Jazz Clarinet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Few aspects of the harm done to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 are more poignant than the losses suffered by the musical community. The New Orleans jazz scene was especially vulnerable, since many jazz performers lived in areas inundated by the flood waters. One such performer was Dr. Michael White.

White's house on Pratt Drive filled with eight feet of water when the London Avenue Canal levee failed behind his neighborhood. That water sat for several weeks before pumps could drain the area, destroying White's furniture, his rooms, his priceless collection of jazz sheet music, his recordings, and a lifetime's collection of jazz clarinets. Over sixty rare wood and metal clarinets, some from the 19th century, were lost. One of them, this 1930s marching band clarinet from Elkhart, Indiana, found its way from White's devastated house to the Smithsonian to acknowledge the hit taken by the New Orleans musical community but also the resilience of this community in the face of setbacks and hardship. Katrina has given new meaning to the blues. The struggle to overcome this loss adds a powerful chapter to this city's storied record of musical achievement.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1930s
• Associated Date: August - September 2005
• referenced: White, Michael
• Object Name: Clarinet
• Object Name: clarinet and case
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Measurements: overall clarinet: 27 in x 3 in; 68.58 cm x 7.62 cm
• Measurements: overall case: 24 in x 5 1/4 in x 3 1/2 in; 60.96 cm x 13.335 cm x 8.89 cm
• Measurements: mouthpiece: 3 in x 1 in; 7.62 cm x 2.54 cm
• Measurements: clarinet body: 24 in x 3 in; 60.96 cm x 7.62 cm
• place made: United States: Indiana, Elkhart
• referenced: United States: Louisiana
• referenced: United States: Louisiana, New Orleans
• related event: Hurricane Katrina
• ID Number: 2006.0062.01
• catalog number: 2006.0062.01
• accession number: 2006.0062
• Credit Line: Gift of Michael White
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.