Lawrence Duhé

Who was Lawrence Duhé?

Lawrence Duhé was an early jazz clarinetist and bandleader. He was a member of Sugar Johnnie's New Orleans Creole Orchestra.

Duhé was born in La Place, Louisiana. He played with Kid Ory there in his youth, and followed Ory to New Orleans, Louisiana. He played with Ory, King Oliver, Frankie Duson, and led his own band in Storyville. Duhé moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1917. His band was popular in Chicago clubs and dance halls, and played in the stands at the notorious 1919 World Series. In the mid-1920s he returned to New Orleans and for a time played with Armand J. Piron. After touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrel Show he worked out of Lafayette and New Iberia in South-West Louisiana with such musicians as Evan Thomas and Bunk Johnson before retiring from music in the 1940s.

Duhé died in Lafayette, Louisiana.