It is generally agreed that Buddy Bolden was the first musician to play what later became known as jazz. But, because his achievement occurred over a 100 years ago, what we know about the man was primarily by word of mouth; stories that usually referred to Bolden as "mysterious" or "enigmatic." However, in 1978 Donald Marquis, then Curator of the News Orleans Jazz Club Collections, published the findings of several years of research in his book, In Search of Buddy Bolden. Marquis’ book provides a fascinating account of the Buddy Bolden story; a story made even more fascinating by the … Continue reading The Founder of Jazz