Biography
Born on 13 September 1899 in Youngsville, Louisiana, Frank “Big Boy” Goudie spent his childhood in New Orleans. There he began on cornet and piano before turning to reeds, with the tenor saxophone becoming his principal instrument. Local ensembles such as Papa Celestin’s employed him, and he also toured widely across the south-western states. In 1925 he sailed for Europe and stayed for an extended period, performing with visiting American leaders that included showman-drummer Louis Mitchell, Sam Wooding, Noble Sissle, Bill Coleman and Willie Lewis. When World War II began he departed the continent for South America, yet he reappeared in Europe in 1946. During the following years he resided successively in France, Germany and Switzerland, resuming his musical partnership with Coleman. Only in 1957 did he resettle permanently in the United States, choosing San Francisco, where he took non-musical employment while still appearing in neighborhood clubs whenever visiting jazz luminaries passed through. Although his thirty-year self-imposed absence from America left him peripheral to the jazz mainstream, Goudie’s prolonged European residence helped spread the music’s popularity across numerous countries.
Albums