Jazz singer and banjo player. Last founding member of the New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band, known for his vocal stylings and banjo playing. His vocal renditions of "Georgia on My Mind" always brought standing ovations. He began playing professionally in the 1920s on Mississippi riverboats with the Fate Marable Band and made his first Columbia Records recording in 1928 and was said to have made his first banjo with a cigar box, stick and string. He formed his own band, Narvin Kimball's Gentlemen of Jazz, and played around New Orleans for 40 years. He also worked for 37 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He suffered a series of strokes in 1999 that ended his banjo playing.He was the son of bassist Henry Kimball and is survived by his wife, Lillian, two daughters, four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Jazz singer and banjo player. Last founding member of the New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band, known for his vocal stylings and banjo playing. His vocal renditions of "Georgia on My Mind" always brought standing ovations. He began playing professionally in the 1920s on Mississippi riverboats with the Fate Marable Band and made his first Columbia Records recording in 1928 and was said to have made his first banjo with a cigar box, stick and string. He formed his own band, Narvin Kimball's Gentlemen of Jazz, and played around New Orleans for 40 years. He also worked for 37 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He suffered a series of strokes in 1999 that ended his banjo playing.He was the son of bassist Henry Kimball and is survived by his wife, Lillian, two daughters, four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
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