Willie Humphrey

I first heard Willie Humphrey in 1983, at Preservation Hall the first time I visited New Orleans. His warm, bluesy sound and singing melodic lines made an instant impact. He rose up each time he was going to take a solo, dancing with his clarinet over the audience. Each Wednesday and Saturday, when he played with the Humphrey Brothers band, I sat under his clarinet. Among clarinettists I have heard live, Willie Humphrey has influenced me the most.

Biographical