This Week In Texas Music History: John Hardee
This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll remember a talented musician who traded in the nightclubs for the classroom.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tenor saxophonist John Hardee was born December 20, 1918, in Corsicana, Texas. As a teenager, he began playing locally with Dan Carter’s Blue Moon Syncopaters. Hardee went on to attend Bishop College in Marshall but left from 1937 to 1938 to tour with Don Albert’s Band from San Antonio. Hardee eventually returned to Bishop College and graduated with a music degree in 1941. He soon joined the military and was stationed in New York. While there, Hardee recorded for the Blue Note Label and performed at several of New York City’s most popular venues, including the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In the late 1940s, John Hardee moved back to Texas and taught high school in Dallas until 1976. He emerged from musical retirement long enough to play his final public performance in 1975 at the Nice Jazz Festival in France.
Next time on This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll celebrate one of the state’s most versatile and prolific jazz musicians.
Podcast: Download (2.3MB)
