Sidney Bechet, "The Sheik of Araby"
  Today is the birthday of jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Sidney Bechet (1897-1959). Bechet is considered one of the first important jazz soloists, and possibly the first important jazz saxophonist. A Creole from New Orleans, he started playing as a child in the band of his older brother, a trombone player. As jazz took […]