Merritt Brunies was an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 trombonist and cornet

Cornet

The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...

ist.

Brunies was born into a well-known musical family in New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

; among its members were George Brunies

George Brunies

George Brunies, aka Georg Brunis, was a jazz trombonist who came to fame in the 1930s, and was part of the Dixieland revival. He was known as the "King of the Tailgate Trombone"....

 and Albert Brunies

Albert Brunies

Albert "Abbie" Brunies was an American jazz cornetist.Brunies came from a famous New Orleans musical family, which counted among its members George Brunies and Merritt Brunies. Brunies was the leader of the Halfway House Orchestra from 1919 to about 1927, playing at the Halfway House club in New...

. Merritt led his own band, The Original New Orleans Jazz Band, from 1916 to 1918; this ensemble did not record, but it existed before both Jimmy Durante

Jimmy Durante

James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...

's New Orleans Jazz Band and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (the latter formed shortly afterward in 1916). Following this, he formed another group which played at Friar's Inn in Chicago directly after the stint by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings

New Orleans Rhythm Kings

The New Orleans Rhythm Kings were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early-to-mid 1920s. The band was a combination of New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago Jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians....

. He played regularly in New Orleans in the 1930s, and moved to Mississippi in 1946, where he played with his brothers in a Dixieland jazz

Dixieland Jazz

Dixieland Jazz was a Canadian music television series which aired on CBC Television in 1954.-Premise:The series host was Trump Davidson, a cornet player. He also hosted a radio music series on CBC's Trans-Canada Network.-Scheduling:...

 band until his retirement. He died in Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....

.