Buddie Petit
Encyclopedia
Buddie Petit or Buddy Petit (ca. 1890? – 4 July 1931) was a highly regarded early jazz
cornet
ist.
His early life is somewhat mysterious, with dates of his birth given in various sources ranging from 1887 to 1897; if the later date is correct he was evidently a prodigy, regarded as one of the best in New Orleans, Louisiana
in his early teens. He was said to have been born in White Castle, Louisiana
.
His given name was Joseph Crawford, but was adopted by trombonist Joseph Petit
, whose name he took.
By the early 1910s he was one of the top horn players in the new style of music not yet generally known as "jazz". He took Freddie Keppard
's place in the Eagle Band (a place earlier held by Buddy Bolden
) when Keppard left town.
Buddie Petit was known as a hard-drinking, fun loving man who played cornet with great virtuosity and inventiveness. He was briefly lured to Los Angeles, California
by Jelly Roll Morton
and Bill Johnson in 1917, but objected to being told to dress and behave differently than he was accustomed to back home, and promptly returned to New Orleans. He spent the rest of his career in the area around greater New Orleans and the towns north of Lake Pontchartrain
like Mandeville, Louisiana
, not venturing further from home than Baton Rouge
and the Mississippi
Gulf Coast
.
Okeh Records
offered him a chance to record on their 1925 field trip to New Orleans, but Petit held out for more money and was never recorded. Musicians such as Danny Barker
and Louis Armstrong
have said that it is a great loss to jazz history that there are no recordings of Petit.
Some of his contemporaries said that Louis Armstrong's record "Cornet Chop Suey" is the closest to Petit's style and sound of anything put on record.
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...
cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
ist.
His early life is somewhat mysterious, with dates of his birth given in various sources ranging from 1887 to 1897; if the later date is correct he was evidently a prodigy, regarded as one of the best in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
in his early teens. He was said to have been born in White Castle, Louisiana
White Castle, Louisiana
White Castle a town in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,946. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:White Castle is located at ....
.
His given name was Joseph Crawford, but was adopted by trombonist Joseph Petit
Joseph Petit
Joseph Petit was an American jazz trombonist. He was the stepfather of Buddy Petit, and played in many early New Orleans jazz groups....
, whose name he took.
By the early 1910s he was one of the top horn players in the new style of music not yet generally known as "jazz". He took Freddie Keppard
Freddie Keppard
Freddie Keppard was an early jazz cornetist.Keppard was born in the Creole of Color community of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. His older brother Louis Keppard was also a professional musician. Freddie played violin, mandolin, and accordion before switching to cornet...
's place in the Eagle Band (a place earlier held by Buddy Bolden
Buddy Bolden
Charles "Buddy" Bolden was an African American cornetist and is regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of rag-time music which later came to be known as jazz.- Life :...
) when Keppard left town.
Buddie Petit was known as a hard-drinking, fun loving man who played cornet with great virtuosity and inventiveness. He was briefly lured to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
by Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
and Bill Johnson in 1917, but objected to being told to dress and behave differently than he was accustomed to back home, and promptly returned to New Orleans. He spent the rest of his career in the area around greater New Orleans and the towns north of Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
like Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
, not venturing further from home than Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
and the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
Gulf Coast
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
offered him a chance to record on their 1925 field trip to New Orleans, but Petit held out for more money and was never recorded. Musicians such as Danny Barker
Danny Barker
Danny Barker , born Daniel Moses Barker, was a jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player and author from New Orleans, founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band...
and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
have said that it is a great loss to jazz history that there are no recordings of Petit.
Some of his contemporaries said that Louis Armstrong's record "Cornet Chop Suey" is the closest to Petit's style and sound of anything put on record.