Jimmie Noone ranked among the three leading New Orleans clarinetists of the 1920s, sharing that distinction with Johnny Dodds and Sidney Bechet. His smoother sound set him apart from peers and drew admiration from swing-era musicians such as Benny Goodman. As a youngster he first handled the guitar before beginning clarinet studies at fifteen under Lorenzo Tio, Jr. and an equally youthful Sidney Bechet, who was then only thirteen. Progress came swiftly: he worked alongside Freddie Keppard from 1913 to 1914, appeared with Buddy Petit, and both performed in and directed the Young Olympia Band in 1916. Moving to Chicago in 1917, he joined Keppard’s Creole band; once that ensemble disbanded the next year, he entered King Oliver’s group and remained until 1920, when he entered Doc Cook’s Dreamland Orchestra, staying through 1926. Although he cut sides with Cook, Noone reached his artistic peak after forming his own unit at the Apex Club. By 1928 the group had become an uncommon quintet featuring pianist Earl Hines and altoist Joe Poston, whose role was confined to supplying melodic support behind the leader. Recording for Vocalion, the band produced enduring performances that included an early rendition of “Sweet Lorraine,” which served as Noone’s theme, and “Four or Five Times.” Throughout the 1930s he maintained a steady presence in Chicago, even as wider jazz circles paid him diminished notice; during the late part of the decade he featured trumpeter Charlie Shavers on several dates and gave the young vocalist Joe Williams occasional opportunities on the stand, though the two never entered a studio together. In 1944 Noone traveled to the West Coast to play with Kid Ory’s ensemble and appeared poised for wider recognition until his sudden death. European reissue programs have since made his recordings widely accessible on compact disc. His son, Jimmie Noone, Jr., stepped forward from relative obscurity in the 1980s to perform on clarinet and tenor with the Cheathams.
