Sydney Bechet

Sidney Joseph Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, first recording in July 1923, a few months after trumpeter Louis Armstrong's recording debut with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. His erratic temper hampered his music career, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim. Bechet spent much of his later life in France.