Biography
One might assume that a French name would be out of place among the elder statesmen of Chicago jazz, a genre more readily linked to New Orleans. Yet Voltaire DeFaut, also known professionally as Volly DeFaut, spent his lengthy career in the city of his upbringing, where he had received a violin in early childhood and wind instruments during his early teens. From the beginning of the 1920s onward he immersed himself in syncopated music and remained devoted to traditional styles for the rest of his life.
At eighteen he was already working on clarinet and saxophone alongside Sig Meyers; the next year his standing rose further when he joined the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. During that same active stretch he performed with an orchestra and with Art Kassel as well. His first recordings appeared in 1924 on sessions led by trumpeter Muggsy Spanier, followed in 1925 by sides with Jelly Roll Morton. In the latter half of the decade he worked regularly with bandleader Meritt Brunies, whose New Orleans musical lineage had carried its early-jazz approach northward, and he also spent time in Detroit.
Beginning in 1928 he spent several years with Jean Goldkette while simultaneously taking on more studio work and engagements with Chicago theater bands. Those pursuits eventually led him to start a dog-breeding enterprise, which was halted when military service placed him in a service band. After that interruption his activity remained limited until the mid-1940s, when he began appearing more frequently on Chicago bandstands. In 1945 he performed with Bud Jacobson's Jungle Kings and participated in numerous local jam sessions. He spent roughly five years away from the city in Davenport, Iowa, before returning to Chicago in 1965 and remaining there until his death.
A professional relationship with pianist Art Hodes that had begun in 1953 lasted until DeFaut’s final performances, producing several notable late recordings issued on the Delmark label.
At eighteen he was already working on clarinet and saxophone alongside Sig Meyers; the next year his standing rose further when he joined the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. During that same active stretch he performed with an orchestra and with Art Kassel as well. His first recordings appeared in 1924 on sessions led by trumpeter Muggsy Spanier, followed in 1925 by sides with Jelly Roll Morton. In the latter half of the decade he worked regularly with bandleader Meritt Brunies, whose New Orleans musical lineage had carried its early-jazz approach northward, and he also spent time in Detroit.
Beginning in 1928 he spent several years with Jean Goldkette while simultaneously taking on more studio work and engagements with Chicago theater bands. Those pursuits eventually led him to start a dog-breeding enterprise, which was halted when military service placed him in a service band. After that interruption his activity remained limited until the mid-1940s, when he began appearing more frequently on Chicago bandstands. In 1945 he performed with Bud Jacobson's Jungle Kings and participated in numerous local jam sessions. He spent roughly five years away from the city in Davenport, Iowa, before returning to Chicago in 1965 and remaining there until his death.
A professional relationship with pianist Art Hodes that had begun in 1953 lasted until DeFaut’s final performances, producing several notable late recordings issued on the Delmark label.