Elmer "Coo Coo" Talbert

Visceral vocalist and trumpeter Elmer "Coo Coo" Talbert is mainly remembered for the recordings he made with the George Lewis Jazz Band during the years 1949 and 1950. Talbert was born in New Orleans, LA, on August 8, 1900. His first regular job as a professional musician was as a member of the Olympia Brass Band with Lewis (who had replaced clarinetist Alphonse Picou), trombonist Ike Robertson, pianist Lester Santiago, banjoist Benny Benoit, bassist Thomas Copland, and drummer/leader Arnold DePass. The year was 1929, and the band spent much of its time serenading white audiences at the Southern Yacht Club and the Ponchartrain Hotel. Unfortunately, no recordings have survived from this chapter in their respective careers, and it would be nearly two decades before Lewis and Talbert would have a chance to collaborate again. Following his final recording session with Bunk Johnson in 1946, George Lewis returned to New Orleans and formed his own working band using core members of the Johnson group with the addition of Talbert and drummer Joe Watkins. The band, which also included at times trumpeters Herb Morand and Avery "Kid" Howard, gigged regularly at Manny's Tavern, located at 3129 St. Roch Avenue near Benefit Street. The earliest known recordings of Talbert with the George Lewis band were made during the years 1948-1949 at Manny's and in radio station WTPS with Kid Howard sitting in. On August 15, 1949, the group was recorded in live performance at the Parisian Room on Royal Street; a more extensive amount of recording also occurred during a private party thrown at 1111 Bourbon Street by one Herbert Otto. On this occasion Talbert sang "Heebie Jeebies," "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," and (in duet with Herb Morand) "When the Saints Go Marching In." Two more broadcasts...