Darryl Adams (3)

American alto saxophonist and composer, born September 24, 1957 in New Orleans, Louisiana; died December 19, 2018. Darryl "Lil Jazz" Adams was the leader of the Tornado and Great Olympian Traditional Brass Bands. He traveled extensively and played with Danny Barker’s Fairview Baptist Church Band, Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, Tuba Fats’s Chosen Few, Leroy Jones And His Hurricane Marching Brass Band Of New Orleans, Algiers Brass Band, Pinstripe Brass Band, and New Birth Brass Band, Joe Lastie’s New Orleans Sound, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and with many other local, US and international musicians. Adams was an active member of New Orleans Musicians Union Local 174-496. His early mentors were Danny Barker, and alto saxophonist Harold DeJan who took Adams under his wing at the age of sixteen. In 1975 Adams wrote “Blackbird Special”—a song fusing jazz, traditional music, funk, and the brass band beat, resulting in the beginning of a new sound popular with younger generations of brass band fans. Adams also wrote “Tornado Special” and “Hot Dog Man.” In addition to playing at Preservation Hall, “Lil Jazz” could often be found leading second line parades, including the Young Men Olympian Benevolent Association of which he was an honorary member, playing annually at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, or serenading locals and tourists at “The Bench” in front of the Cabildo Museum, Café du Monde, Aunt Sally’s Pralines, and the French Market. He also made television appearances, including most recently Tyler Perry’s “The Passion” and several episodes of NCIS New Orleans.