Bert Kelly (jazz musician)

Bert Kelly
Bert Kelly and the members of his jazz band in 1918
Background information
Born	(1882-06-02)June 2, 1882 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
Died	January 1968 (aged 85–86) Long Beach, New York, United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, bandleader
Instruments	Banjo

Bert Kelly (June 2, 1882 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – January 1968 in Long Beach, New York) was an American musician, who pioneered jazz as a banjoist, bandleader, educator, promoter, night club owner, and night club operator. After professional stints in Seattle and San Francisco, Kelly moved to Chicago in 1914 where he flourished a banjoist, bandleader, and promoter. In 1915 — before the U.S. prohibition — he founded and operated a Chicago speakeasy called "Bert Kelly's Stables," where patrons were introduced to early jazz.

Early gigs

San Francisco

Chicago

Kelly claimed that his band, Bert Kelly's Jazz Band, was the first to publish the word "jazz" in 1915.

In the early 1920s — during U.S. prohibition — he founded and operated a Chicago speakeasy called "Bert Kelly's Stables," located at 431 Rush Street, in Chicago's Tower Town. It rapidly gained regional and national popularity as one of the jazz hotspots of the 1920s.

The first house band featured Alcide Nunez, whose featured number "Livery Stable Blues" inspired the name of the venue. Later artists at Kelly's Stables included Freddie Keppard. The brothers Johnny Dodds and Baby Dodds were featured in the house band after their break from King Oliver's band.