Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans
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63 “The Italians of New Orleans …” as per the NODI of May 19, 1912.
64 “Many theories have been advanced …” as per the NODS of May 17, 1912.
65 two new laws … For the new restrictions in Storyville, see Levy, “Bards and Bawds,” 75–6.
66 prohibition against interracial concubinage … See Long, Babylon, 209.
67 “No subterfuges [would] be tolerated” … Smith’s campaign against Anderson’s ball per Leathem, “Carnival,” 227–29.
68 “Every lover of decency and morality …” as per the NODP of March 6, 1911.
69 fleeing a potential murder charge in New York … For Gyp the Blood’s arrival in New Orleans, see the NODP of March 25, 1913.
70 early-morning hours of Easter Monday 1913 … The best account of the Tuxedo shootout is the contemporary newspaper accounts and the Police Homicide Reports for Phillips and Parker. See also Rose, Storyville, 68, and Charters, “Storyville,” 3.
71 began verbally abusing the Parkers … The argument between Parker and Phillips as per the NODP of March 25, 1913, and the NODS of March 24, 1913.
72 “Come on, give us a drink …” and subsequent eyewitness quotes in this scene per the NODS of March 24, 1913.
73 no meaningful consensus on who shot whom … Conflicting testimony about the shooting melee (as described in later court testimony) per the NODPs of December 20, 1913, and January 14–17, 1914.
74 a black porter named Willie Henderson … Henderson wounded per Rose, Storyville, 68.
75 “As long as the operators of these resorts …” is quoted in the NODP of March 25, 1913.
76 “You will at once take up all permits …” is quoted in the NODS of March 24, 1913.
Chapter 14: Hard Times
1 a detrimental ripple effect … For the depressed climate in Storyville after the Tuxedo shooting, see especially Levy, “Bards and Bawds,” 84–5.
2 “New Orleans seems to have put the kibosh …” as per the NODP of March 30, 1913.
3 an increased police presence … Levy, “Bards and Bawds,” 85
4 “It is passing strange …” as per the NODP of March 30, 1913.
5 the number of prostitutes working … 700 prostitutes, 8 women at Mahogany Hall, etc., per Rose, Storyville, 71.
6 bands reduced the number of players in their rosters … per Levy, “Bards and Bawds,” 84.
7 jazzmen were forced to go back to their day jobs … Armstrong, In His Own Words, 25.
8 New Orleans caught the tango fever … For the rise of the Tango Belt, see Levy, “Bards and Bawds,” 85.
9 “daylight between the dancers …” Leathem, “Carnival,” 223–24.
10 Violators were promptly arrested … See the NODI of December 10, 1914.
11 “had closed down the lid so tight …” as per the NODI of March 4, 1915.
12 a new group called the Original Creole Band … Reorganization of Tuxedo band per Rose, Storyville, 69 and Gushee, Pioneers, 76.
13 touring the vaudeville circuit … Original Creole Band’s departure per Charters, Trumpet Around the Corner, 104–05.
14 spending much of his time on the road … Jelly Roll Morton on the road per Reich and Gaines, Jelly’s Blues, 55–56.
15 “Boy, listen to that music …” Frisco and McDermott story as per Charters, Trumpet Around the Corner, 112–16 (other versions of the story exist).
16 the name “jass” or “jazz” … For the derivation of the term “jazz,” see especially Charters, Trumpet Around the Corner,117 (who attributes it to L.A. sportswriters) and Lester, “New Negro of Jazz.”
17 “ballyhoo bands” … Jack Laine’s ballyhoo bands per Charters, Trumpet Around the Corner, 129.
18 “pointing his cornet skyward …” Brunn, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, 43–44.
19 advised James to go hear LaRocca … Stein’s Dixie Jass Band story as per Charters, Trumpet Around the Corner, 130 (again, other versions exist).
20 a reshuffling of personnel … Bechet and Oliver replacing Keppard and Baquet per Chilton, Bechet, 19.
21 more polished style … For the popularity of Ory’s jazz among white audiences, see Anderson, “Dodds,” 422.
22 “I like the way you play …” McCusker, Creole Trombone, 107.
23 “You’re doing a good job …” Ory hearing Armstrong at Labor Day parade per McCusker, Creole Trombone, 102; see also Ory’s oral history of April 20, 1957 in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
24 run with strict military discipline … For the Waif’s Home, see especially Buckingham, “Waifs’ Home,” and Kay Thompson, “Louis and the Waif’s Home.”
25 “a bad stamp” … Armstrong, “Growing Up,” 28.
26 “Davis didn’t like me too much …” Thompson, “Louis and the Waif’s Home,” 9.
27 First, Davis allowed Louis to play the tambourine … For Louis being trusted with various instruments, see Teachout, Pops, 34–35; also Thompson, “Louis.”
28 “some rich white folks” … Louis listening to jazz while lying on his bunk per Armstrong, Satchmo, 52.
29 “Me and music got married …” Teachout, Pops, 36.
30 “I do believe that my whole success …” Teachout, Pops, 39.
31 “that great big room …” Teachout, Pops, 38.
32 work hauling coal … Teachout, Pops, 39–40.
33 “simple, pimply-faced boys” … Thompson, “Louis.”
34 “All you have to do …” Teachout, Pops, 39.
35 “better than Bolden …” Armstrong, In His Own Words, 38.
36 “I’d just stand there …” Rose, Storyville, 123.
37 “As long as [Oliver] was blowing …” Armstrong, In His Own Words, 14, 38.
38 “ which I loved” … Early mentorship with Oliver, see especially Armstrong, “Growing Up,” 29.
39 “I always knew …” Brothers, Armstrong’s New Orleans, 129.
40 “Benny asked me …” Black Benny bringing Armstrong to National Park per McCusker, Creole Trombone, 102–3.
41 “You think you can play …” For Black Benny and Bechet, see Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 92–93.
42 “We went out [afterward] and bought some beer …” Bechet and Armstrong advertising gig per Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 93.
43 “For the rest of their lives …” Chilton, Bechet, 22.
44 “All the bands wanted Benny …” Armstrong, “Growing Up,” 32.
45 “Our bandstand was right by the door …” Armstrong, “Growing Up,” 33.
46 One night in 1915 at Pete Lala’s … Bechet and Oliver witness shooting per Chilton, Bechet, 21.
47 “All of a sudden I saw …” Incident at Ponce’s per Armstrong, Satchmo, 60–61.
48 police would have to break up parades … Lester, “New Negro of Jazz,” 65.
49 “Lots of times the both races …” Brothers, Armstrong’s New Orleans, 16.
50 “People were hearing a lot of excitement …” Lester, “New Negro of Jazz,” 88.
51 “Little girl, how I have been fooling you …” For Josie Arlington’s illness, and the story of her revelations to Anna Deubler (including all quotes), see Succession of Deubler.
52 “a line of flower-freighted carriages” For Mary Deubler/Josie Arlington’s death and funeral, see the NODI of February 17, 1914.
53 “Though her life had been spent …” as per the NODI of February 17, 1914.
54 “Take her, Tom …” For the Anna Deubler–Thomas Brady marriage, see Succession of Deubler.
55 “done up in this deal” … For Anderson suing the Bradys, see Anderson vs. Deubler, Civil District Court, Docket No. 125,290A.
56 “Segregation of immoral women …” The “No Necessary Evil” editorial was in the NODI of February 14, 1914.
Chapter 15: The New Prohibitionists
For background on the Gordon sisters, see especially Kathryn W. Kemp’s “Jean and Kate Gordon,” Rebecca S. Carrasco’s “The Gift House,” and Carmen Lindig’s The Path from the Parlor.
/> 1 “I’m tired …” The death of W. S. Parkerson is principally drawn from newspaper accounts, particularly the NODPs of February 11 and 15 (from which come all quotes in this section).
2 a new commissioner for public safety … For Harold Newman’s appointment, see the NODP of Semptember 14, 1912; more background on Newman from Stanonis, 107–08.
3 Two figures in particular … The Gordons’ background per Lindig, Path from the Parlor, 110, and Kemp, “Jean and Kate.”
4 “because we never cared …” Kemp, “Jean and Kate,” 389.
5 “Took Lucille Decoux …” Kemp, “Jean and Kate,” 398.
6 “and I declined …” Kemp, “Jean and Kate,” 393.
7 “stamp out of His world the unfit” … Kemp, “Jean and Kate,” 398.
8 “If you don’t want the ballot for yourselves …” as per the NODI of January 14, 1914.
9 to close all prostitution districts … See Levy, “Bards and Bawds,” 86.
10 “the Joan of Arc of New Orleans” … Literary Digest, March 24, 1917.
11 “They finally got Moreci …” as per the NOTP of October 11, 1938.
12 a notorious and much-feared Black Hander … For Doc Monfre, see the NODP of December 7, 1907; also State of Louisiana v. Joseph Monfre, Docket No. 35993.
13 “thrust himself forward” … Monfre involvement in Lamana case per the NODP of December 8, 1907; see also the NODPs of January 4, 1907, and of January 4, 1917.
14 arrested for bombing the grocery-saloon … Monfre and the grocery bombings per the NODPs of June 12 and 17, 1908.
15 living in the Schiambras’ neighborhood … Mention of Monfre in Schiambra murder per the NODP of May 17, 1912.
16 “Vincent Moreci was the best friend I had” … as per the NODS of November 20, 1915.
17 a virtual orgy of bloodshed … For the killings of early 1916, see Warner, Informer, 9, as well as the NODS of May 14, 1916 and the NODIs of May 13 through 15, 1916.
18 “Black Hand shootings and murders …” as per the NODI of May 16, 1916.
19 “I believe you will find that …” as per the NODS of May 17, 1916.
20 “When we get through with our work …” as per the NODI of May 16, 1916.
21 “We have in the City of New Orleans a Sodom …” The scene of the Citizens League meeting, including all quotes are from the NODS of January 16, 1917.
22 “that the most serious and hopeful reform …” Literary Digest, March 24, 1917, 821.
23 “drop the lid” … as per the NOTP of January 24, 1917.
24 “The cabarets as they have been conducted …” as per the NODS of January 16, 1917.
25 “must have a licensed restaurant attached” … Atlanta Constitution, January 16, 1917.
26 “The appearance of a white man …” is quoted in Long, Babylon, 216.
27 describing the women only as “white” or “colored” … For the change in Blue Book classification of race, see Long, Babylon, 212.
28 unanimously passed Ordinance 4118 … See Long, Babylon, 191, 225.
29 filed suit against the city … For the White and Piazza suits, see Mir, “Marketplace,” 159–60; Long, Babylon, 192; Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 186–87.
30 lobbied to host a military encampment … For the lobbying to get Camp Nicholls, see especially Mir, “Marketplace,” 163.
31 federal government in times of war had powers … For provisions of the Selective Service Act of 1917, see Mir, “Marketplace,” 164.
Chapter 16: Exodus
1 Ever since the shooting incident … For the closing of Ponce’s, see Teachout, Pops, 42–43.
2 Mayann had started working as a domestic … Mayann working for Matranga per Brothers, Armstrong’s New Orleans, 167.
3 he would later adopt him … Teachout, Pops, 43–44.
4 “I had noticed that the boys …” and Armstrong’s description of Nootsy from Armstrong, Satchmo, 86.
5 “bad, strong women” … Teachout, Pops, 43.
6 “I wouldn’t think of staying away …” This and all quotes from Nootsy knife incident per Armstrong, Satchmo, 87–88.
7 “People lined up outside …” The story of Armstrong’s replacing Oliver is from the oral history of Manetta and Ory of August 26, 1958, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
8 “I’d play eight bars …” Brothers, Armstrong’s New Orleans, 290–91.
9 developing his skills on other instruments … Chilton, Bechet, 18, 22–23.
10 he’d learned George Baquet’s old trick … Chilton, Bechet, 21.
11 “Mr. Basha …” is from the Chicago Defender of October 7, 1916, quoted in Chilton, Bechet, 23.
12 Clarence Williams put together a traveling vaudeville troupe … Chilton, Bechet, 23.
13 “When we went down to the carnival ground …” Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 96.
14 “I felt that stick hit …” The story of the white escort per Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 99–101.
15 “could play the hell out of that guitar …” The story of Bechet’s night in jail per Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 96–110 (all quotes); Chilton, Bechet, 23–24.
16 newspaper clippings from the road … Keppard sending clippings per Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 111.
17 first jazz recordings for Victor in New York … ODJB’s first jazz recordings noted in McCusker, Creole Trombone, 116.
18 “I don’t care what you say …” Bechet on why whites can’t play jazz in Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 114–15. [NB: Nick LaRocca told Al Rose (see Rose, I Remember Jazz, 106) that the ODJB played the music so fast in order to fit it on one side of a 78-rpm record, and that after the recording, audiences demanded that they play at that tempo.]
19 changed up the composition of their ensembles … Black groups changing lineup to match ODJB per McCusker, Creole Trombone, 117.
20 “By 1917 jazz, the Southern folk music …” Carney, “Creation of Early Jazz,” 311.
21 “A lot of these guys were running wild …” On the drafting of jazzmen, see the oral history of Ory and Manetta of August 26, 1958, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
22 forcing substantial layoffs … Layoffs due to enforcement of Gay-Shattuck per Long, “Willie Piazza,” 9; see also Levy, “Bards and Bawds.”
23 “spy on business people” … Newman’s plainclothes campaign per the NODI of June 19, 1917.
24 “You might just as well telephone …” as per the NOTP of June 20, 1917.
25 “I do not believe I could have slept …” as per the NOTP of June 20, 1917.
26 “The people of New Orleans have seen …” as per the NOTP of June 20, 1917.
27 “Men must live straight to shoot straight” … Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 229.
28 “The greatest menace to the vitality …” Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 228–30.
29 “shoot the lewd women …” Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 230.
30 sailors sneaking into Storyville … Soldiers in civilian clothes per Long, Babylon, 228.
31 “accosting soldiers as they enter …” as per the NODI of July 1, 1917.
32 a penalty of $1,000 … as per the NODI of July 1, 1917.
33 “Situation here not substantially improved …” Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 234–35.
34 orders to officially close the restricted district … The meeting between the Fosdick representative and Mayor Behrman per the NODS of November 12, 1917.
35 hastily organized junket … For Behrman’s trip to DC, see Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 237.
36 “would not require anything to be done …” Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 237.
37 “I am at a loss …” as per the NODS of November 12, 1917.
38 “intense desire that immediate action be taken” … For the decision by Daniels and the Storyville closing ordinance, see Long, Babylon, 227, and Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 238.
39 “Our city government has believed …” Rose, Storyville, 183.
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bsp; 40 Tom Anderson would somehow save the day … District pinning hopes on Tom Anderson per Rose, Storyville, 47.
41 he had taken up with a madam … For details of Anderson’s taking up with Dix, see Succession of Anderson.
42 “witty, pretty, and natty” … Kane, Queen New Orleans, 47.
43 “irreparable injury and damage” … For Dix’s court case, see especially Mir, “Marketplace,” 165–66.
44 conspiring to burn their buildings … For arson rumors in Storyville, see Rose, Storyville, 167.
45 insurance companies soon began canceling policies … Kane, Queen New Orleans, 290.
46 Dix’s request for an injunction was denied … as per the NODI of November 12, 1917.
47 “Storyville was unusually quiet …” as per the NODI of November 11, 1917.
48 “Many were the eloquent arguments …” Closing of Storyville per the NODS of November 13, 1917.
49 sold under duress for the sum of $1.25 … Sale of Willie Piazza’s white piano per Rose, Storyville, 168.
50 “As late as 11:30 …” as per the NODS of November 13, 1917.
51 “It sure was a sad scene …” Armstrong, Satchmo, 96–97.
52 “put itself in line …” as per the NODS of November 14, 1917.
53 federal efforts to keep an eye on neighborhood … as per the NOTP of November 18, 1917.
54 regular police raids … as per the NOTP of November 13, 1917.
55 program to retrain former prostitutes … as per the NODI of November 15, 1917, and the NODS of November 18, 1917.
56 “After Storyville closed down …” Bergreen, Extravagant Life, 110.
57 a grandfather twice over … This and other details per Succession of Anderson.
58 forbade dancing and the playing of any kind of music … as per the NOTP of September 18, 1918.
59 “As a citizen and taxpayer …” as per the NOTP of July 9, 1918.
60 he turned the Annex over … Annex to Struve per Succession of Anderson.
61 “Tom Anderson’s place in Rampart Street …” as per the NOTP of September 18, 1918.
62 the Arlington into the hands of his son-in-law … Day-to-day control of Arlington to Delsa per Succession of Anderson.