Monk Hazel

Arthur Hazel (August 15, 1903, Harvey, Louisiana - March 5, 1968, New Orleans, Louisiana), better known as Monk Hazel, was a jazz drummer.

In addition to being a well regarded drummer, Hazel occasionally took solos on brass instruments, notably cornet and melophone. Monk Hazel was a fixture on the New Orleans music scene for decades. Hazel's father was a drummer as well. Early on Monk played drums with Emmett Hardy, who gave him his first cornet, and then with Stalebread Lacombe. In the 1920s, Hazel worked with many bands including those led by Abbie Brunies (the Halfway House Orchestra), Tony Parenti (with whom he recorded in 1925) and Johnny Wiggs. He led his own Bienville Roof Orchestra (which played for atop the Bienville Hotel at Lee Circle, and made recordings in 1928) and then spent time in New York playing with Johnny Wiggs, Jack Pettis and with his own group (1929–31). Hazel was in Hollywood for a period (working with Gene Austin) but eventually came back to New Orleans, performing with Joe Caprano (1937) and the Lloyd Danton Quintet. Hazel spent 1942-43 in the Army and then worked for a time outside of music. However during his final 20 years, Hazel was once again quite active in New Orleans, performing with Sharkey Bonano, George Girard, Mike Lala, Santo Pecora and virtually every other important name in New Orleans jazz. As a leader, Monk Hazel recorded four titles in 1928 for Brunswick Records and a full album for Southland Records in 1954; Pete Fountain and Al Hirt were among his sidemen on the latter recording.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 15, 1903 (Louisiana), Died March 5, 1968 (New Orleans)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928

Roles Represented in DAHR: leader

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick NOR747 10-in. Nov. 1928 Sizzling the blues Beinville Roof Orchestra ; Sharkey Bonano ; Monk Hazel Jazz/dance band leader  
Brunswick NOR748 10-in. Nov. 1928 High society Beinville Roof Orchestra ; Sharkey Bonano ; Monk Hazel Jazz/dance band leader  
Brunswick NOR749 10-in. Nov. 1928 Ideas Beinville Roof Orchestra ; Sharkey Bonano ; Monk Hazel Jazz/dance band, with vocal leader  
Brunswick NOR750 10-in. Nov. 1928 Git-wit-it Beinville Roof Orchestra ; Sharkey Bonano ; Monk Hazel Jazz/dance band leader  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hazel, Monk," accessed March 27, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109708.

Hazel, Monk. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109708.

"Hazel, Monk." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 27 March 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109708

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