Sidney Bechet, (born May 14, 1897, New Orleans—died May 14, 1959, Paris), musician known as a master of the soprano.Bechet began as a clarinetist at the age of six and by 1914 was a veteran who had worked in several semilegendary local bands, including those of Jack Carey and Buddy Petit. After working in with Clarence Williams and, pioneer jazz greats, he moved to and then, in 1919, to.

• Ken Burns

This disc provides an enjoyable introduction to Sidney Bechet, one of the early jazz masters of Dixieland and New Orleans clarinet and soprano saxophone. The 20 tracks on Ken Burns Jazz highlight Bechet's work from 1923 through 1947 with Clarence Williams' Blue Five, Noble Sissle & His Orchestra, and the Spanier-Bechet Big Four.

In that year he toured Europe with the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, becoming the first jazz musician ever to be praised by a distinguished classicist, the Swiss conductor. Through the 1920s he gradually concentrated on the soprano saxophone, working briefly with his great admirer in 1925 before touring Europe again. Intermittently, he worked in the band (1928–38) and from the late 1940s based himself in, where by the time of his death he had attained the kind of eminence granted to such world-famed Parisians as and.Along with trumpeter, Bechet was one of the first musicians to improvise with jazz-swing feeling. He intelligently crafted logical lines atop the New Orleans-style ensemble, double-timing and improvising forcefully and with authority. Bechet produced a large, warm tone with a wide and rapid vibrato.

It was his mastery of drama and his use of critically timed deviations in pitch (“note bending”) that had the greatest long-lasting influence, because they were absorbed by his, Duke Ellington’s principal soloist from 1928 to 1970. With a style developed around Bechet’s expressive techniques, Hodges became one of the two or three most influential alto saxophonists in the first half of the century. Bechet’s autobiography, Treat It Gentle, was published in 1960.

Ken Burns

Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz (beating cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months and later playing duets with Armstrong), and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing.

Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim.