Albany Leon Bigard
aka Barney Bigard, was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet.

Bigard was born in New Orleans and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio

Lorenzo Tio

Lorenzo Tio Jr. was a master clarinetist from New Orleans, as were his father Lorenzo Tio Sr. and uncle Louis "Papa" Tio...

. He moved to Chicago in the early 1920s, where he worked with Joe "King" Oliver and others. During this period, much of his recording with Oliver and others, including clarinetist Johnny Dodds

Johnny Dodds

Johnny Dodds was an American New Orleans based jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Lovie Austin and Louis Armstrong. Dodds was also the older brother of drummer Warren "Baby"...

, was on tenor saxophone, an instrument he played often with great lyricism, as on Oliver's hit recording of "Someday Sweetheart

Someday Sweetheart

"Someday Sweetheart" is a jazz standard written by Los Angeles-based musicians John and Reb Spikes in 1919. It was the biggest hit the brothers wrote, and was performed by many recording artists of the period. The first one to record the tune was blues singer Alberta Hunter...

".

In 1927 he joined Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

's band in New York, where he stayed until 1942.