Leo Adde

Leon "Leo" Adde (April 21, 1904 – March 1, 1942)^[1] was an American jazz drummer.

Leo Adde
Birth name	Leon Adde
Born	April 21, 1904 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	March 1, 1942 (aged 37)
Genres	Jazz
Instruments	Drums

Johnny Bayersdorffer's Jazzola Novelty Orchestra, New Orleans. Left to right: Chink Martin Abraham, brass bass; Tom Brown, trombone; Johnny Bayersdorffer, cornet & leader; Leo Adde, drums; Steve Loyacano, banjo; Nunzio Scaglione, clarinet.

Career

Adde began by playing the cigar box on percussion, and played as a duo with Raymond Burke on the streets of New Orleans in the mid-1910s. Adde joined the Halfway House Orchestra under Abbie Brunies early in the 1920s, and played in Johnny Miller's New Orleans Frolickers at the end of the decade.^[2] Adde also recorded in the 1920s with Johnny Bayersdorffer and with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.^[3]

In the 1930s, Adde drummed with the Melody Masters, led by Sharkey Bonano and Louis Prima's brother Leon Prima. He moved with the ensemble to New York City, where they sometimes performed as the New Orleans Melody Masters. Later in the decade, he recorded with the New Orleans Owls, and returned to New Orleans before the end of the 1930s.^[4]