Johnny De Droit And His New Orleans Jazz Orchestra: Johnny De Droit (cnt) Ellis Stratakos (tb) Henry Raymond (cl) Rudolph Levy (as) Frank Froeba (p) George Potter (bj) Paul De Droit (d).
Johnny De Droit born December 4th, 1892 (New Orleans), Died February 1st, 1986
Johnny De Droit was a popular cornetist who played in hotels, restaurants, and parties in New Orleans in the 1920s. Johnny De Droit & his New Orleans Orchestra, in which clarinetist Tony Parenti also played at times, was the first jazz band to play for the upper classes in New Orleans. He recorded with his orchestra from March 1924 (Brown Eyes) for Okeh on a number of records. Regular members of his band were his brother, the drummer Paul De Droit, the pianist Frank Froeba and Frank Cuny, the alto saxophonist Rudy Levy, the banjo player George Potter, the clarinetist Henry Raymond and the trombonists Ellis Stratakos and Russ Papalia. De Droit was together with cornetists like Johnny Dunn, Johnny Bayersdorffer and \"Sugar Johnny\" Smith a cornetist of the older New Orleans School before Louis Armstrong, who was mainly influenced by Joe Oliver in his mute game. The recordings he has received are - like those of the other musicians mentioned - good examples of the transition from ragtime and popular dance music to jazz Jazz idiom about.
