James Brown Humphrey

Biography

James Brown Humphrey, also known as "Professor Jim" Humphrey (1859–1937) was an American classical musician, dance band leader, and music instructor in New Orleans, Louisiana, and central figure in the formation of jazz as a contemporary musical art form. Humphrey predates the jazz genre as an active performer and is not himself considered a jazz musician. However, his involvement in the formal training of large numbers of musicians along the southern plantation belt of the Mississippi River delta during the immediate years following the reconstruction era resulted in many virtuoso performers who would go on to originate jazz as a distinct musical genre.

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