Editing Buddy Bolden

{{Short description|American cornetist and jazz pioneer (1877–1931)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Buddy Bolden
| image           = Buddy Bolden 001.png
| caption         = Bolden {{circa|1905}}
| birth_name      = Charles Joseph Bolden
| birth_date      = {{birth date|mf=yes|1877|9|6}}
| birth_place     = [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, U.S.
| death_date      = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1931|11|4|1877|9|6}}
| death_place     = [[Jackson, Louisiana|Jackson]], Louisiana, U.S.
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Jazz]]|[[blues]]}}
| occupation      = Musician
| instrument      = [[Cornet]]
| years_active    = 1890s–1907
| label           =
| associated_acts = 
}}

'''Charles Joseph''' "'''Buddy'''" '''Bolden''' (September 6, 1877 &ndash; November 4, 1931) was an American [[cornet]]ist who was regarded by contemporaries and later jazz scholars as a key figure in the development of a [[New Orleans]] style of [[ragtime]] music, or "jass", which later came to be known as [[jazz]].

==Childhood==

When he was born, Bolden's father, Westmore Bolden, was working as a driver for William Walker, the former employer of Buddy's grandfather Gustavus Bolden, who was born in Luisiana in 1806 and died in 1866. Gustavus was most likely born into slavery, though no definitive records say. His mother, Alice (née Harris), was aged 18 when she married Westmore on August 14, 1873. Westmore Bolden was around 25 at the time, as records show that he was 19 in August 1866. When Buddy was six years old, his father died, after which the boy lived with his mother and other family members.{{sfn|Marquis|2005|pp=10–18}} In records of the period the family name is variously spelled ''Bolen'', ''Bolding'', ''Boldan'', and ''Bolden'', thus complicating research.{{sfn|Marquis|2005|p=19}} Buddy likely attended Fisk School in New Orleans, though evidence is circumstantial, as early records of this and other local schools are missing.{{sfn|Marquis|2005|pp=29–30}}

==Musical career==

Bolden was known as "King" Bolden<ref>[https://www.heraldsun.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article211593334.html Greenberg, Blue, "New exhibit on jazz 'King' Buddy Bolden at Duke's Nasher Museum is a story of the South"], ''[[The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina)|The Herald-Sun]]'' (Durham, North Carolina), May 21, 2018</ref> (see [[Jazz royalty]]), and his band was at its peak in New Orleans from around 1900 to 1907. He was known for his loud sound and improvisational skills, and his style had an impact on younger musicians. Bolden's trombonist [[Willie Cornish]], among others, recalled making [[phonograph cylinder]] recordings with the Bolden band, but none are known to survive.<ref>See {{harvnb|Marquis|2005|p=107}}: "on that fabled cylinder, according to Willie Cornish, they [Buddy Bolden's band] had recorded a couple of marches." In the 2005 epilogue to the book, Marquis also discusses these recordings that have not been found {{harv|Marquis|2005|pp=158–159}}. On pages 44–45 of the same book the question is discussed in detail {{harv|Marquis|2005|pp=44–45}}. Marquis concludes: "That the cylinder was made is quite believable; that it is gone forever is even more believable..." {{harv|Marquis|2005|p=44}}</ref>

[[File:Bolden band.gif|thumb|upright=1.4|The Bolden band c. 1905 (top: Jimmy Johnson, bass; Bolden, cornet; [[Willy Cornish]], valve trombone; Willy Warner, clarinet; bottom: Brock Mumford, guitar; Frank Lewis, clarinet)]]
Many early jazz musicians credited Bolden and his bandmates with having originated what came to be known as ''jazz'', though the term was not in common musical use until after Bolden was musically active. Jazz historian Ted Gioa has labelled Bolden the father of jazz, though this is quickly qualified: 'even if he did not invent jazz, he had mastered the recipe for it, which combined the rhythms of ragtime, the bent notes and chord patterns of the blues, and an instrumentation drawn from New Orleans brass bands and string ensembles.'<ref>Gioia, Ted. ''The History of Jazz''. Oxford/ and New York, 2011. p. 34.</ref> In his ''A New History of Jazz,'' Alyn Shipton describes Bolden as having invented 'the music that became jazz.'<ref>Shipton, Alyn. 2002. ''A New History of Jazz.'' London: Continuumh, p.83.</ref> He is credited with creating a looser, more improvised version of [[ragtime]] and adding [[blues]]; Bolden's band was said to be the first to have brass instruments play the blues. He was also said to have adapted ideas from [[gospel music]] heard in uptown African-American [[Baptist]] churches.<ref>Hardie, Daniel, ''The Loudest Trumpet: Buddy Bolden and the Early History of Jazz'' (self-published via iUniverse, 2000), 86–87. {{ISBN|9781583486078}}.</ref>

Instead of imitating other cornetists, Bolden played the music he heard "by ear" and adapted it to his horn. In doing so, he created an exciting and novel fusion of ragtime, black sacred music, [[Marching band|marching-band music]], and rural blues. He rearranged the typical New Orleans dance band of the time to better accommodate the blues: string instruments became the rhythm section, and the front-line instruments were clarinets, trombones, and Bolden's cornet. Bolden was known for his powerful, loud, "wide open" playing style.<ref name=barlow/> [[Joe "King" Oliver]], [[Freddie Keppard]], [[Bunk Johnson]],  and other early New Orleans jazz musicians were directly inspired by his playing.{{sfn|Marquis|2005|p={{page needed|date=September 2021}}}}

One of the best known Bolden numbers is "Funky Butt" (later known as "Buddy Bolden's Blues"), which represents one of the earliest references to the concept of [[funk]] in popular music. Bolden's "Funky Butt" was, as [[Danny Barker]] once put it, a reference to the olfactory effect of an auditorium packed full of sweaty people "dancing close together and belly rubbing."<ref name="npr" /> This tune was incendiary in New Orleans at the time: clarinettist Sidney Bechet recalled that 'the police put you in jail if they heard you singing that song.'<ref>Bechet, quoted in Marquis 2005, p.111.</ref> 

Bolden is also credited with the invention of the "Big Four",<ref>[[Ken Burns|Burns, Ken]], and [[Geoffrey C. Ward]]. ''[[Ken Burns Jazz]]: The Story of America's Music''. New York: Sony Music Entertainment, 2000. Sound recording. Episode 1.</ref> a key rhythmic innovation on the marching band beat, which gave early jazz more room for individual improvisation. As [[Wynton Marsalis]] explains,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jazz.nuvvo.com/lesson/10127-what-is-the-big-four-beat |title=What Is the Big Four Beat? - Jazz & More |publisher=Jazz.nuvvo.com |date=2008-11-24 |access-date=2013-09-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060804/http://jazz.nuvvo.com/lesson/10127-what-is-the-big-four-beat |archive-date=2013-09-21 }}</ref> the big four (below)<ref>"[https://www.pbs.org/jazz/classroom/rhythmicinnovations.htm Jazz and Math: Rhythmic Innovations]", [[PBS]]. The Wikipedia example shown in [[half time (music)|half-time]], compared to the source.</ref> was the first syncopated bass drum pattern to deviate from the standard on-the-beat march.<ref>[[Wynton Marsalis|Marsalis, Wynton]]. ''[[Jazz (miniseries)|Jazz]]''. (DVD, n. 1). 2000. [[PBS]].</ref> The second half of the Big Four is the pattern commonly known as the [[habanera (music)|habanera]] rhythm developed from [[sub-Saharan African music traditions]].

:<score sound="1" override_midi="Big four Buddy Bolden.mid">
    \new Staff <<
       \relative c' {
           \clef percussion
           \time 4/4
           \repeat volta 2 { g8 \xNote a' g, \xNote a' g, \xNote a'16. g,32 g8 <g \xNote a'> }
           \repeat volta 2 { r8 \xNote a'\noBeam g, \xNote a' g, \xNote a'16. g,32 g8 <g \xNote a'> }
       }
   >>
</score>

==Physical and mental decline==

Bolden had an episode of acute alcoholic [[psychosis]] in 1907 at age 30. With the full diagnosis of [[dementia praecox]] (today called [[schizophrenia]]), he was admitted to the [[East Louisiana State Hospital|Louisiana State Insane Asylum]] at Jackson, a [[mental institution]], where he spent the rest of his life.<ref name= barlow>Barlow, William. ''"Looking Up At Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture''. Temple University Press (1989), pp. 188–191. {{ISBN|0-87722-583-4}}.</ref><ref name="npr">{{cite news |title=Two Films Unveil a Lost Jazz Legend |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17260407 |quote=By most accounts, a mix of alcohol and mental illness sent Bolden into an asylum in 1907; he stayed there until his death in 1931. |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |date=December 15, 2007 |access-date=2008-04-14 }}</ref> Recent research has suggested that Bolden may in fact have had [[pellagra]], a vitamin deficiency common among poor and black groups in the population, which in 1907 swept through the southern United States.<ref>Karst, James. 2020. [https://64parishes.org/buddy-boldens-blues 'Buddy Bolden's blues: did a simple vitamin deficiency cause the jazz pioneer's mental illness?'] ''64 Parishes''.</ref> In his essay 'Jazz and disability', George McKay positions Bolden (alongside disabled European guitarist [[Django Reinhardt]]) as a pivotal figure in this new music's inclusive capacity: 'Apparently from an edge, the edge of sound mental health or a normal life itself, Buddy Bolden seems to have had a mind that let him hear and create a new music.... [His] tantalizing as well as desperate story,
his achievements and influence, which are shrouded in silence, is also one of cognitive impairment
at the heart of the jazz tradition.'<ref>McKay, George. 2019. '[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330194054_Jazz_and_Disability Jazz and Disability].' In Nicholas Gebhardt et al, eds. ''The Routledge Companion to Jazz Studies''. London: Taylor and Francis, p. 178.</ref> Bolden's death on November 4, 1931, was caused by cerebral [[arteriosclerosis]] according to the death certificate.<ref>"Louisiana, Orleans Parish Death Records and Certificates, 1835-1954", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZNTN-3XMM : 27 May 2020), Charles Bolden, 1931. The death certificate is filed at the Louisiana State Archive and Research Library, in Statewide Deaths for [[East Feliciana Parish]], 1931, Vol. 32, Pg. 13491.</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1895–1896, Bolden began a relationship with Harriet "Hattie" Oliver, a woman several years his senior who lived in the same neighborhood. Their relationship was brief, and though they never married, she gave birth to their son, Charles Joseph Bolden Jr., on May 2, 1897.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marquis |first=Donald M. |date=2005 |title=In Search of Buddy Bolden: First Man of Jazz |url=https://archive.org/details/00book1220882465/page/46/mode/2up |location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |page=46 |isbn=0-8071-3093-1}}</ref>

==Further life and legend==

While there is substantial first-hand oral history about Bolden, facts about his life continue to be lost amidst colorful myth. Stories about his being a barber by trade or that he published a [[scandal sheet]] called ''The Cricket'' have been repeated in print despite being debunked decades earlier.<ref>See {{harvnb|Marquis|2005|pp=58, 92}}: "In asking questions about Bolden, if the barbershop, the ''Cricket'', girls, loudness, and "Funky Butt" are all that is mentioned, one can surmise that rather than actually having known Bolden the person has merely read ''Jazzman''" (the rather inaccurate account, as Marquis proves) by Charles Edward Smith and Frederic Ramsay Jr., the editors of that book; see {{harvnb|Marquis|2005|pp=3–4}}.</ref>

==Tributes==

===Music===
[[File:Charles Buddy Bolden statue in Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|Statue commemorating Bolden in [[Louis Armstrong Park (New Orleans)|Louis Armstrong Park]], New Orleans]]
*[[Duke Ellington]] paid tribute to Bolden in his 1957 suite ''[[A Drum Is a Woman]]''. The trumpet part was taken by [[Clark Terry]].
*The Bolden band tune "Funky Butt", better known as "Buddy Bolden's Blues" since it was first recorded under that title by [[Jelly Roll Morton]], alternatively titled "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", has been covered by hundreds of artists, including [[Dr. John]], on his 1992 album ''[[Goin' Back to New Orleans]]'', and [[Hugh Laurie]], on his 2011 album ''[[Let Them Talk (Hugh Laurie album)|Let Them Talk]]''.
*"Hey, Buddy Bolden" is a song on the 1962 album ''[[Nina Simone Sings Ellington]]''.
*[[Wynton Marsalis]] speaks about Bolden in an introduction and performs "Buddy Bolden" on his album ''Live at the Village Vanguard'' (1999).
*The [[Buddyprisen]], or Buddy Award, is the prime award honoring Norwegian jazz musicians.
*[[Hop Along]] wrote "Buddy in the Parade" as a tribute to Bolden.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/05/05/404214967/hop-alongs-painted-shut-invokes-two-mysterious-musicians|title=Hop Along's 'Painted Shut' Invokes Two Mysterious Musicians|work=NPR.org|date=May 5, 2015|access-date=2018-03-18|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Malachi Thompson]] recorded ''[[Buddy Bolden's Rag]]'' in 1995.

===Fiction===
Bolden has inspired a number of fictional characters with his name.

*The Canadian author [[Michael Ondaatje]] wrote the novel ''[[Coming Through Slaughter]]'' (1976), which features a Buddy Bolden character who in some ways resembles Bolden, but in other ways is deliberately contrary to what is known about him.
*The character of Buddy Bolden helps [[Samuel Clemens]] solve a murder in [[Peter J. Heck]]'s novel ''A Connecticut Yankee in Criminal Court'' (1996).<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Connecticut Yankee in criminal court : a Mark Twain mystery|last=Heck, Peter J.|date=1996|publisher=Berkeley Prime Crime|isbn=0-425-15470-X|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=33439081|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/connecticutyanke00heck}}</ref>
*He is a notable character in Louis Maistros' novel ''The Sound of Building Coffins'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://louismaistros.com/ |title=Welcome |publisher=Louis Maistros |access-date=2013-09-20}}</ref> which contains many scenes depicting Bolden playing his cornet.
*Canadian author Christine Welldon wrote the novel ''Kid Sterling'' (2021),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kid Sterling {{!}} Detail|url=https://www.reddeerpress.com/Detail/0889956162|access-date=2021-09-06|website=www.reddeerpress.com}}</ref> which centers on the character of Buddy Bolden and his life, based on the author's archival research.
*Nicholas Christopher's historical fiction novel ''Tiger Rag'' (2013)  <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13642244-tiger-rag |title=Tiger Rag |publisher=Goodreads |access-date=2023-10-07}}</ref> centers on the legend and repercussions of a wax cylinder recording by Bolden's band, as well as Bolden's later life.

===Plays and films===
*Bolden is featured in [[August Wilson]]'s 1995 play ''[[Seven Guitars]]''. Wilson's drama includes the character King Hedley, whose father named him after King Buddy Bolden. King Hedley constantly sings, "I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say..." and believes that Bolden will come down and bring him money to buy a plantation.
*A [[Biographical film|biopic]] about Bolden with mythical elements, titled ''[[Bolden!]]'', was released in 2019. It was written and directed by [[Dan Pritzker]]. [[Gary Carr (actor)|Gary Carr]] portrays Bolden.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2014/05/seven-years-after-production-began-dan-pritzkers-bolden-skeds-new-shoot-sans-star-anthony-mackie-737128/ |title=Seven Years After Production Began, Dan Pritzker's 'Bolden' Skeds New Shoot, Sans Star Anthony Mackie |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=28 May 2014 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/bolden-review-1208125 | title='Bolden': Film Review | website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|first=Keith|last=Uhlich | date=May 7, 2019 }}</ref>
*During the 1980s, an adaptation of [[Michael Ondaatje]]'s 1976 novel ''[[Coming Through Slaughter]]'' was staged at Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theater. The music was scored by Steven Provizer and the production was directed by Tim McDonough.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/buddy-bolden-coming-through-slaughter/|title=Madness and Creativity: on Buddy Bolden and Staging 'Coming Through Slaughter'|last=Provizer|first=Steven|newspaper=The Syncopated Times|date=April 24, 2019|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>
*In 2011, Interact Theater in [[Minneapolis]] produced a new work-in-progress musical entitled ''Hot Jazz at da Funky Butt'' in which Buddy Bolden was the feature character. The music and lyrics were by Aaron Gabriel and featured New Orleans musicians and collaborators Zena Moses, Eugene Harding and Jeremy Phipps. In 2018, Interact Theater premiered the production renamed ''Hot Funky Butt Jazz'' at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN. The song "Dat's How Da Music Do Ya" quoted the "Buddy Bolden Blues".
*A three-channel video installation, [https://nasher.duke.edu/exhibitions/john-akomfrah-precarity/ "Precarity"], was created by the British experimental filmmaker John Akomfrah in 2017 as a commissioned piece for the [[Ogden Museum of Southern Art|Ogden Museum]] and the [[Nasher Museum of Art|Nasher Museum]], exploring themes related to the life of Buddy Bolden.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[Danny Barker|Barker, Danny]], 1998, ''Buddy Bolden and the Last Days of Storyville''. New York: Continuum. p.&nbsp;31.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{National Public Radio|17260407}}
* {{IMDb title|0858419|Bolden!}}
* [https://syncopatedtimes.com/the-real-buddy-bolden/ The Real Buddy Bolden] The Syncopated Times
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181221182020/http://www.nathanielturner.com/buddybolden2.htm Buddy Bolden's New Orleans Music]
* [https://syncopatedtimes.com/charles-buddy-bolden-1877-1931/ "Charles "Buddy" Bolden (1877–1931)] Red Hot Jazz Archive
* [https://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_bolden_buddy.htm Buddy Bolden Biography], [[PBS]], ''[[Jazz (miniseries)|Jazz, A Film by Ken Burns]]''

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolden, Buddy}}
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1931 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:African-American jazz musicians]]
[[Category:American jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:American jazz cornetists]]
[[Category:American ragtime musicians]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans]]
[[Category:People from Jackson, Louisiana]]
[[Category:People with schizophrenia]]
[[Category:The Eagle Band members]]