The Louisiana Five was an early Dixieland jazz band that was active from 1917 to 1920. It was among the earliest jazz groups to record extensively. The Louisiana Five was led by drummer Anton Lada.

History

The Louisiana Five was formed in New York City. Lada recruited the other four members, the pianist Joe Cawley, trombonist Charlie Panelli (often spelled "Panely" in contemporary material) and banjo player Karl Berger. The clarinetist Alcide "Yellow" Nunez was with the Louisiana Five (1918–19). The band recorded extensively for various companies including Emerson Records, whose catalogue was leased to Medallion Records, Columbia Records and Edison Records, and went on to produce such hits as "Clarinet Squawk" and "Slow and Easy". On one recording session they were joined by the multi-instrumentalist Bernard "Doc" Beherendson on cornet. The band was popular in the New York City area in 1919 and made tours of Texas and Oklahoma. After Nunez left the band, the group made one more pair of recordings in 1920 with a violin replacing the clarinet.

Discography

Sources

"Louisiana Five" with audio samples Red Hot Jazz Archive