Biography
Nick LaRocca founded and directed the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, advancing jazz's reach while the ensemble remained active, yet he later damaged his standing by insisting he ranked among the style's chief creators. Self-taught and equipped with a strong tone though never a leading improviser, LaRocca co-directed a children's group alongside violinist Henry Young in 1905, performed freelance engagements with Dominic Barocca, Bill Gallity and the Brunies Brothers, among others, and led his own units from time to time. Between 1912 and 1916 he appeared regularly with Papa Jack Laine's Reliance Band, joined drummer Johnny Stein's outfit in 1915, and departed New Orleans for Chicago on March 1, 1916 to continue with Stein. Within three months he split away to establish the ODJB, which soon featured trombonist Eddie Edwards, clarinetist Larry Shields, pianist Henry Ragas (succeeded by J. Russell Robinson after Ragas died in 1919), and drummer Tony Sparbaro (later frequently billed as Tony Spargo). The group built a strong following in Chicago before igniting excitement in New York upon opening at Reisenweber's in 1917. They became the first jazz ensemble to commit performances to disc, and though their approach sounds rudimentary by modern standards—all-ensemble textures, no solos, and repeated choruses with LaRocca largely adhering to the lead line—they stood far ahead of every prior recording band. "Livery Stable Blues," featuring the horn players imitating farm animals, scored a major success, several of their numbers such as "Original Dixieland One Step," "At the Jazz Band Ball," "Clarinet Marmalade," "Jazz Me Blues," "Fidgety Feet," and "Tiger Rag" entered the standard repertoire, and their London engagement of 1919-1920 further spread jazz across Europe, generating comparable excitement overseas.
Internal tensions and jazz's swift stylistic changes rendered the Original Dixieland Jazz Band largely obsolete by 1923; when LaRocca suffered a nervous breakdown in January 1925 the unit disbanded. He returned to New Orleans and took non-musical employment operating a contracting business. Interest revived in 1936 prompted him to reassemble the ODJB, yielding six re-recordings that year plus nine additional sides with a 14-piece big band that included Shields, Robinson, and Sbarbaro. The resurgence proved short-lived, however, and LaRocca withdrew from music for good in February 1938. Although other members occasionally resumed performing (and Tony Spargo never fully retired), Nick LaRocca showed no further inclination to play. His spoken introduction of the musicians on a 1959 Southland LP spotlighting Sharkey Bonano and additional New Orleans performers appeared under the billing "Nick LaRocca & His Dixieland Jazz Band," yet he contributed no instrumental work.
Internal tensions and jazz's swift stylistic changes rendered the Original Dixieland Jazz Band largely obsolete by 1923; when LaRocca suffered a nervous breakdown in January 1925 the unit disbanded. He returned to New Orleans and took non-musical employment operating a contracting business. Interest revived in 1936 prompted him to reassemble the ODJB, yielding six re-recordings that year plus nine additional sides with a 14-piece big band that included Shields, Robinson, and Sbarbaro. The resurgence proved short-lived, however, and LaRocca withdrew from music for good in February 1938. Although other members occasionally resumed performing (and Tony Spargo never fully retired), Nick LaRocca showed no further inclination to play. His spoken introduction of the musicians on a 1959 Southland LP spotlighting Sharkey Bonano and additional New Orleans performers appeared under the billing "Nick LaRocca & His Dixieland Jazz Band," yet he contributed no instrumental work.