Souchon, Edmond (II; aka “Doc”)

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Souchon, Edmond (II; aka “Doc”)

Souchon, Edmond (II; aka “Doc”), early jazz guitarist, writer; long-time member of the Six and Seven Eighths Jazz Band; b. New Orleans, Oct. 25, 1897; d. there, Aug. 24, 1968. Raised in New Orleans, he trained to be a doctor in Chicago before returning home. Self-taught on guitar, he was one of the original members of the Six and Seven Eighths Band, a string band that originally had nine members. The original band was active during most of the teens. During the “Dixieland” revival of the late 1940s, the band was reorganized as a quartet, and recorded and toured from 1949 through the early 1960s. Souchon also gigged with other revival bands during this period and led his own ensembles. He was active in sparking interest in New Orleans jazz history, and was one of the first presidents of the New Orleans Jazz Club. He edited its newsletter from 1951 until his death. He also was a key force behind the founding of the National Jazz Foundation in 1942, and a decade later helped establish the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Discography

High Society (1949).

—Lewis Porter