Raymond Burke

Raymond Burke (né Barrois; 6 June 1904 – 21 March 1986) was an American jazz clarinetist. Raymond Burke was born Raymond Barrois on June 6, 1904, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He gave few interviews and believed the life of a musician had little to do with his music.

He was polite, albeit eccentric. He had wavy hair, a thin mustache, and dressed conservatively. He spoke with a thick New Orleans accent and used colorful regional vocabulary, which some found confusing. He did not drink, smoke, or gamble. He is portrayed as unpretentious.

Burke rarely left the city except for out-of-town gigs or tours with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band later in life. His friend and jazz enthusiast Al Rose said Burke spent no more than ten weeks outside of New Orleans. Burke was the nephew of Jules Cassard, a jazz trombonist who played with the Reliance Brass Band, and the cousin of Dixieland musician Harold Peterson.Burke said that his first instrument was a flute he carved from a fishing pole. He then played the tin whistle, kazoo, and clarinet. His first job in music came in 1913 when he panhandled on the kazoo with future New Orleans Rhythm Kings drummer Leo Adde who played percussion on a cigar box.In the 1930s Burke played with The Henry Belas Orchestra (trumpeter Henry Belas, trombonist Al Moore, drummer Joe Stephens, and pianist "PeeWee"); The Melon Pickers (guitarist Henry Walde, bassist John Bell, drummer Al Doria, trumpeter Bill Nauin, and pianist Julius Chevez.) Burke also spent a short period of time in Kansas City for a musical job, but soon returned.In the 1940s and '50s he played with Alvin Alcorn, Sharkey Bonano, and frequently in a trio with pianist Jeff Riddick and bassist Sherwood Mangiapane. In the 1960s and 70s Burke he played with Preservation Hall musicians.