Empire of Sin (63 page)

  
2
Mayann had started working as a domestic …
 Mayann working for Matranga per Brothers,
Armstrong’s New Orleans
, 167.

  
3
he would later adopt him …
 Teachout,
Pops
, 43–44.

  
4
“I had noticed that the boys …”
and Armstrong’s description of Nootsy from Armstrong,
Satchmo
, 86.

  
5
“bad, strong women” …
 Teachout,
Pops
, 43.

  
6
“I wouldn’t think of staying away …”
This and all quotes from Nootsy knife incident per Armstrong,
Satchmo
, 87–88.

  
7
“People lined up outside …”
The story of Armstrong’s replacing Oliver is from the oral history of Manetta and Ory of August 26, 1958, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.

  
8
“I’d play eight bars …”
Brothers,
Armstrong’s New Orleans
, 290–91.

  
9
developing his skills on other instruments …
 Chilton,
Bechet
, 18, 22–23.

10
he’d learned George Baquet’s old trick …
 Chilton,
Bechet
, 21.

11
“Mr. Basha …”
is from the
Chicago Defender
of October 7, 1916, quoted in Chilton,
Bechet
, 23.

12
Clarence Williams put together a traveling vaudeville troupe …
 Chilton,
Bechet
, 23.

13
“When we went down to the carnival ground …”
Bechet,
Treat It Gentle
, 96.

14
“I felt that stick hit …”
The story of the white escort per Bechet,
Treat It Gentle
, 99–101.

15
“could play the hell out of that guitar …”
The story of Bechet’s night in jail per Bechet,
Treat It Gentle
, 96–110 (all quotes); Chilton,
Bechet
, 23–24.

16
newspaper clippings from the road …
 Keppard sending clippings per Bechet,
Treat It Gentle
, 111.

17
first jazz recordings for Victor in New York …
 ODJB’s first jazz recordings noted in McCusker,
Creole Trombone
, 116.

18
“I don’t care what you say …”
Bechet on why whites can’t play jazz in Bechet,
Treat It Gentle
, 114–15. [NB: Nick LaRocca told Al Rose (see Rose,
I Remember Jazz
, 106) that the ODJB played the music so fast in order to fit it on one side of a 78-rpm record, and that after the recording, audiences demanded that they play at that tempo.]

19
changed up the composition of their ensembles …
 Black groups changing lineup to match ODJB per McCusker,
Creole Trombone
, 117.

20
“By 1917 jazz, the Southern folk music …”
Carney, “Creation of Early Jazz,” 311.

21
“A lot of these guys were running wild …”
On the drafting of jazzmen, see the oral history of Ory and Manetta of August 26, 1958, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.

22
forcing substantial layoffs …
 Layoffs due to enforcement of Gay-Shattuck per Long, “Willie Piazza,” 9; see also Levy, “Bards and Bawds.”

23
“spy on business people” …
 Newman’s plainclothes campaign per the NODI of June 19, 1917.

24
“You might just as well telephone …”
as per the NOTP of June 20, 1917.

25
“I do not believe I could have slept …”
as per the NOTP of June 20, 1917.

26
“The people of New Orleans have seen …”
as per the NOTP of June 20, 1917.

27
“Men must live straight to shoot straight” …
 Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 229.

28
“The greatest menace to the vitality …”
Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 228–30.

29
“shoot the lewd women …”
Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 230.

30
sailors sneaking into Storyville …
 Soldiers in civilian clothes per Long,
Babylon
, 228.

31
“accosting soldiers as they enter …”
as per the NODI of July 1, 1917.

32
a penalty of $1,000 …
 as per the NODI of July 1, 1917.

33
“Situation here not substantially improved …”
Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 234–35.

34
orders to officially close the restricted district …
 The meeting between the Fosdick representative and Mayor Behrman per the NODS of November 12, 1917.

35
hastily organized junket …
 For Behrman’s trip to DC, see Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 237.

36
“would not require anything to be done …”
Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 237.

37
“I am at a loss …”
as per the NODS of November 12, 1917.

38
“intense desire that immediate action be taken” …
 For the decision by Daniels and the Storyville closing ordinance, see Long,
Babylon
, 227, and Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 238.

39
“Our city government has believed …”
Rose,
Storyville
, 183.

40
Tom Anderson would somehow save the day …
 District pinning hopes on Tom Anderson per Rose,
Storyville
, 47.

41
he had taken up with a madam …
 For details of Anderson’s taking up with Dix, see
Succession of Anderson
.

42
“witty, pretty, and natty” …
 Kane,
Queen New Orleans
, 47.

43
“irreparable injury and damage” …
 For Dix’s court case, see especially Mir, “Marketplace,” 165–66.

44
conspiring to burn their buildings …
 For arson rumors in Storyville, see Rose,
Storyville
, 167.

45
insurance companies soon began canceling policies …
 Kane,
Queen New Orleans
, 290.

46
Dix’s request for an injunction was denied …
 as per the NODI of November 12, 1917.

47
“Storyville was unusually quiet …”
as per the NODI of November 11, 1917.

48
“Many were the eloquent arguments …”
Closing of Storyville per the NODS of November 13, 1917.

49
sold under duress for the sum of $1.25
 … Sale of Willie Piazza’s white piano per Rose,
Storyville
, 168.

50
“As late as 11:30 …”
as per the NODS of November 13, 1917.

51
“It sure was a sad scene …”
Armstrong,
Satchmo
, 96–97.

52
“put itself in line …”
as per the NODS of November 14, 1917.

53
federal efforts to keep an eye on neighborhood …
 as per the NOTP of November 18, 1917.

54
regular police raids …
 as per the NOTP of November 13, 1917.

55
program to retrain former prostitutes …
 as per the NODI of November 15, 1917, and the NODS of November 18, 1917.

56
“After Storyville closed down …”
Bergreen,
Extravagant Life
, 110.

57
a grandfather twice over …
 This and other details per
Succession of Anderson
.

58
forbade dancing and the playing of any kind of music …
 as per the NOTP of September 18, 1918.

59
“As a citizen and taxpayer …”
as per the NOTP of July 9, 1918.

60
he turned the Annex over …
 Annex to Struve per
Succession of Anderson
.

61
“Tom Anderson’s place in Rampart Street …”
as per the NOTP of September 18, 1918.

62
the Arlington into the hands of his son-in-law …
 Day-to-day control of Arlington to Delsa per
Succession of Anderson
.

63
“it might give the nation’s enemies …”
Tame Mardi Gras of 1918 per Mitchell,
Mardi Gras Day
, 167.

64
The Spanish flu epidemic …
 Armstrong,
Satchmo
, 92, 113.

65
“Why is the jass music?”
The editorial “Jass and Jassism” was in the NOTP of June 20, 1918.

66
unusually large number of letters to the editor …
 Letters in the June 22, 23, and 25, 1918, editions of the NOTP.

67
“a departure from the proper in music” …
 as per the NOTP of June 23, 1918.

Chapter 17: A Killer in the Night

Much unsubstantiated nonsense has been written about the axman incident over the years, starting with Tallant’s account in
Ready to Hang
(see my reservations in the Afterword) and continuing all over the Internet. The most accurate secondary source I found is
The Axman Came from Hell
by Keven McQueen, who has done yeoman service in the Louisiana prison records. I have drawn my account mostly from contemporary newspaper reports and, where they exist, the Police Homicide Reports.