Editing Barney Bigard (section)

==Biography==
Bigard was born in [[New Orleans]] to [[Creoles of color|Creole]] parents, Alexander and Emanuella Bigard. He had two brothers, [[Alex Bigard|Alexander Jr.]] and Sidney.<ref name="der">{{cite book|last1=Tucker|first1=Mark|last2=Ellington|first2=Duke|title=The Duke Ellington Reader|date=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195093919|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dukeellingtonrea00tuck/page/476 476]-478|url=https://archive.org/details/dukeellingtonrea00tuck|url-access=registration|quote=Albany Leon Bigard.|access-date=March 26, 2017|language=en}}</ref> His uncle, Emile Bigard, was a jazz violinist.<ref name="cj">{{cite book|last1=Levin|first1=Floyd|title=Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians|date=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520213609|pages=[https://archive.org/details/classicjazzperso00levi/page/151 151]-152|url=https://archive.org/details/classicjazzperso00levi|url-access=registration|quote=Barney Bigard|access-date=March 26, 2017|language=en}}</ref> He attended local schools and studied music and clarinet with [[Lorenzo Tio]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

In the early 1920s, he moved to [[Chicago]], where he worked with [[King Oliver]] and others.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> During this period, much of his recording, including with clarinetist [[Johnny Dodds]], was on [[tenor saxophone]], which he played often with great lyricism, as on Oliver's "[[Someday Sweetheart]]".

In December 1927, Bigard joined Duke Ellington's orchestra in New York.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He played with Ellington until 1942.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> They played primarily at the [[Cotton Club]] until 1931, then toured almost nonstop for over a decade. With Ellington, he was the featured clarinet soloist, while also doing section work on tenor saxophone.<ref>{{cite web |title=Barney Bigard (1906-1980) |url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/barney-bigard-1906-1980/ |website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=6 April 2020 |access-date=April 6, 2020 }}</ref>

After leaving Ellington's orchestra, Bigard moved to [[Los Angeles]]. He did soundtrack work for Hollywood film studios and had an onscreen featured role with an all-star band led by [[Louis Armstrong]] in the film ''[[New Orleans (1947 film)|New Orleans]]'' (1947). He began working with trombonist [[Kid Ory]]'s group during the late 1940s. He later worked with Armstrong's touring band, the All Stars, and others. 

In 1951 Bigard appeared in ''[[The Strip]]'' with Armstrong, [[Jack Teagarden]], and [[Earl Hines|Earl "Fatha" Hines]] (all playing themselves).
He again appeared and played in the movie ''[[St. Louis Blues (1958 film)|St. Louis Blues]]'' (1958), with [[Nat King Cole]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Pearl Bailey]] and [[Eartha Kitt]].{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Bigard wrote an autobiography entitled ''With Louis and The Duke''. He is credited as composer or co-composer on several numbers, including the Ellington standard "[[Mood Indigo]]".{{cn|date=November 2022}}