Lionel Ferbos, oldest New Orleans jazz musician, dies at 103

July 19, 2014 9:17 PM

Washington (AFP) - Legendary jazz trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, whose prolific career began with society bands that predated the Great Depression, died in New Orleans at the age of 103, US media reported.

Reports said Ferbos was the oldest active jazz musician in a city where music luminaries of all ages make careers playing the Big Easy's iconic style of traditional jazz.

Just two days before his death, Ferbos was feted at a 103rd birthday celebration held Thursday night at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe, a favorite jazz haunt, local WWL-TV reported.

Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Ferbos

And until recently, Ferbos fronted his own band, the Louisiana Shakers, each week at the same renowned jazz club, news reports said.

Ferbos was born on July 17, 1911, in New Orleans, and began playing the trumpet at the age of 15.

Over the years, he performed at the French Quarter Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, although this year he appeared at neither venue because of his advancing age.

He has shared the stage with musical luminaries including Maria Muldaur, Bonnie Raitt and Ani DiFranco, among many others.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/lionel-ferbos-oldest-orleans-jazz-musician-dies-103-184322261.html

Trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, 102: Jazz keeps him going

 (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

July 19, 2013 10:55 am  •  Associated Press

Music, jazz music, is what keeps Lionel Ferbos going at 102.

The Creole jazz singer and trumpeter celebrated his 102nd birthday July 17 by blowing the high notes for friends and family at the French Quarter club where he's had a standing gig for decades. He also sang at a recent birthday bash at the National World War II Museum, breaking into "When You're Smiling" as swing dancers shimmied.

Impeccable in a button-up shirt and tie, he posed for pictures all smiles. He cracked jokes about his age. And he relished the attention as he was serenaded both times with upbeat renditions of "Happy Birthday."

"I thought I'd be dead at about 60," he said, laughing.

No jazz funeral for Lionel Ferbos just yet. Yet even he finds the longevity surprising.

"Isn't that something?" he said. "But you know I never dreamed of that. I figured if I could go to about 50 I'd be doing good."

Not bad for a guy born on July 17, 1911, several months before the Titanic sank and a few years away from World War I.

Ferbos bought his first cornet at a French Quarter pawn shop at age 15. Now he's believed to be the oldest actively working musician in New Orleans _ the Mississippi River port city where aging jazz musicians thrive.

His body isn't without signs of age. He's been in and out of the hospital in recent years and had a pacemaker implanted last year. He sometimes uses a wheelchair to get around. Despite a century of wear and tear, he's still determined to sing and blow.

"He has such a memorable singing voice, and it's always a treasure whether he's playing his trumpet or singing," said Al Kennedy, a longtime friend and fan. "He is somebody that younger musicians should know about, from the way that he shows up, the way he is dressed, the way he cares for his horn, the way he plays his horn."

Asthmatic as a child, he might never have played a wind instrument at all if it had been up to his parents.

"My mother wanted me to play the banjo," he said, adding that when he saw an all-girl band playing horns, "I said if they can play, I can play."

Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/trumpeter-lionel-ferbos-jazz-keeps-him-going/article_aaa8295d-db73-52eb-b643-8e7509cce1e1.html

New Orleans jazz trumpeter Lionel Ferbos

by Rose of Sharon Witmer
New Orleans jazz trumpeter Lionel Ferbos is fast becoming the eldest statesman of his city's traditional jazz scene, and he appears to be enjoying every minute of it. Ferbos, who turned 91 in 2002, is still going strong. He attributes his long life to his wife of 68 years, Marguerite. That is about the same number of years that Ferbos has been playing jazz.

Making music may have something to do with that longevity factor too. Lionel Ferbos does not have to sit around listening to old records to learn the music of a bygone era. He was there the first time. He brings his first hand knowledge of those days to his regular gig at the Palm Court, the French Quarter mecca for traditional jazz enthusiasts.

Jazz masters Danny Barker, Pud Brown, George Lewis, and Chester Zardiswere all regulars at the Palm Court. And now it is Ferbos, with his Creole Swingers, who hold forth at the Decatur Street hot spot, thrilling the audience with tunes like "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" and "The Sobbin' Blues." Ferbos plays them the way Jelly Roll Morton said they should be played: "Soft and sweet, with plenty of rhythm."

It turns out "Pretty Baby" has enjoyed a reprise, with Louis Malle's 1978 film of the same name. Lionel Ferbos played on the soundtrack, recording with the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, headed by Lars Edegran.

The aggregation put out two other recordings: Grace and Beauty (1979) and Creole Belles (1994), in which they play archival music of the ragtime era.


Ferbos also appears with Edegranand his New Orleans Stompers on 5 Minutes More, along with dedicated traditional jazz musicians Freddie Lonzo, Bernie Attridge, Evan Christopher, and bandleader Lars Edegran. The jazz aficionado can catch Ferbos, along with Pud Brown, Lester Caliste, Les Muscutt, andPeter Badie, performing as the New Orleans Jazz Wizards on their CD, Jambalaya. Wizards they are.

In his tenth decade of life, Lionel Ferbos is as busy as ever. He performs at the French Quarter Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the Satchmo Summer Fest, where he will match other trumpeters less than half his age. He is involved in raising money to renovate the Negro Musician's Music Hall, from back when the musicians' unions were segregated. Ferbos became a member in 1932, when he played in the big bands. Ferbos recently told his story as part of the Jazz Pioneers series sponsored by the New Orleans National Jazz Park. And Lionel Ferbos has a lot to remember.

Read more: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lionel-ferbos-mn0002288979