Justin Adams | |
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 Justin Adams | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Justin Lloyd Adams |
| Born | June 1, 1923 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 1991 (aged 68) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues, jazz |
| Occupation | musician |
| Instrument(s) | guitar, banjo |
| Years active | c.1950s – c.1990s |
Justin Adams (June 1, 1923 - July 2, 1991) [1] was an American jazz and rhythm and blues guitarist/banjoist [2] who performed and recorded for more than forty years. [3]
Justin Lloyd Adams was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. [4] His parents Placide Adams, Sr. and Odalie M. "Dolly" Douroux lived in Ward 15, the Algiers neighborhood, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. [5] Placide Adams, Sr. was a self-employed carpenter. [6] Dolly Adams was the jazz pianist daughter of Louis Douroux, trumpet player with the Eureka and Excelsior Brass Bands, and Olivia Douroux, who also played trumpet, piano, and violin. Olivia's brother was Manuel "Fess" Manetta (1889-1969), a multi- instrumentalist performer and teacher who taught Dolly. [5] He played piano in brothels in Storyville and with the Original Tuxedo Orchestra. Besides performing in the bands of Kid Ory, Manuel Perez, and Oscar "Papa" Celestin, Manetta taught trumpeters Buddie Petit and Henry “Red” Allen, among others. [7] Dolly taught her seven children to play music, with Placide, Jr., Justin, and Gerald playing professionally. [8]
Justin Adams said he became serious about music when he played in bands in the army during World War Two. After his discharge he joined his family's jazz group which consisted of mother Dolly on piano, and brothers Placide, Jr. on drums and Gerald on bass. [3] They often played at West Bank venues such as the Moonlight Inn, the Varsity, and the Gay Paree. [9] Adams joined Tommy Ridgely's band in 1953 and stayed with him until 1964, when he left for Dave Bartholomew's band. [3]
In the late 1940s Dave Bartholomew began organizing and running recording sessions for DeLuxe Records, Imperial Records, and other independent labels at Cosimo Matassa's studio, the premier recording facility in New Orleans. [10] He recruited Justin Adams to join the studio group. [1] The band then consisted of Bartholomew (trumpet), Lee Allen and Alvin "Red" Tyler (saxophones), Ernest McLean, Edgar Blanchard, and Justin Adams (guitars), Ed Frank or Salvador Doucette (piano), Frank Fields, (bass) and Earl Palmer (drums). [11] In September 1955 Adams backed Little Richard on his hit recording "Tutti Frutti", which sold 200,000 copies in the first two weeks after its release and remained on the R&B charts for 22 weeks. [12] He played behind numerous other artists including Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Frankie Ford, Shirley and Lee, Bobby Mitchell, Huey "Piano" Smith, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Roosevelt Sykes, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Professor Longhair, The Spiders, Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Little Sonny Jones, and Ernie K-Doe. [13] He also performed on many of label owner Johnny Vincent's Ace Records sessions. [4]
By the mid-1960s Adams had returned to jazz, appearing with the family band at Preservation Hall and Dixieland Hall. [8] He joined his mother, brother Gerald, and Uncle Fess Manetta to perform at the Creole Spring Fiesta Association Ball in 1968. It was one of his mother's last engagements. [5] Adams played with various musicians including pianist Emile Venett in modern jazz venues around the city. [14] He and trumpeter Wendell Brunious began the first Jazz Brunch at Commander's Palace restaurant in the 1970s. [15] Adams and his family started the tradition of small strolling bands featured at jazz brunches in restaurants around New Orleans. [16]
Justin Adams died of a heart attack [4] on July 2, 1991. [1] In 2012 Preservation Hall guitarist/banjoist Carl LeBlanc recorded a salute to Adams entitled "Justin Case: A Tribute to Justin Adams". [17]
New Orleans rhythm and blues is a style of rhythm and blues that originated in New Orleans. It was a direct precursor to rock and roll and strongly influenced ska. Instrumentation typically includes drums, bass, piano, horns, electric guitar, and vocals. The style is characterized by syncopated "second line" rhythms, a strong backbeat, and soulful vocals. Artists such as Roy Brown, Dave Bartholomew, and Fats Domino are representative of the New Orleans R&B sound.
David Louis Bartholomew was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally a trumpeter, he was active in many musical genres, including rhythm and blues, big band, swing music, rock and roll, New Orleans jazz, and Dixieland. In his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was cited as a key figure in the transition from jump blues and swing to R&B and as "one of the Crescent City's greatest musicians and a true pioneer in the rock and roll revolution".
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a period of time due to Hurricane Katrina, but the band continued to tour.
Arthur Newton Rupe was an American music executive and record producer. He founded Specialty Records, known for its rhythm and blues, blues, gospel and early rock and roll music recordings, in Los Angeles in 1946.
"Sweet Emma" Barrett was an American self-taught jazz pianist and singer who worked with the Original Tuxedo Orchestra between 1923 and 1936, first under Papa Celestin, then William Ridgely. She also worked with Armand Piron, John Robichaux, Sidney Desvigne and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Alvin Owen "Red" Tyler was an American R&B and neo-bop jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, regarded as "one of the most important figures in New Orleans R&B".
John Brunious Jr. was a jazz trumpeter and a bandleader for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans.
Fess Williams was an American jazz musician.
Jonathan Marks was a British jazz pianist.
The Onward Brass Band was either of two brass bands active in New Orleans for extended periods of time.
Manuel "Fess" Manetta was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist.
Clark Gayton is an American multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer and musicians' rights advocate.
Placide Adams Jr. was an American jazz double bassist, who worked prolifically with a wide circle of New Orleans jazz stars over his 50-year career.
Frank Nomer Fields was an American double bass player who was involved in many R&B, rock and roll and jazz recordings made in New Orleans.
Walter Charles Nelson Jr., known as Walter "Papoose" Nelson, was an American R&B guitarist, best known for playing with Fats Domino, and on many of his hit records.
Ed Frank was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist who performed and recorded for more than forty years.
Charles "Hungry" Williams was an American rhythm & blues drummer, best known for the innovative and influential technique he used on numerous recordings that came out of New Orleans in the 1950s and 1960s.
Clarence Joseph Ford, Sr. was an American saxophonist and clarinetist, who played and recorded with many of New Orleans' leading R&B and jazz artists in a career spanning more than 40 years.
Harrison Verrett was an American jazz and rhythm & blues guitarist/banjoist who performed and recorded for over 40 years.
Lawrence Cotton is an American R&B and jazz pianist who performs and lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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