Papa Celestin
| Papa Celestin | |
|---|---|
Papa Celestin (foreground) with Alphonse Picou. Photo by Stanley Kubrick, 1950
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Oscar Celestin |
| Born | January 1, 1884 |
| Origin |
 Napoleonville, Louisiana, USA
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| Died | December 15, 1954 (aged 70) |
| Genres |
Dixieland Jazz |
| Occupation(s) |
Trumpeter Cornetist Vocalist Bandleader |
| Instruments | Trumpet, Cornet |
| Years active | 1900s–1954 |
| Labels | Okeh Records, Columbia, Southland |
| Associated acts | Tuxedo Brass Band |
Oscar "Papa" Celestin (January 1, 1884 in Napoleonville, Louisiana – December 15, 1954) was an American jazz bandleader, trumpeter, cornetist and vocalist.
Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son of a sugar-cane cutter. In his youth he worked on rural Louisiana plantations. Eager for a better life, he worked as a cook for the Texas & Pacific Railroad, saved up money and bought used musical instruments. He played guitar and trombone before deciding on cornet as his main instrument. He took music lessons from Claiborne Williams, who traveled down the Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville. He played with the Algiers Brass Band by the early 1900s, and with various small town bands before moving to New Orleans in 1904, at age 20.
In New Orleans he played with the Imperial, Indiana, Henry Allen senior's Olympia Brass Band, and Jack Carey's dance band; early in his career he was sometimes known as "Sonny" Celestin. About 1910 he landed a job as leader of the house band at the Tuxedo Dance Hall on North Franklin St. at the edge of Storyville. He kept the name "Tuxedo" for the name of the band after the Dance Hall closed. Dressing the band in tuxedos, the Tuxedo became one of the most popular bands hired for society functions, both black and white. For years Celestin co-led the Tuxedo Band with trombonist William Ridgely. They made their first recordings with the band during the Okeh Records field trip to New Orleans in 1925. Shortly after Ridgely and Celestin had a falling out and for about 5 years led competing "Tuxedo" bands. Celestin's Original Tuxedo Orchestra made an additional series of recordings for Columbia Records through the rest of the 1920s. In addition to the Tuxedo Orchestra, Celestin led the Tuxedo Brass Band, one of the top brass bands in the city. Such notables through the years as trombonist Bill Mathews, pianist Octave Crosby, drummer Christopher Goldston, cornetist Joe Oliver, trumpeter Mutt Carey, clarinetist Alphonse Picou, bassist Ricard Alexis and trumpeter Louis Armstrong played in the Original Tuxedo Orchestra with Celestin.
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