Jimmie Noone
b. 23 April 1895, Cut Off, Louisiana, USA, d. 19 April 1944. One of numerous students of Lorenzo Tio, Noone turned to the clarinet after first playing guitar. In the years immediately prior to World War I he played in bands led by notable New Orleans musicians such as Freddie Keppard and Buddy Petit. In 1918 he worked with Joe ‘King’ Oliver in Chicago and two years later was with Doc Cooke, remaining there for five years. In 1926 Noone took his own band into Chicago's Apex Club, thus beginning a remarkable period of sustained creativity during which he became the idol of countless up-and-coming young musicians, black and white, clarinettists and all. During part of its existence, the Apex Club band included Earl Hines. Noone had made records during his stints with Oliver and Cooke, but now embarked on another series of recordings, including his theme, Sweet Lorraine, which remain classics of their kind. In the early '40s he moved to Los Angeles where he worked with Kid Ory, led his own band and appeared as a member of the New Orleans All Stars on Orson Welles's weekly radio show, as well as playing with the Capitol Jazzmen. Noone appeared well poised to capitalize upon the upsurge of interest in traditional music heralded by the Revival movement, but he died suddenly in April 1944. One of the most important of the New Orleans clarinettists, he had a remarkable technique and exercised full control of his instrument. Playing with a deep appreciation of the blues, his records stand as significant milestones in the history of jazz. His son, Jimmie Noone Jnr. (1938—1991), also played clarinet and from the '80s enjoyed a successful international career.