Buddy Christian

Narcisse J. "Buddy" Christian (1895? - 1958?) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and pianist.

Christian worked professionally as a pianist starting in the early 1910s. He played in New Orleans with Peter Bocage in 1912-1913 and with King Oliver at Lala's Cafe in the middle of the decade. Around 1920 he moved to New York City, where he began playing banjo in addition to piano. He played with Lucille Hegamin, June Clark, and the Red Onion Jazz Babies, and played in the studio on Clarence Williams's sessions, including Eva Taylor and the Blue Five (with Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet). He can also be heard on Bessie Smith recordings made in 1923.

In 1926, he recorded under his own name, and continued working as a session musician for recordings with Charles Matson, New Orleans Willie Jackson, and blues musicians. He and Fred Jennings played in a banjo duo in 1929. After 1930 Christian left active performance.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 21, 1885 (New Orleans), Died 1958 (New Orleans)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1928

Roles Represented in DAHR: banjo, leader, songwriter, guitar, composer

Notes: Given name: Narcisse Joseph Christian.

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

Recordings (Results 101-105 of 105 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
OKeh 80034 10-in. 5/13/1926 Nina Lee Buddy Christian's Four Cry-Babies Male vocal quartet, with banjo and piano leader, instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 80035 10-in. 5/13/1926 Jonah's ridin' on his mule Buddy Christian's Four Cry-Babies Male vocal quartet, with banjo and piano instrumentalist, banjo, leader  
OKeh 80039 10-in. 5/26/1926 Jonah's riding on his mule Buddy Christian's Four Cry-Babies Vocal quartet, with banjo and piano leader  
OKeh 80040 10-in. 5/26/1926 Nina Lee Buddy Christian's Four Cry-Babies Vocal quartet leader, composer  
Brunswick 12078-12081 10-in. 12/11/1923 Gimme blues Ray Miller Orchestra Jazz/dance band songwriter  
(Results 101-105 of 105 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Christian, Buddy," accessed April 24, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111966.

Christian, Buddy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111966.

"Christian, Buddy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111966

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.