BIG BILL BISSONNETTE
Genres: Original New Orleans Jazz, Dixieland • United States

A strong advocate of New Orleans jazz as played by the veteran black musicians, Big Bill Bissonnette in the 1960s ran his own group (the Easy Riders Jazz Band), formed his own label (Jazz Crusade), and organized Northern tours for such veteran players as Kid Thomas Valentine, George Lewis, and Jim Robinson. After a period off the scene, with the successful publication of his 1992 memoirs The Jazz Crusade (which has many stories about the New Orleans musicians), Bissonnette reactivated his label and began to play again. Although a somewhat primitive trombonist, Bissonnette (whose idol is Jim Robinson) is a boisterous player with plenty of spirit. from allmusic