Manuel Manetta

Manuel Manetta. , Manuel Manetta (1889-1969) was a versatile musician and music teacher who played piano, violin, guitar, mandolin, string bass trumpet, clarinet, and saxophone. As a Creole of Color whose Sicilian grandfather was a portrait painter, Manetta began his musical career while still in his teens, grounded in the European classics and nurtured by the rich opportunities for musical experimentation found in his native Algiers community. By 1910 he had played in bands with Tom Albert, Buddy Bolden, Frank Duson, and Edward Clem and as a solo pianist on Basin Street. In 1917 he was the violinist in Kid Ory's band and also performed with "Papa" Celestin and Joe Howard. After a brief stint with Kid Ory in Los Angeles in 1919, he returned to New Orleans to care for his mother. , Throughout the 1920s, Manetta was a highly sought-after musician playing saxophone with the Manuel Perez Orchestra and piano on a recording with Celestin's Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra. Known as “Professor,” Manetta taught many musicians, including Henry “Red" Allen, Buddie Petit, Emmett Hardy, and Freddie Kohlman. Manetta's signature feat was the ability to play trumpet and trombone simultaneously and in harmony.