Jazz royalty

Jazz royalty is a term encompassing the many jazz musicians who have been termed as exceptionally musically gifted and informally granted honorific, "aristocratic" or "royal" titles as nicknames.^[1] The practice of affixing honorific titles to the names of jazz musicians goes back to New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, before the genre was commonly known as "jazz".

History

In New York City in the 1920s, Paul Whiteman was billed as the "King of Jazz". His popular band with many hit records arguably played more jazz-influenced popular music than jazz per se, but to the dismay of many later jazz fans, Whiteman's self-conferred moniker stuck, and a film The King of Jazz starring Whiteman and his band appeared in 1930. The "King of Jazz" title was a publicity stunt in 1923 by an instrument manufacturer that Whiteman endorsed.^[2]

Titles

King

King Bolden: Buddy Bolden^[3]
The King of Swing: Benny Goodman^[4]
King Oliver (Joseph Nathan Oliver)
Nat King Cole (Nathaniel Adams Coles)
King Pleasure (Clarence Beeks)

Queen

The Queen of Swing: Mildred Bailey
The Queen of Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald^[5]
The Empress of the Blues: Bessie Smith^[6]
Malaysia's Queen of Jazz: Sheila Majid^[7]
The Queen of Filipino Jazz: Katy de la Cruz^[8]

Other titles

The Prince of Darkness: Miles Davis^[9]^[10]
The Maharaja of the Keyboard: Oscar Peterson^[11]
The Duke: Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington
The Prince of Cool: Chet Baker
The Jazz Baroness: Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter
The Count: William James "Count" Basie
Lady Day: Billie Holiday
The Senator: Eugene Wright^[12]
The Ambassador: Louis Armstrong^[12]
Prez (The President): Lester Young^[13]

References

^ "How did jazz musicians end up with all those nicknames?", section: "Performers as Royalty", Allen, Tim, Oxford Dictionaries, April 7, 2015
^ Berrett, Joshua (2004). Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz. Yale University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-300-10384-7.
^ Marquis, Donald M. (2005). In Search of Buddy Bolden: First Man of Jazz. LSU Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-80713-093-3.
^ Yanow, Scott (2003). Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years. Backbeat Books. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-87930-755-4.
^ "Google Doodle honours 'Queen of Jazz' Ella Fitzgerald on 96th birthday". independent.co.uk. 25 April 2013.
^ "Bessie Smith". Biography.
^ "Malaysia's Queen of Jazz Sheila Majid & Dr Soo Wincci for Christmas!". artiste.com.my.
^ "Katy De La Cruz: Remembering Mommy Kate". Archived from the original on 16 August 2007.
^ Ken Franckling (August 1986). "Miles Davis -- Shining a Light on the Prince of Darkness". Jazz Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017. The well-tended Prince of Darkness persona is gone this way
^ Robin D. G. Kelley (May 13, 2001). "Miles Davis: The Chameleon of Cool; A Jazz Genius In the Guise Of a Hustler". New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
^ "Jazz Great Oscar Peterson Dies". CNN. Associated Press. December 25, 2007. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008. Duke Ellington referred to him as 'Maharajah of the keyboard'
^ ^a ^b Von Eschen, Penny M. (2004). Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 0674015010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ Michael Westmore (August 27, 2023). "Lester Young: The Sublime Sound of the Prez". Jazz Daily. Retrieved September 20, 2024.

[1] "How did jazz musicians end up with all those nicknames?", section: "Performers as Royalty", Allen, Tim, Oxford Dictionaries, April 7, 2015

[2] Berrett, Joshua (2004). Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz. Yale University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-300-10384-7.

[3] Marquis, Donald M. (2005). In Search of Buddy Bolden: First Man of Jazz. LSU Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-80713-093-3.

[4] Yanow, Scott (2003). Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years. Backbeat Books. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-87930-755-4.

[5] "Google Doodle honours 'Queen of Jazz' Ella Fitzgerald on 96th birthday". independent.co.uk. 25 April 2013.

[6] "Bessie Smith". Biography.

[7] "Malaysia's Queen of Jazz Sheila Majid & Dr Soo Wincci for Christmas!". artiste.com.my.

[8] "Katy De La Cruz: Remembering Mommy Kate". Archived from the original on 16 August 2007.

[9] Ken Franckling (August 1986). "Miles Davis -- Shining a Light on the Prince of Darkness". Jazz Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017. The well-tended Prince of Darkness persona is gone this way

[10] Robin D. G. Kelley (May 13, 2001). "Miles Davis: The Chameleon of Cool; A Jazz Genius In the Guise Of a Hustler". New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2008.

[11] "Jazz Great Oscar Peterson Dies". CNN. Associated Press. December 25, 2007. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008. Duke Ellington referred to him as 'Maharajah of the keyboard'

[:0-12] Von Eschen, Penny M. (2004). Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 0674015010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[13] Michael Westmore (August 27, 2023). "Lester Young: The Sublime Sound of the Prez". Jazz Daily. Retrieved September 20, 2024.

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