Biography
Percussionist Jimmy Bertrand forged a path that connected jazz and blues during an era when those styles often remained distinct. Active on the Chicago music circuit prior to the 1920s, he taught drums and mallet instruments, shaping the skills of future jazz luminaries Lionel Hampton and Big Sid Catlett among his students. Bertrand performed and recorded across both genres alongside many of the city’s leading players, appearing on sessions that ranged from Louis Armstrong to Blind Blake.
Several relatives played instruments without achieving widespread recognition. Cousin Andrew Hilaire worked as a drummer of modest profile, while another cousin, trombonist George Filhe, also pursued music; uncle Alphonso Farzan played bass and spent time with the Original Creole Band. Bertrand left these Mississippi ties behind upon moving to Chicago in 1913. There he received early guidance from the father of bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Erskine Tate, who later employed him in his ensemble for ten years beginning in 1918. Before joining Tate, Bertrand gained experience in the orchestra pit of the State Theatre.
During the 1920s Bertrand launched a teaching practice and fronted his own recording unit, Jimmy Bertrand’s Washboard Wizards, whose lineup included Armstrong and clarinetist Johnny Dodds. Toward the end of the decade he worked with Dave Payton, Tiny Parham, and the Harmon’s Dreamland Band. In 1932 Eddie South brought him along on a West Coast tour, after which Bertrand took jobs with Reuben Reeves and Walter Barnes while maintaining his own ensembles into the early 1940s. By 1944 he had stepped away from professional drumming to take a position at a meat packing plant, and after 1945 his performances on drums or washboard in the Chicago area became rare. Hampton frequently cited Bertrand as his “original idol.”
Several relatives played instruments without achieving widespread recognition. Cousin Andrew Hilaire worked as a drummer of modest profile, while another cousin, trombonist George Filhe, also pursued music; uncle Alphonso Farzan played bass and spent time with the Original Creole Band. Bertrand left these Mississippi ties behind upon moving to Chicago in 1913. There he received early guidance from the father of bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Erskine Tate, who later employed him in his ensemble for ten years beginning in 1918. Before joining Tate, Bertrand gained experience in the orchestra pit of the State Theatre.
During the 1920s Bertrand launched a teaching practice and fronted his own recording unit, Jimmy Bertrand’s Washboard Wizards, whose lineup included Armstrong and clarinetist Johnny Dodds. Toward the end of the decade he worked with Dave Payton, Tiny Parham, and the Harmon’s Dreamland Band. In 1932 Eddie South brought him along on a West Coast tour, after which Bertrand took jobs with Reuben Reeves and Walter Barnes while maintaining his own ensembles into the early 1940s. By 1944 he had stepped away from professional drumming to take a position at a meat packing plant, and after 1945 his performances on drums or washboard in the Chicago area became rare. Hampton frequently cited Bertrand as his “original idol.”