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
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Willie Humphrey, dont la naissance est enregistrée le 29 décembre 1900 à Nouvelle Orléans, figure dans les notices d'autorité de la Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Vie
Le décès de Willie Humphrey est enregistré à Nouvelle Orléans. La naissance est enregistrée par la Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Institutions citées
Bibliothèque nationale de France
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Authority files
wikidata · Q2330233 · wikipedia · Willie Humphrey
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
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.
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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.
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