Tremé / Lafitte in New Orleans in Orleans Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
Sidney Joseph Bechet
1897-1959
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, July 14, 2009
1. Sidney Joseph Bechet Memorial
This bronze bust of Sidney Bechet is a faithful copy of the original by French sculptor Abel Chrétien. The original erected in 1960, a year after Bechet’s death in Juan-Les-Fins, France. This town was named in 1994 as a “Twin City” to New Orleans’ Vieux Carre. Chretien’s Bechet sculpture in France is thought to be the first public monument to a jazz musician erected anywhere in the world. This fine copy was executed by the Fonderie De Coubertin in St. Remy-Les-Chevreuses, France 1997. Bechet mentions Congo Square prominently in his autobiography, thereby giving meaning to this site.
Second Panel:
...“Wizard of Jazz” and Master of the Clarinet and Soprano Saxophone
Born: May 14, 1897, New Orleans
Died: May 14, 1959, Paris, France
“I have never forgotten the power and imagination with which he played,” Duke Ellington (c. 1973)
This memorial was unveiled by Mark H. Morial, Mayor, City of New Orleans, and Francois Bujon de Vestang French Ambassador to the U.S. in the presence of Daniel Sidney Bechet and other Bechet family members too numerous to mention....
Third Panel:
This monument to Jazz giant Sidney Bechet was made possible by a grant from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. June Cahn and Family have
this page online
Dedicated May 6, 1997
Sidney Bechet Centennial Committee
Erected 1997 by Sidney Bechet Centennial Committee.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Peace. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1875.
Location. 29° 57.691′ N, 90° 4.093′ W. Marker is in New Orleans, Louisiana, in Orleans Parish. It is in Tremé / Lafitte. Marker can be reached from North Rampart Street. The marker panels are on the base of the Sidney Bechet bust in Congo Square, inside the main (St. Ann Street) entrance to Louis Armstrong Park off North Rampart Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: New Orleans LA 70116, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Congo Square (within shouting distance of this marker); Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Recording Studio of Cosimo Matassa (about 400 feet away); J&M Recording Studio (about 500 feet away); St. Peter Guest House (about 600 feet away); Gardette - Le Pretre House (approx.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, July 14, 2009
2. Sidney Joseph Bechet Marker Panel 1
Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia entry for Sidney Bechet. (Submitted on July 19, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. St. Augustine Church (Tremé, New Orleans). Sidney Bechet was one of the prominent parishioners of nearby St. Augustine's, the oldest African-American Catholic parish in the nation ... one of the first sites designated on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. (Submitted on July 19, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
Additional keywords. Musician; Creoles of Color; St. Augustine Church; Tremé; Congo Square; Louis Armstrong Park.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, July 14, 2009
3. Sidney Joseph Bechet Marker Panel 2
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, July 14, 2009
4. Sidney Joseph Bechet Marker Panel 3
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, July 14, 2009
5. Sidney Joseph Bechet Memorial - Louis Armstrong Park, Congo Square,
across the promenade in background is the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 19, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,528 times since then and 80 times this year. Last updated on August 28, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 19, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 5. submitted on July 20, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
