Biography
After encountering the celebrated New Orleans saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet in 1950, Jacques Gauthe experienced a profound shift in his path. The French teenager gained both a mentor and a close companion in the elder musician, who fielded endless questions from the inquisitive youth and welcomed him repeatedly—often daily—to his Paris residence while supporting the boy’s developing musical interests. That guidance eventually directed Gauthe, nearly twenty years afterward, to Bechet’s beloved Louisiana birthplace, where the Frenchman established permanent residence and remained an influential presence on the local jazz circuit for an extended period.
Originally from Gascony, France, Gauthe displayed an early musical inclination at age five through piano instruction and solfeggio study. Born in 1939, he first encountered jazz on the radio as a young child near the close of World War II, the genre that would define his career. He began playing clarinet at eleven and first experienced Bechet’s artistry during a family visit to Paris. Shortly after that concert, at fourteen, Gauthe turned professional, leading to associations with Bechet alongside Mezz Mezzrow, Albert Nicholas, Memphis Slim, and Benny Waters. From 1953 onward he led his own groups; at eighteen he toured France with Toulouse’s Old Time Jazz Band, whose personnel included Nicholas, Lucky Thompson, and Don Byass. The ensemble won first prize at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival and performed several seasons at Paris’s Jazz Band Ball.
Gauthe disbanded his group and departed France in 1968 to settle in New Orleans. The skills Bechet had fostered quickly earned the newcomer acceptance among the city’s jazz community, securing him a chair in the Kid Thomas Band and regular engagements at Preservation Hall. He later founded the Creole Rice Jazz Band and performed with the Razzberry Ragtimers, the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Band, and the Classic Jazz Orchestra. Among his numerous recordings stands a 1997 homage to his mentor, Echoes of Sidney Bechet, released to commemorate the centennial of the jazz pioneer’s birth.
Originally from Gascony, France, Gauthe displayed an early musical inclination at age five through piano instruction and solfeggio study. Born in 1939, he first encountered jazz on the radio as a young child near the close of World War II, the genre that would define his career. He began playing clarinet at eleven and first experienced Bechet’s artistry during a family visit to Paris. Shortly after that concert, at fourteen, Gauthe turned professional, leading to associations with Bechet alongside Mezz Mezzrow, Albert Nicholas, Memphis Slim, and Benny Waters. From 1953 onward he led his own groups; at eighteen he toured France with Toulouse’s Old Time Jazz Band, whose personnel included Nicholas, Lucky Thompson, and Don Byass. The ensemble won first prize at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival and performed several seasons at Paris’s Jazz Band Ball.
Gauthe disbanded his group and departed France in 1968 to settle in New Orleans. The skills Bechet had fostered quickly earned the newcomer acceptance among the city’s jazz community, securing him a chair in the Kid Thomas Band and regular engagements at Preservation Hall. He later founded the Creole Rice Jazz Band and performed with the Razzberry Ragtimers, the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Band, and the Classic Jazz Orchestra. Among his numerous recordings stands a 1997 homage to his mentor, Echoes of Sidney Bechet, released to commemorate the centennial of the jazz pioneer’s birth.
Albums
