Willie Humphrey
Willie James Humphrey (December 29, 1900 – June 7, 1994) was a New Orleans jazz clarinetist. Willie Humphrey was born in a musical family, the son of prominent local clarinetist and music teacher Willie Eli Humphrey; his brothers Earl Humphrey and Percy Humphrey also became well known professional musicians. After establishing himself with such New Orleans bands as the Excelsior and George McCullum's band, Humphrey traveled up north, playing with such other New Orleans musicians as Lawrence Duhé, and King Oliver in Chicago (Photos show Humphrey with Duhé's band playing in the stands for the 1919 World Series).
Also recorded as Willie James Humphrey
Willie Humphrey

Uncredited photographer for the Works Progress Administration, a U.S. Federal Government agency. · 1937 Works Progress Administration photograph via [1] photo 30.05 #1 · Public domain
- Name
- Willie Humphrey
- Birth Name
- Willie James Humphrey
- Born
- 29 December 1900
- Died
- 7 June 1994
- Place of death
- New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- musician
- Fields
- Dixieland jazz · jazz
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Willie Humphrey. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2330233 · wikipedia · Willie Humphrey
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
In Saint Louis, Missouri in the 1920s he made his first recordings. Back in New Orleans, he played for many years with the Eureka and Young Tuxedo Brass bands, the bands of Paul Barbarin and Sweet Emma Barrett, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Humphrey's clarinet playing remained vigorous and continued to grow more inventive in his old age. He died at his home in New Orleans on June 7, 1994.

Clarinetist Willie Humphrey and trumpeter Percy Humphrey playing with Spirt of New Orleans Bras Band in Woldenberg Park, New Orleans.
Infrogmation of New Orleans · Photo by Infrogmation, 1990.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band playing a variety of music at Preservation
Florida Folklife Archive · Florida Folklife Archive, Photographs and Slides of Folk Arts, Artisans, and Performers. From Florida Memory State Library Archives of Florida website [1]
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Willie Humphrey • Birth Name — Willie James Humphrey • Born — 29 December 1900 • Died — 7 June 1994 • Place of death — New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. • Origin — New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. • Instrument — Clarinet • Genre — Traditional jazz • Past Member Of — Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Eureka Brass Band
Documentary record
Willie Humphrey, born on 29 December 1900 in Nouvelle Orléans, is documented in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The death of Willie Humphrey is recorded in Nouvelle Orléans. The birth is recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1900
Willie Humphrey was born on 29 December 1900.
1994
Willie Humphrey died at New Orleans.
Selected discography
• Best of Preservation Hall Jazz Band (recordings 1976–1988), Columbia, 1989 • New Orleans Traditional Legends, vol. 2 (recordings 1974 and 1983), Mardi Gras, 1993 • Two Clarinets on the Porch, GHB, 1991 • A Kiss to Build a Dream on, GHB, 1999 • Meets the Maryland Jazz Band of Cologne, GHB, 1999
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Willie Humphrey”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2330233: Willie Humphrey
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Willie Humphrey, revision 1311304341 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Colin Larkin. The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz. Guinness Publishing. 245. 1995. 0-85112-674-X.
- 2.Noted jazz musician Willie Humphrey dies. The Times. 3. 1994-06-08.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
44,023 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Willie DixonPerson
- Willie EcksteinPerson
- Willie HallPerson
- Willie HendersonPerson
- Willie HutchPerson
- Willie JohnsonPerson
- Willie JonesPerson
- Willie KentPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Willie Humphrey?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.