Phil Napoleon
Phil Napoleon (born Filippo Napoli; 2 September 1901 – 1 October 1990) was an early jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Boston, Massachusetts. Ron Wynn observed that Napoleon "was a competent, though unimaginative trumpeter whose greatest value was the many recording sessions he led that helped increase jazz's popularity in the mid-'20s." Richard Cook and Brian Morton, writing for The Penguin Guide to Jazz, refer to Napoleon as "a genuine pioneer" whose playing was "profoundly influential on men such as Red Nichols and Bix Beiderbecke." Napoleon began with classical training, and was performing publicly by age 5. In the 1910s, he was one of the first musicians in the northeastern United States to embrace the new "jass" style brought to that part of the country by musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana. With pianist Frank Signorelli he formed the group "The Original Memphis Five" in 1917. He became one of the most sought after trumpeters of the 1920s. The group were very prolific, one of the most prolific in New York City at the time, and in 1922-1923 alone made over a hundred recordings. Napoleon's 1927 version of "Clarinet Marmalade" was a particular success. The Original Memphis Five split in 1928. During the 1930s, Napoleon mainly worked as a session trumpeter, working in the RCA Radio Orchestra in the early 1930s, and in 1937 unsuccessfully tried to form his own orchestra. He also worked as a network house conductor and trumpet soloist for NBC from around 1929 to 1937. He recorded with the Cotton Pickers and the Charleston Chasers and also worked with blues singers Leona Williams and Alberta Hunter. Napoleon joined Jimmy Dorsey's then Los Angeles-based group in the mid-1940s, and he appeared with the band in the film Four Jills in a Jeep. Parting with Dorsey in 1947, he moved back to New York and worked as a studio musician at NBC until 1949-1950 when he reformed The Original Memphis Five. During the early 1950s the group became noted for their performances at Nick's in New York City. He also worked frequently with his nephew Marty Napoleon, a jazz pianist. On July 3, 1959, Napoleon and The Five performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, later released as an album. In 1966, he opened up his own club named "Napoleon's Retreat" in Miami, Florida where he lived until his death, although continued to perform Dixieland jazz in the club up until the 1980s. |
Birth and Death Data: Born September 2, 1901 (Boston), Died September 30, 1990 (North Miami)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1922 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet, composer, leader, cornet, songwriter, director, arranger, piano
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 123 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-30250 | 10-in. | 6/6/1924 | Just hot | Pennsylvanians ; Fred Waring | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | B-30372 | 10-in. | 7/9/1924 | Sioux City Sue | Ross Gorman ; Virginians | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | B-30877 | 10-in. | 10/1/1924 | Meanest blues | The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | B-31913 | 10-in. | 2/4/1925 | Throw down blues | The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-33388 | 10-in. | 9/17/1925 | Bass ale blues | The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-33546 | 10-in. | 10/7/1925 | Lookin' for blues | The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-37744 | 10-in. | 2/7/1927 | Tiger rag | Phil Napoleon Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
Victor | BVE-37745 | 10-in. | 2/7/1927 | Clarinet marmalade | Phil Napoleon Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
Victor | BVE-38313 | 10-in. | 3/31/1927 | Take your finger out of your mouth (I want a kiss from you) | Phil Napoleon Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BVE-38314 | 10-in. | 3/31/1927 | Go Joe go | Phil Napoleon Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer, director | |
Victor | BVE-50885 | 10-in. | 5/16/1929 | Sittin' and whittlin' | Billy Hays and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-50886 | 10-in. | 5/16/1929 | Do you believe? | Billy Hays and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51014 | 10-in. | 3/8/1929 | My sugar and me | Billy Hays and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51015 | 10-in. | 3/8/1929 | Sweet Virginia rose | Billy Hays and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51016 | 10-in. | 3/8/1929 | Will the angels play their harps for me? | Bud Billings | Male vocal solo, with violin, cornet, and guitar | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51017 | 10-in. | 3/8/1929 | The wanderer's warning | Bud Billings | Male vocal solo, with violin, cornet, and guitar | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51018 | 10-in. | 3/8/1929 | All by yourself in the moonlight | Billy Hayes Teagarden Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51019 | 10-in. | 3/8/1929 | I'm wild about horns on automobiles, that go ta-ta-ta-ta | Billy Hays and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, cornet | |
Victor | BVE-51095 | 10-in. | 4/10/1929 | Baby's back to-day | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-51096 | 10-in. | 4/10/1929 | Furniture man blues | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-51097 | 10-in. | 4/10/1929 | Sometimes I wonder | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-51098 | 10-in. | 4/10/1929 | What would I do without you? | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-51099 | 10-in. | 4/11/1929 | Sun's gonna shine | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-51800 | 10-in. | 4/11/1929 | Moon song | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-51801 | 10-in. | 4/11/1929 | Applesauce | Irene Beasley | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Napoleon, Phil," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106417.
Napoleon, Phil. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106417.
"Napoleon, Phil." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Phil Napoleon
Discogs: Phil Napoleon
Allmusic: Phil Napoleon
IMDb: Phil Napoleon
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Napoleon, Phil - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91096910
Wikidata: Phil Napoleon - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q743585
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/29718919
MusicBrainz: Phil Napoleon - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0c532047-f771-402a-96d7-88b3f63e1580
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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