Biography
Historians of early jazz still argue more heatedly over Arnett Nelson than over nearly any other clarinetist of his generation, largely because one later admirer assigned him, often on slender evidence, to an implausibly wide array of 1920s and 1930s jazz and blues sessions. Every surviving reference therefore undergoes fresh scrutiny. The documented performances align Nelson with Wilbur Sweatman, Volly DeFaut, Wilton Crawley, Johnny Dodds, Arville Harris, Jimmy O'Bryant, and Mezz Mezzrow. His singular habits surface on the 1936 State Street Swingers side “Chicago Rhythm,” later credited to the Harlem Hamfats, where Leonard Scott can be heard asking, “what’s that you’re doing, Arnett? I never heard nobody do that before.”
Born 3 March 1892 in Ellisville, Mississippi, roughly 140 miles northeast of New Orleans, Nelson spent his childhood in nearby Laurel and was drafted into the First World War in 1917. His initial professional work came with a band directed by the father of cornetist Lee Collins, who recalled Nelson as “a great clarinet player” yet also as a vaudevillian whose “weird style” involved “tricks with his clarinet” and taking the instrument apart while playing. Nelson’s earliest discs were cut in Chicago in December 1923 and February 1924 alongside cornetist Jimmy Wade’s Moulin Rouge Orchestra, whose personnel included violinist Eddie South and pianist Teddy Weatherford. While in that group Nelson wrote “Buddy’s Habit,” a brisk stomp titled after Wade’s tuba player, Louis “Buddy” Gross, whose frequent departures were rumored to involve self-medication. King Oliver’s Jazz Band recorded the piece in October 1923, preserving Louis Armstrong’s slide-whistle solo.
Between 1926 and 1927 Nelson appeared with Wade in ensembles backing composer Perry Bradford and blues queen Victoria Spivey, the latter’s unit listed as Erby’s Fidgety Five. Although his presence on King Mutt & His Tennessee Thumpers remains unconfirmed, his playing is unmistakable on the October 1928 Jimmy Wade’s Dixielanders date that also featured cornetist Punch Miller and pianist-arranger Alex Hill. In February 1929 he supported pianist Jimmy Flowers, banjoist Ikey Robinson, and drummer Big Sid Catlett behind comedian and female impersonator Frankie “Half Pint” Jaxon. Nelson’s final recording activity centered on his own Hot Four—steel guitarist Casey Bill Weldon, guitarist Big Bill Broonzy, pianist Black Bob Hudson, and bassist Bill Settles—cut in October 1936, plus numerous Chicago sideman dates from 1935 to 1937 with Sweet Pease Spivey (issued as Hannah May & the State Street Four), Mary Mack & the State Street Swingers, Lil Johnson & Her Chicago Swingers, Leonard Scott & His Blue Boys, Ike Smith’s Chicago Boys, Lorraine Walton, Tampa Red, Bumble Bee Slim, Washboard Sam, Red Nelson & His Washboard Band, the Washboard Rhythm Kings, the Chicago Rhythm Kings, and the Harlem Hamfats. Alcoholism eroded Nelson’s health after 1940, ending his career; he lived quietly in Chicago until his death on 14 March 1959.
Born 3 March 1892 in Ellisville, Mississippi, roughly 140 miles northeast of New Orleans, Nelson spent his childhood in nearby Laurel and was drafted into the First World War in 1917. His initial professional work came with a band directed by the father of cornetist Lee Collins, who recalled Nelson as “a great clarinet player” yet also as a vaudevillian whose “weird style” involved “tricks with his clarinet” and taking the instrument apart while playing. Nelson’s earliest discs were cut in Chicago in December 1923 and February 1924 alongside cornetist Jimmy Wade’s Moulin Rouge Orchestra, whose personnel included violinist Eddie South and pianist Teddy Weatherford. While in that group Nelson wrote “Buddy’s Habit,” a brisk stomp titled after Wade’s tuba player, Louis “Buddy” Gross, whose frequent departures were rumored to involve self-medication. King Oliver’s Jazz Band recorded the piece in October 1923, preserving Louis Armstrong’s slide-whistle solo.
Between 1926 and 1927 Nelson appeared with Wade in ensembles backing composer Perry Bradford and blues queen Victoria Spivey, the latter’s unit listed as Erby’s Fidgety Five. Although his presence on King Mutt & His Tennessee Thumpers remains unconfirmed, his playing is unmistakable on the October 1928 Jimmy Wade’s Dixielanders date that also featured cornetist Punch Miller and pianist-arranger Alex Hill. In February 1929 he supported pianist Jimmy Flowers, banjoist Ikey Robinson, and drummer Big Sid Catlett behind comedian and female impersonator Frankie “Half Pint” Jaxon. Nelson’s final recording activity centered on his own Hot Four—steel guitarist Casey Bill Weldon, guitarist Big Bill Broonzy, pianist Black Bob Hudson, and bassist Bill Settles—cut in October 1936, plus numerous Chicago sideman dates from 1935 to 1937 with Sweet Pease Spivey (issued as Hannah May & the State Street Four), Mary Mack & the State Street Swingers, Lil Johnson & Her Chicago Swingers, Leonard Scott & His Blue Boys, Ike Smith’s Chicago Boys, Lorraine Walton, Tampa Red, Bumble Bee Slim, Washboard Sam, Red Nelson & His Washboard Band, the Washboard Rhythm Kings, the Chicago Rhythm Kings, and the Harlem Hamfats. Alcoholism eroded Nelson’s health after 1940, ending his career; he lived quietly in Chicago until his death on 14 March 1959.