This year marks the centennial of the earliest recordings of Sidney Bechet, a clarinetist and soprano saxophonist, known as one of the greatest and most influential musicians to come from New Orleans. Bechet, along with King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Jelly Roll Morton was among those who developed and spread jazz around the world in the 1920s.

Michael White
Dr. Michael White is an award-winning New Orleans-born jazz clarinetist, composer, band leader, and historian. He is also a professor and Endowed Chair at Xavier University of Louisiana.