Wellman Braud
Wellman Braud (January 25, 1891 – October 29, 1966) was an American jazz upright bassist. His family sometimes spelled their last name "Breaux", pronounced "Bro". Born in St. James Parish, Louisiana, Braud settled in New Orleans, in his early teens. He was playing the violin and the upright bass and leading a trio in venues in the Storyville District before 1910. He moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1917. In 1923, he visited London with the Plantation Orchestra, in which he doubled on bass and trombone. Next, he moved to New York City, where he played with Wilber Sweatman's band before joining Duke Ellington. It has been observed by Branford Marsalis that Braud was the first to utilize the walking bass style, that has been a mainstay in modern jazz, as opposed to the 'two-beat' pattern the tuba plays in the New Orleans style. His vigorous melodic bass playing, alternately plucking, slapping, and bowing, was an important feature of the early Ellington Orchestra in the 1920s and 1930s. Braud's playing on Ellington's regular radio broadcasts and recordings helped popularize the slap style of string bass playing, as well as encouraging many dance bands of the time to switch from using a tuba to an upright bass. (Like many of his contemporary New Orleans bassists, Braud doubled on tuba, and he recorded with that instrument on some sides with Ellington). In 1936, Braud co-managed a short-lived Harlem club with Jimmie Noone, and recorded with the group Spirits of Rhythm from 1935 to 1937. He played with other New York bands including those of Kaiser Marshall, Hot Lips Page, and Sidney Bechet, and returned for a while to Ellington in 1944. In 1956, he joined the Kid Ory Band. In the late 1950s, he joined Barbara Dane's trio alongside pianist/cornetist Kenny Whitson, turning down opportunities to return to Duke Ellington's band or tour with Louis Armstrong. He is a distant relative of the Marsalis brothers on their mother's side. He died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 76. Duke Ellington subsequently paid tribute to Braud, including the composition ‘Portrait of Wellman Braud’ on his 1970 album New Orleans Suite. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 25, 1891 (St. James Parish), Died October 27, 1966 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1941
Roles Represented in DAHR: string bass, tuba, composer, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 236 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-36925 | 10-in. | 11/12/1926 | Blues from the Everglades | Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-36926 | 10-in. | 11/12/1926 | P. D. Q. blues | Thomas Morris ; Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-36962 | 10-in. | 11/24/1926 | The mess | Thomas Morris ; Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-36963 | 10-in. | 11/24/1926 | The chinch | Thomas Morris ; Morris' Hot Babies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-39370 | 10-in. | 10/26/1927 | Creole love call | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-39371 | 10-in. | 10/26/1927 | Blues I love to sing | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-40155 | 10-in. | 10/6/1927 | Black and tan fantasie | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-40156 | 10-in. | 10/6/1927 | Washington wabble | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-41244 | 10-in. | 12/19/1927 | Harlem River quiver | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-41245 | 10-in. | 12/19/1927 | East St. Louis toodle-oo | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-41246 | 10-in. | 12/19/1927 | Blue bubbles | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-43502 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Black beauty | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-43503 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Jubilee stomp | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-43504 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Got everything but you | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-47799 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | The mooche | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-48100 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | Santa Claus, bring my man back to me | Hot Five [Ellington ensemble] ; Ozie Ware | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tuba | |
Victor | BVE-48101 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | I done caught you blues | Hot Five [Ellington ensemble] ; Ozie Ware | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tuba | |
Victor | BVE-48102 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | I can't give you anything but love | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tuba, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-48103 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | No papa no | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band (take 1); with female vocal solo (take 2) | instrumentalist, tuba | |
Victor | BVE-48166 | 10-in. | 11/15/1928 | Bandanna babies | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-48167 | 10-in. | 11/15/1928 | Diga diga do | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-48168 | 10-in. | 11/15/1928 | I must have that man | Cotton Club Orchestra ; Duke Ellington | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-48373 | 10-in. | 2/18/1929 | Japanese dream | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | BVE-48374 | 10-in. | 2/18/1929 | Harlemania | Duke Ellington Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, string bass | |
Victor | CVE-49007 | 12-in. | 12/20/1928 | St. Louis blues | Warren Mills and his Blue Serenaders | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal chorus | instrumentalist, string bass |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Braud, Wellman," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102897.
Braud, Wellman. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102897.
"Braud, Wellman." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Wellman Braud
Discogs: Wellman Braud
Allmusic: Wellman Braud
Grove: Wellman Braud
IMDb: Wellman Braud
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Braud, Wellman - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80124233
Wikidata: Wellman Braud - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q488356
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/12490946
MusicBrainz: Wellman Braud - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5e554484-087d-49dc-ba27-a5d627eea63b
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