Emanuel Paul was one of the first tenor saxophonists to be accepted in the New Orleans jazz world; in fact, his tenor often took the place of a baritone horn in brass bands. He started music fairly late, playing violin when he was 18, playing banjo in the mid-1920s and then switching permanently to tenor. Paul joined the Eureka Brass Band in 1940, began a longtime association with Kid Thomas Valentine in 1942 and recorded quite a bit through the years, including with the Eureka Brass Band, Kid Thomas, Oscar Celestin (1953), Emmanuel Sayles and the Olympia Brass Band. Paul's style was unaffected by later innovations and throughout his career he had a unique sound and function of his own in New Orleans jazz. Paul led two albums for the European Jazz Macon Club label in 1967; his sidemen on the live sets include Valentine, George Lewis and Butch Thompson. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi