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* Jan 1887
† 1927
As a brass band musician he played with:
Reliance Brass Band
One of the best regarded hot drummers with the Laine Reliance band in
New Orleans. Left town to get away from personal problems. One of the
first New Orleans jazz musicians established in Chicago. His telegrams
home were responsible for bringing Paul Mares and George Brunies up north.
Billed himself as "Rag Baby" in Chicago in the late 1910s/early 1920s. One
fellow veteran of the early Laine band suggested the nickname did not
originate from his music but rather Stevens careless habits of dress; "He
was what you'd call a mess". This photo from Chicago 1918 shows him
nattily attired in the style of the day. Eddie Edwards recalled Rag Baby
"was a magnificent drummer...He inspired you."i1
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