Sharkey Bonano
Encyclopedia
Joseph "Sharkey" Bonano (he sometimes billed himself as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas) (April 9, 1904 – March 27, 1972) was a jazz
trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist.
Sharkey was known for playing searing hot and technically virtuoso trumpet with a beautiful tone. His great musical abilities were sometimes overlooked in part because of his love of being an entertainer; he would often sing silly lyrics in a high raspy voice and break into dance routines on stage.
Sharkey was born with the name Joseph Gustaf Bonano in the Milneburg
neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana
, by the shores of Lake Pontchartrain
. He was a well regarded professional player by his mid teens, in his youth mostly playing in New Orleans other than a period with Eddie Edwards' band in New York City
in 1920. Sharkey then started traveling widely, seldom staying in one place or with one band for more than a few months. He briefly replaced Bix Beiderbecke
in the Wolverines Orchestra, and Nick LaRocca
in the Original Dixieland Jazz Band
. Sharkey first recorded in New Orleans with Norman Brownlee's band in 1925, and soon after had a band under his own name. He returned to New York for work in Jimmie Durante's band, then with the Jean Goldkette
Orchestra in 1927, returned to his home town to play with Leon Prima
, to Los Angeles, California
to work with Larry Shields
. After time back in New Orleans played with the Ben Pollack
Orchestra in 1936. After leaving Pollack's band he led his own band on 52nd Street in New York for three years. After World War II
he toured Europe
, Asia
, and South America
, played residencies in Chicago
and New York, and then was a regular on Bourbon Street in the New Orleans French Quarter
.
According to one story, Arturo Toscanini
heard Sharkey in New York, then hired him to come to a rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic
to play a couple of numbers unaccompanied for the orchestra to listen to. After Sharkey did this, Toscanini berated his trumpet section at length about their inabilities to get tones out of their instruments like this jazz musician could.
Sharkey Bonano died in New Orleans.
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...
trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist.
Sharkey was known for playing searing hot and technically virtuoso trumpet with a beautiful tone. His great musical abilities were sometimes overlooked in part because of his love of being an entertainer; he would often sing silly lyrics in a high raspy voice and break into dance routines on stage.
Sharkey was born with the name Joseph Gustaf Bonano in the Milneburg
Milneburg
Milneburg is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Gentilly District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Leon C. Simon Drive to the north, People's Avenue to the east, Filmore Avenue to the south and Elysian Fields Avenue to the west...
neighborhood of 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...
, by the shores 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...
. He was a well regarded professional player by his mid teens, in his youth mostly playing in New Orleans other than a period with Eddie Edwards' 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 1920. Sharkey then started traveling widely, seldom staying in one place or with one band for more than a few months. He briefly replaced Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
in the Wolverines Orchestra, and Nick LaRocca
Nick LaRocca
Dominic James "Nick" LaRocca , was an early jazz cornetist and trumpeter and the leader of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. He is the composer of one of the most recorded jazz classics of all-time, "Tiger Rag"...
in the Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Original Dixieland Jass Band
The Original Dixieland Jass Band were a New Orleans, Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz single ever issued. The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being Tiger Rag...
. Sharkey first recorded in New Orleans with Norman Brownlee's band in 1925, and soon after had a band under his own name. He returned to New York for work in Jimmie Durante's band, then with the Jean Goldkette
Jean Goldkette
John Jean Goldkette was a jazz pianist and bandleader born in Patras, Greece. Goldkette spent his childhood in Greece and Russia, and emigrated to the United States in 1911....
Orchestra in 1927, returned to his home town to play with Leon Prima
Leon Prima
Leon Prima was an American jazz trumpeter.Prima was the older brother of the singer Louis Prima, and began on piano before picking up trumpet. He played early in his life with Leon Roppolo, Ray Bauduc, Jack Teagarden, and Peck Kelley...
, 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...
to work with Larry Shields
Larry Shields
Lawrence James "Larry" Shields was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist.Shields was born into an Irish-American family in Uptown New Orleans, on the same block where jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden lived...
. After time back in New Orleans played with the Ben Pollack
Ben Pollack
Ben Pollack was a drummer and bandleader from the mid 1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to either discover or employ, at one time or another, musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland and Harry James...
Orchestra in 1936. After leaving Pollack's band he led his own band on 52nd Street in New York for three years. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, played residencies in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and New York, and then was a regular on Bourbon Street in the New Orleans French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
.
According to one story, Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
heard Sharkey in New York, then hired him to come to a rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
to play a couple of numbers unaccompanied for the orchestra to listen to. After Sharkey did this, Toscanini berated his trumpet section at length about their inabilities to get tones out of their instruments like this jazz musician could.
Sharkey Bonano died in New Orleans.
Discography
- Sharkey Bonano 1928-1937
- Sounds of New Orleans, Vol. 4
- Sounds of New Orleans, Vol. 8
- 1958: Sharkey Bonano - In a New Orleans Jam Session
- 1960: Sharkey Bonano - Dixieland at the Roundtable
- 1989: Sharkey Bonano - Sharkey & His Kings of Dixieland
- 1998: Sharkey Bonano and His Sharks of Rhythm