1942. They played primarily at the Cotton Club until 1931, and then toured almost nonstop for over a decade. With Ellington, he was the featured clarinet soloist, while also doing section work on tenor saxophone. He was featured on many of Ellington‘s classic recordings, including “Mood Indigo” which Bigard co-composed. 

In 1936, Helen Oakley, the wife of journalist Stanley Dance, was the A & R (artist and repertoire) manager for Irving Mills’ new Variety label. She suggested to Mills that they try some small group recordings using musicians from the Ellington Orchestra. Given the go ahead Oakley arranged for a number of sessions, including a few led by Bigard under the name Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters.

Their December 19, 1936 session introduced the jazz standard “Caravan.”  Two takes were recorded and were issued. The band members were Cootie Williams (trumpet), Juan Tizol (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Harry Carney (baritone sax), Duke Ellington (piano), Billy Taylor (bass), and Sonny Greer (drums). All of the players were members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which was often drawn upon to record small-group sides. Even though Ellington was present at the recording date, the session leader was Bigard.

In keeping with Ellington's formation of small groups featuring his primary soloists, Bigard continued to be featured under his own name on Variety and subsequently Vocalion Records and OKeh through 1940. When Ellington signed with Victor in 1940, Bigard (and other Ellingtonians) recorded for Bluebird under his own name. He sat in with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for some of their biggest hits, such as "Moonlight Serenade", "Little Brown Jug", and "Tuxedo Junction". Bigard was also a member of Louis Armstrong's All Stars before and after Edmond Hall joined. Bigard can be seen with the All Stars in the movie The Glenn Miller Story. 

When he grew tired of touring and quit the band in 1942, Bigard played with Freddie Slack’s big band, and Kid Ory’s Creole Orchestra. He did soundtrack work for Hollywood film studios and had an onscreen featured role in the film New Orleans (1946). He was awarded the Esquire Jazz (Silver) Award, 1945-46-48. 

In 1947, Bigard joined the Louis Armstrong All-Stars, and constantly toured the world including an appearance with Velma Middleton who snag vocals for the famed ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The concert was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 7, 1953. By 1955 Bigard left the band. He spent 1958-59 with Cozy Cole’s big band and appeared and played in the movie St. Louis Blues (1958), with Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey and Eartha Kitt. He later re- joined Armstrongs band from 1960-1961. 

He led his own sextet, and toured Europe and Africa for the State Department, 1961-1962.  Bigard was semi-retired after 1962, but still played now and then, recording with Earl Hines, and playing in a Johnny St. Cyr’s Dixieland band called the Young Men from New Orleans at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. From 1970-1973 he was a featured performer at Dick Gibson’s jazz parties in Vail, Colorado. 

Bigard died at the age of 74 from cancer on June 27, 1980, in Culver City, California after writing and dictating his autobiography  entitled “With Louis and the Duke: The Autobiography of a Jazz Clarinetist”. The book was edited by Barry Martyn and published in 1986.        (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)

Here’s a clip of Barney in a club session in 1968 together with pianist Art Hodes. The other members of this group are Rails Wilson on bass and Bob Cousins on drums.