Editing Papa Jack Laine (section)

== Career ==
Laine was a [[drummer]], but he was more noted for his skills at arranging and booking bands. Laine's musicians included individuals from most of New Orleans' many ethnic groups: African American, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Latin American, Scottish, etc. He started leading bands in 1885 before the [[Jim Crow law]]s went into effect in New Orleans.<ref name="NPS">[http://www.nps.gov/jazz/historyculture/papa_jack.htm "Papa Jack" George Vetiala Laine, National Park Service],</ref>

Due to the diverse background of many of his band's members, a broad range of ideas developed and fused, leading to the early beginnings of jazz music.<ref name="NPS" />

Even after [[segregation laws]] started demanding "whites" and "colored" be kept separate, Laine continued to hire light- and medium light-skinned [[African-American]] musicians, claiming that they were "Cuban" or "Mexican" if any segregationist tried to start trouble. Therefore, his band attracted a large and diverse group of people such as Mexican clarinetist [[Lorenzo Tio|Lorenzo Tio, Sr.]], a pioneer of the jazz solo. Laine believed music brought people together.<ref name="NPS" />

Laine retired from the music booking business by 1920, but he was interviewed a number of times, providing first-hand accounts of the early days of the development of [[Dixieland|New Orleans jazz]].

On January 1, 1951, Laine was made an Honorary Life Member and given the title of "Father of White Jazz" by the New Orleans Jazz Club.