Emmett Louis Hardy (June 12, 1903 – June 16, 1925) was an American jazz cornet player during the early 1900s.
Early life
Hardy was born in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna, Louisiana, United States, and lived much of his life in the Algiers neighborhood, on the west bank of New Orleans. Hardy was a child prodigy, described as already playing marvelously in his early teens. and Monk Hazel pointed out that Beiderbecke on the Wolverines records sounded very much like Hardy.
:"It’s no wonder that later, after the Wolverine era when Bix was forging ahead with Goldkette and Whiteman, Beiderbecke modestly paid tribute to Hardy as his greatest inspiration, and that he even wrote Emmet’s mother late in 1925 saying 'Emmet was the greatest musician I have ever heard. If ever I can come near your son’s greatness I'll die happy.'"—Dave Dexter Jr., Down Beat, June 1, 1940