Big Bill Bissonnette

Big Bill Bissonnette (February 5, 1937 – June 26, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist, drummer, and music producer. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the 1960s, he led his own group, the Easy Riders Jazz Band, formed his own label, Jazz Crusade,^[1] and organized northern tours for Kid Thomas Valentine, George Lewis, and Jim Robinson.

Bissonnette came in first place as "New Young Artist" in the 1965 Jazzology Jazz Poll. Over 30 years later he placed No. 5 among all jazz trombonists in the same poll. In the 1990s, Bissonnette focused his music label on preserving British traditional jazz. Later, he sold the catalog to UpBeat Records. In his later years, he toured with “Tuba Fats” Lacen as part of Big Bill Bissonnette’s International Jazz Band and continued recording albums, such as Live in Lyon! (Jazzogie, 1985) and I Believe I Hear That Trambone Moan (1986). He performed in Germany in 1987 with the Vieux Carré Jazz Band, in 1993 in New Orleans with Milton Batiste’s Zoo Band, and in Denmark with Sammy Rimmington. In 1992, he published a book about his early career called Jazz Crusade: The Inside Story of the Great New Orleans Jazz Revival of the 1960s.^[2]

Bissonnette died in New Orleans on June 26, 2018 at the age of 81.^[3]