St. Cyr, Johnny

Johnny St. Cyr (b. New Orleans 1889, died Los Angeles 1966) held a long and distinguished career as a banjoist. He played with all of the top names of his era including most notably King Oliver, Fate Marable and Jelly Roll Morton. He recorded the iconic Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of the 1920s.

More information on St. Cyr can be found at Red Hot Jazz and Wikipedia.

An amazing resource, now online, is a collection of interviews and recordings by Alan Lomax of St. Cyr playing and speaking about his life. They can be found at the Cultural Equity webpage.

Johnny St. Cyr (banjo) with Richard M. Jones and Albert Nicholas. Courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University.
Johnny St. Cyr (banjo) with Richard M. Jones and Albert Nicholas. Courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University.
Johnny St. Cyr (banjo) with Louis Armstrong's Hot Five. Courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive.
Johnny St. Cyr (banjo) with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five. Courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive.
Johnny St. Cyr (banjo, far right) and Tom Benton (banjo, center) with Clarence Williams and Armand Piron vaudeville group (circa 1916). Courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University.
Johnny St. Cyr (banjo, far right) and Tom Benton (banjo, center) with Clarence Williams and Armand Piron vaudeville group (circa 1916). Courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University.

 

 

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