Arthur Briggs (musician): Difference between revisions
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{{short description|American jazz musician}} |
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{{Unreferenced|date=December 2006}} |
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Briggs played with [[Will Marion Cook]] at the end of the 1910s. In the early 1920s, he emigrated to Europe. In 1927, he founded the "Savoy Syncopator's Orchestra" in [[Berlin]], one of the earlier recordings of jazz made in Europe. In 1928 Briggs broke up this group to join [[Noble Sissle]]'s orchestra. |
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== Career == |
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"Arthur Briggs liked to say that he was American but he was resident in USA for just two years before first visiting Europe in 1919. The truth is that he was born in Grenada, the Caribbean island that was invaded by America in 1979. He held a British passport which would explain his arrest in 1940 before USA entered the war." |
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Briggs was born in [[St. George's, Grenada|St. George's]] on the Caribbean island of Grenada on April 9, 1901, the youngest of ten children.<ref name="bergm"> |
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{{cite journal|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-236332209/james-arthur-briggs|last1 = Bergmeier|first1 = Horst P. J.|last2 = Lotz|first2 = Rainer E.|title = James Arthur Briggs|journal = Black Music Research Journal|volume = 30|issue = 1|pages = 75–83|date = Spring 2010|accessdate=2 March 2016}}</ref> |
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He played the trumpet and eventually joined the 369th US Infantry Band. He was actually under age and moved his date of birth back to 1899. He was still considered too young to travel to Europe during the first World War.<ref>Better Days Will Come Again: The Life of Arthur Briggs</ref> Briggs finally traveled to Europe in June of 1919 while playing with [[Will Marion Cook]] and his [[Southern Syncopated Orchestra]]. |
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Some felt he was ahead of the famous jazz trumpeters of his time. |
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Admired for his technical virtuosity and clear tone, he worked in the United States and Europe for 10 years before eventually settling in Europe in 1931. He set up a band with [[Freddy Johnson]] and worked with artists all over Europe, including [[Coleman Hawkins]] and [[Django Reinhardt]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Arthur Briggs Biography|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/arthur-briggs-mn0000607318|work=Allmusic.com|publisher=All Music|accessdate=5 December 2013}}</ref> |
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Briggs was related to tubist [[Pete Briggs]]. |
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=== Imprisonment === |
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At the start of World War II Briggs, as a British passport holder, was interned in the SS Polizeihaftlager for political prisoners near [[Compiègne]]. The British jazz musician [[Tom Waltham]] who was interned at the [[Ilag#Saint-Denis|Camp des Internés Britanniques]] in Saint-Denis, petitioned the German authorities to have Briggs moved there and this was granted. There Briggs and Waltham were at the heart of the camp's musical activities. Jazz was forbidden in the camp so the interned jazz musicians, many of African heritage, turned to playing classical music. A printed program survives of a 1942 ''Concert Symphonique'' including works by [[Albeniz]], Granados, [[Manuel de Falla|de Falla]], [[Mozart]], [[Handel]], Franck and [[Liszt]]. Tom Waltham directed "Arthur Briggs et son Orchestre" (pp. 93–181 in Ref.<ref name="bergm" />). The concerts were a success and were popular with German officers. |
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After the [[Liberation of Paris]], Briggs organized and led his own bands.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Arthur Briggs, Trumpeter, 92|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/18/obituaries/arthur-briggs-trumpeter-92.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 18, 1991}}</ref> |
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=== Later life === |
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In the 1960s, Briggs settled in Chantilly and he taught music.<ref name="nytimes.com" /> He died in 1991 in Paris. |
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[[File:Arthur briggs montmartre.jpg|thumb|Grave of Arthur Briggs, [[Montmartre Cemetery]], Paris.]] |
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== Recordings == |
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Recordings of Briggs are very rare, but he recorded with both [[Deutsche Grammophon]] and Clausophon extensively throughout the mid-late 1920s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopators Orchestra|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/arthur-briggs-savoy-syncopators-orchestra/ |website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |accessdate=28 June 2020 }}</ref> |
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Briggs can be heard very clearly on the 1935 record of "Blue Moon", with [[Coleman Hawkins]] and [[Django Reinhardt]]. |
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Briggs was not a relative of tubist [[Pete Briggs]] who recorded with [[Louis Armstrong]]. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[List of jazz trumpeters]] |
*[[List of jazz trumpeters]] |
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== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Arthur}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Arthur}} |
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[[Category:Orchestra leaders]] |
[[Category:Orchestra leaders]] |
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[[Category:1901 births]] |
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[[Category:1991 deaths]] |
[[Category:1991 deaths]] |
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[[Category:American male trumpeters]] |
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[[Category:American expatriates in France]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American trumpeters]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]] |
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[[Category:American male jazz musicians]] |
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[[Category:Grenadian emigrants to the United States]] |
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Latest revision as of 20:16, 7 November 2024
James Arthur Briggs (April 9, 1901 Grenada – July 15, 1991, Paris) was a British Caribbean jazz trumpeter and orchestra leader who performed in Europe.
Career
[edit]Briggs was born in St. George's on the Caribbean island of Grenada on April 9, 1901, the youngest of ten children.[1]
He played the trumpet and eventually joined the 369th US Infantry Band. He was actually under age and moved his date of birth back to 1899. He was still considered too young to travel to Europe during the first World War.[2] Briggs finally traveled to Europe in June of 1919 while playing with Will Marion Cook and his Southern Syncopated Orchestra.
Admired for his technical virtuosity and clear tone, he worked in the United States and Europe for 10 years before eventually settling in Europe in 1931. He set up a band with Freddy Johnson and worked with artists all over Europe, including Coleman Hawkins and Django Reinhardt.[3]
Imprisonment
[edit]At the start of World War II Briggs, as a British passport holder, was interned in the SS Polizeihaftlager for political prisoners near Compiègne. The British jazz musician Tom Waltham who was interned at the Camp des Internés Britanniques in Saint-Denis, petitioned the German authorities to have Briggs moved there and this was granted. There Briggs and Waltham were at the heart of the camp's musical activities. Jazz was forbidden in the camp so the interned jazz musicians, many of African heritage, turned to playing classical music. A printed program survives of a 1942 Concert Symphonique including works by Albeniz, Granados, de Falla, Mozart, Handel, Franck and Liszt. Tom Waltham directed "Arthur Briggs et son Orchestre" (pp. 93–181 in Ref.[1]). The concerts were a success and were popular with German officers.
After the Liberation of Paris, Briggs organized and led his own bands.[4]
Later life
[edit]In the 1960s, Briggs settled in Chantilly and he taught music.[4] He died in 1991 in Paris.
Recordings
[edit]Recordings of Briggs are very rare, but he recorded with both Deutsche Grammophon and Clausophon extensively throughout the mid-late 1920s.[5] Briggs can be heard very clearly on the 1935 record of "Blue Moon", with Coleman Hawkins and Django Reinhardt.
Briggs was not a relative of tubist Pete Briggs who recorded with Louis Armstrong.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Bergmeier, Horst P. J.; Lotz, Rainer E. (Spring 2010). "James Arthur Briggs". Black Music Research Journal. 30 (1): 75–83. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ Better Days Will Come Again: The Life of Arthur Briggs
- ^ "Arthur Briggs Biography". Allmusic.com. All Music. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Arthur Briggs, Trumpeter, 92". The New York Times. July 18, 1991.
- ^ "Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopators Orchestra". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
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