Arthur Briggs

James Arthur Briggs (born April 9, 1901 in Grenada , † July 15, 1991 in Chantilly ) was an American trumpeter , orchestra leader and jazz musician of British origin.

Live and act

Briggs claims to have grown up in the Charleston orphanage, where he is said to have been on tour with its orchestra, the Jenkins Orphanage Band . In fact, he didn't come to the United States until 1917 . In 1919 he decided to go to Europe (equipped with a US passport) for a tour , first with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra , which also included Sidney Bechet . In 1922 he returned to Europe and worked in Belgium with his Creole Five (which included Alphonse Cox , Egide Van Gils and Oscar Thisse), then with his Savoy Syncopated Orchestra .

From 1926 to 1928 he played in Vienna and Germany. In 1927 he founded his Savoy Syncop's Orchestra in Berlin . He led one of the first real jazz bands in Germany, about three years after the German jazz pioneer Eric Borchard made his first recordings with an internationally mixed line-up.

Arthur Briggs worked in Berlin for the record brands Clausophon and later for Deutsche Grammophon . The early Clausophon recordings were probably also released in Poland on the leading record brand Syrena there . It is interesting that they were not published under Briggs' name, but the name Henryk Gold appeared on the labels. Briggs worked for many leading German dance bands during his time in Berlin. You can hear him z. B. in the recording Crazy Words - crazy tune by the Marek Weber Orchestra as a soloist.

Briggs went to France a few years later , where he led an orchestra with Freddy Johnson in 1931 and rose to become one of the leading musicians on the Parisian jazz scene. a. through his recordings for the Swing label . He recorded with Coleman Hawkins (1935) and Django Reinhardt (1940). At the time of the German occupation of France he was imprisoned in Saint-Denis in the prisoner of war camp ("Stalag 220"), where he belonged to the camp chapel and was not forced to do other work; He also played jazz in a combo, was named “camp trumpeter” and had to interpret Beethoven before Otto von Stülpnagel . After the liberation he formed a new band; In 1951 there were again recordings. In the 1960s he gave classes in Chantilly.

He died in this suburb of Paris at the age of 90.

literature

Horst PJ Bergmeier, Rainer E. Lotz (2010): James Arthur Briggs . Black Music Research Journal. 30 (1): 75-83.
Travis Atria (2020): Better Days Will Come Again: The Life of Arthur Briggs, Jazz Genius of Harlem, Paris, and a Nazi Prison Camp. Chicago

Web links

Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopated Orchestra (Red Hot Jazz)
Arthur Briggs at Discogs (English)
Arthur Briggs at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

^ Obituary (New York Times, July 18, 1991) ; Bergmeier & Lotz (2010) already give St. George’s on Grenada as the place of birth . The New York Times names 1899 as the year of birth and Charleston (South Carolina) as the place of birth . For reasons Briggs Aging and Getting American Citizenship, see the Travis Atria Better Days Will Come Again monograph . Bergmeier & Lotz (2010) maintain that they were born in 1899, despite Briggs declaring that they were born in 1901.
↑ According to John Chilton Who’s Who of Jazz - Storyville to Swing Street London 1985, p. 46, there is no evidence that he ever played in this orchestra.
↑ Since he knew a lot about the orchestra, Bergmeier & Lotz assume that he may have lived in Charleston in 1971 or 1918.
↑ Emile Henceval Dictionnaire du jazz à Bruxelles et en Wallonie Liege 1991, pp. 112, 287, 307
↑ Briggs was not the first black orchestra conductor to work in Germany. Almost two years before him, Sam Wooding's orchestra gave a guest performance in Europe and made several recordings in Berlin.
↑ Gold was the most famous Polish salon orchestra conductor at the time, comparable to German Kapellmeister such as Paul Godwin or Dajos Béla .
↑ cf. Rainer E. Lotz, Discography of German Dance Music, Volume 3. - Bonn: Birgit Lotz Verlag, 1994 (viii, pp. 559-836). - ISBN 3-9802656-9-2 / ISBN 978-3-9802656-9-0
↑ Travis Atria: The Incredible Story of Arthur Briggs, the Harlem Jazz Trumpeter in a Nazi Prison Camp. In: paste. February 11, 2020, accessed July 7, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Briggs, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Briggs, James Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American trumpeter, orchestra leader and jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH	April 9, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH	Grenada
DATE OF DEATH	July 15, 1991
Place of death	Chantilly

[1] Obituary (New York Times, July 18, 1991) ; Bergmeier & Lotz (2010) already give St. George’s on Grenada as the place of birth . The New York Times names 1899 as the year of birth and Charleston (South Carolina) as the place of birth . For reasons Briggs Aging and Getting American Citizenship, see the Travis Atria Better Days Will Come Again monograph . Bergmeier & Lotz (2010) maintain that they were born in 1899, despite Briggs declaring that they were born in 1901.

[2] According to John Chilton Who’s Who of Jazz - Storyville to Swing Street London 1985, p. 46, there is no evidence that he ever played in this orchestra.

[3] Since he knew a lot about the orchestra, Bergmeier & Lotz assume that he may have lived in Charleston in 1971 or 1918.

[4] Emile Henceval Dictionnaire du jazz à Bruxelles et en Wallonie Liege 1991, pp. 112, 287, 307

[5] Briggs was not the first black orchestra conductor to work in Germany. Almost two years before him, Sam Wooding's orchestra gave a guest performance in Europe and made several recordings in Berlin.

[6] Gold was the most famous Polish salon orchestra conductor at the time, comparable to German Kapellmeister such as Paul Godwin or Dajos Béla .

[7] . Rainer E. Lotz, Discography of German Dance Music, Volume 3. - Bonn: Birgit Lotz Verlag, 1994 (viii, pp. 559-836). - ISBN 3-9802656-9-2 / ISBN 978-3-9802656-9-0

[8] Travis Atria: The Incredible Story of Arthur Briggs, the Harlem Jazz Trumpeter in a Nazi Prison Camp. In: paste. February 11, 2020, accessed July 7, 2020 .