James Brown Humphrey

James Brown Humphrey, also known as "Professor Jim" Humphrey (1859 -1937) was a musician, bandleader, and music instructor in New Orleans, Louisiana and central figure in the formation of jazz as a contemporary musical art form. Humphrey predates the jazz genre as an active performer and is not himself considered a jazz musician. However, his involvement in the formal training of large numbers of musicians along the southern plantation belt of the Mississippi River delta during the immediate years following the reconstruction era resulted in many virtuoso performers who would go on to originate jazz as a distinct musical genre. Consequently, he is regarded by some in the jazz aficionado community to be "the grandfather of jazz".

Humphrey was born on the Cornland plantation in Sellers, Louisiana, a former town northwest of New Orleans in St. Charles Parish that is now part of Norco, Louisiana. The son of a slaveholder and a slave, he was sent away by his father to live with a free black family. Although exiled from his original birthplace, his father continued to support him financially. This support included a monetary allocation for music lessons. Due to this exposure, Humphrey became a proficient classically trained musician.

In adulthood, Humphrey would go on to find work as classical musician, playing cornet in the Bloom Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans. He also performed in the Pelican Brass Band, most often playing trumpet.

As a music teacher, he would travel the plantation belt, usually by train, organizing brass bands on the plantations along the Mississippi River. Visiting weekly, he would schedule brass band rehearsals at each location, often sleeping overnight before moving on to the next location. Humphrey also taught at New Orleans University on Saturdays.

Humphrey's clientele on the plantations was primarily composed of field laborers. From the 1880s to around 1915, many large slave-era plantations along the Mississippi River delta still existed; only now with African-American laborers as paid field hands. There was heavy labor competition at the time. At many of the plantations on which Humphrey offered his services as a music instructor, he was contracted by plantation owners to do so as an added incentive to lure the most eligible laborers.

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