Cornet, trombone. Member of legendary New Orleans musical family. Merritt Brunies was a traditional jazz bandleader in New Orleans and Chicago from 1916 - 1918, and headed a grroup called The Original New Orleans Jazz Band. This group did not record, but it predated Jimmy Durante's New Orleans Jazz Band which was formed in New York in 1918, and The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, which played in Chicago in 1916 and became the first group to record in 1917. After his first group disbanded, Brunies played cornet and led the ensemble that replaced The New Orleans Rhythm Kings at Friar's Inn in Chicago. He returned to New Orleans in 1930 and played in various clubs. Brunies relocated to Mississippi in 1946, and played in The Brunies Brothers Dixieland Jazz Band for the rest of his career.
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