 Ladnier was born in Mandeville, Louisiana – located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, with New Orleans on the opposite shore.Beginning 1914, Ladnier performed in Mandeville's Independence Band at the Dew Drop Dance Hall, led by clarinetist Isidore Frick "(né" Isidore Fritz; 1890–1940).Trumpeter Bunk Johnson sometimes played with this band and gave young Ladnier lessons.