Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau (March 7, 1888 - January 19, 1969) was an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 double-bassist.

Pavageau started off his career as a guitarist, and sparked a dance craze in his early years which resulted in his "Slow Drag" nickname

Nickname

A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

. He picked up bass in 1927, when he was 39 years old, and played with Buddy Petit, Herb Morand

Herb Morand

Herb Morand was an American jazz trumpeter associated with the New Orleans jazz scene.Morand began on trumpet at age eleven after hearing King Oliver. He played with Nat Towles in New Orleans, then moved to New York City and played with Cliff Jackson...

, and Emile Barnes

Emile Barnes

Emile Barnes was a New Orleans jazz clarinetist.Barnes studied under Lorenzo Tio Jr., Alphonse Picou, George Baquet, and Big Eye Nelson. Active professionally in New Orleans by 1908, he was long well regarded locally for his bluesy and distinctively individualistic style. He played with the Chris...

. He joined George Lewis

George Lewis (clarinetist)

George Lewis was an American jazz clarinetist who achieved his greatest fame and influence in the later decades of his life.-Ancestry:...

's band from 1943, and also played in Bunk Johnson

Bunk Johnson

Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson was a prominent early New Orleans jazz trumpet player in the early years of the 20th century who enjoyed a revived career in the 1940s....

's band in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1945. His tenure with Lewis included several world tours and lasted through the end of the 1950s. In 1961, while playing with the Louis Cottrell Trio

Louis Cottrell, Jr.

Louis Albert Cottrell, Jr. was a Louisiana Creole jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was the son of the influential drummer Louis Cottrell, Sr., and grandfather of New Orleans jazz drummer Louis Cottrell...

, he recorded New Orleans: The Living Legends for the Riverside

Riverside Records

Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...

 label. He worked extensively at Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...

 in the 1960s, and recorded one album under his own name for Jazz Crusade in 1965 in addition to frequent recording with Lewis.

Pavageau's wife, Sister Annie Pavageau, was a pianist and singer.