[3] His older brother, Leonard Victor Bechet, was a full-time dentist and a part-time trombonist and bandleader.

Bechet learned and mastered several musical instruments that were kept around the house (he began on the cornet), mostly by teaching himself; he decided to specialize in the clarinet (which he played almost exclusively until about 1919).

[3] At the age of six, he started performing with his brother's band at a family birthday party, debuting his talents to acclaim.

Later in his youth, Bechet studied with Joseph "King" Oliver, Bunk Johnson, Freddie Keppard,[2] Lorenzo Tio, "Big Eye" Louis Nelson Delisle, and George Baquet.

[4] Bechet played in many New Orleans ensembles using the improvisational techniques of the time (obbligatos with scales and arpeggios and varying the melody).

[2] Bechet liked to have his sound dominate in a performance, and trumpeters reportedly found it difficult to play alongside him.

[citation needed] In the spring of 1919, he traveled to New York City and joined Will Marion Cook's Syncopated Orchestra.

[4] While in London, he discovered the straight soprano saxophone and developed a style unlike his clarinet tone.

[2] The session was led by Clarence Williams, a pianist and songwriter, better known at that time for his music publishing and record producing, and his "Blue Five" (which included Louis Armstrong).

In France, Bechet found that he was appreciated by a wider audience and had more general freedom than he did in the United States.

On July 28, 1940, Bechet made a guest appearance on the NBC Radio show The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, playing two of his showpieces ("Shake It and Break It" and "St. Louis Blues") with Henry Levine's Dixieland band.

A hitherto unissued master of this recording was included in the 1965 LP Bechet of New Orleans, issued by RCA Victor as LPV-510.

I meant to play all the rhythm instruments but got all mixed up and grabbed my soprano, then the bass, then the tenor saxophone, and finally finished up with the clarinet.

[5] In 1958, Bechet performed as a soloist and with various other renowned musicians including Buck Clayton and Sarah Vaughn in memorable, spirited concerts in the United States Pavilion at Expo 58, the World's Fair in Brussels, Belgium.

[14] In 1951, he migrated to France permanently,[2] after his performance as a soloist at the Paris Jazz Fair caused a surge in his popularity in that country, where he easily found well-paid work.

He also composed a classical ballet score in the late Romantic style of Tchaikovsky called La nuit est une sorcière ("The Night Is a Witch").

[15] Shortly before his death, Bechet dictated his autobiography, Treat It Gentle, to Al Rose, a record producer and radio host.

"[16] Though other internet sources have picked up the claim that Bechet dictated his autobiography to Al Rose, the autobiography itself—Treat It Gentle (Twayne, 1960)—notes that "Among those who helped record and edit the tapes on which this book is based are Joan Reid, Desmond Flower, and John Ciardi."

Although embellished and frequently inaccurate, Treat It Gentle remains a staple account for the "insider's view of the New Orleans tradition.

A fictionalized Sidney Bechet appears in two episodes of George Lucas's The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles portrayed by Jeffrey Wright.