Jimmy Dudley

Jimmy Dudley (saxophonist and clarinetist) was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on June 11, 1903, and raised in St. Louis. His early career included gigs in Milwaukee, and by 1924, he was residing there with his wife, Viola. In the mid-1920s, Jimmy worked with Elgar’s Creole Orchestra, led by Charles Elgar, an African American violinist born in New Orleans in 1879. Elgar was part of that city’s Creole of color community and began studying violin at age 6 with the assistant conductor of the New Orleans Opera. In 1903, Elgar moved to Chicago, where he became a prominent bandleader of early jazz-oriented dance bands. Known for performing in prestigious venues, he helped pave the way for other Black musicians in the emerging jazz world. During the mid-1920s, Elgar lived in Milwaukee, leading a band at the Wisconsin Roof Ballroom for several years and at the newly built Eagles Ballroom (2401 W. Wisconsin Avenue). Dudley almost certainly participated in these extended engagements, and he recorded with Elgar’s band in Chicago in 1926. During this period, Elgar studied music at Marquette University for two years.

After performing in clubs in Detroit, Jimmy joined McKinney's Cotton Pickers, participating in recording sessions in the late 1920s and early 1930s. During that time, they were one of the country’s most popular African American bands, with bestselling records on the Victor label. In the 1930s and afterward, Jimmy led bands in Milwaukee, often holding extended residencies at now-defunct clubs such as the Moon Glow (1222 North Seventh Street), The Elbow Room (754 North Front Street), and Thelma's Back Door (701 West Juneau Avenue). He died in Milwaukee on November 12, 1971, after a long illness. Charles Elgar passed away in 1973 at the age of 94.

Listen to Charles Elgar’s Creole Orchestra perform “Cafe Capers” and “When Jenny Does Her Low Down Dance,” recorded in Chicago on September 17, 1926. The ensemble includes Jimmy Dudley on clarinet and saxophone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoYBxA4LgWE