Kid Ory And His Creole Jazzband

Biography

Edward 'Kid' Ory (1886-1973) was born on Christmas Day in LaPlace, Louisiana, on a rural sugar cane plantation in a French-speaking, ethnically mixed Creole family, approximately 30 miles west of New Orleans. As a child, he crafted homemade instruments and began playing music, eventually switching to slide trombone around 1910. By 1911, he led one of New Orleans' top 'hot' bands, featuring future jazz legends like Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Mutt Carey, Jimmy Noone, and Johnny Dodds, performing at venues like Economy Hall and advertising via horse-drawn wagons.

In 1919, amid police raids and disputes, Ory relocated to California, where his band became the first African American New Orleans jazz group to record in 1922 on Nordskog and Sunshine labels, including his composition 'Ory’s Creole Trombone.' He moved to Chicago in 1925, recording prolifically with King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven, and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, capturing the jazz age's spirit with his tailgate trombone style—marked by smears, staccato syncopations, and ensemble part-playing. His band broadcast jazz live on Los Angeles radio, possibly the first by an African American group.

Ory retired briefly in the 1930s due to health issues but revived his career in the 1940s New Orleans Jazz Revival, leading Kid Ory’s Creole Jazzband in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Groups featured Mutt Carey, Ed Garland, and clarinetists like Barney Bigard and Joe Darensbourg; they headlined Dixieland Jubilees, outperforming Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars in 1948, and recorded hits like 'Muskrat Ramble.' His Creole Jazzband blended ragtime and swing, preserving traditional New Orleans jazz; he performed until 1971 at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, cementing his legacy as a pioneering trombonist, composer, and bandleader.

Fun Facts

• Ory's 1922 recordings with his California band were the first jazz records by an African American New Orleans group, released under names like Spikes’ Seven Pods of Pepper and Ory’s Sunshine Orchestra.
• He nicknamed Joe 'King' Oliver and bought young Louis Armstrong his first cornet, launching Armstrong's career.
• Ory's band may have made the first live jazz radio broadcast by an African American group on Los Angeles station KWH in 1922.
• At the 1948 Dixieland Jubilee, Ory’s Creole Jazzband received more applause than Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Charles 'Buddy' Bolden - Early running pardner whose band Ory joined before forming his own (New Orleans bands in early 1900s) [1900s]

Key Collaborators

• Louis Armstrong - Band member in Ory's New Orleans band; later Ory joined Armstrong's Hot Five/Hot Seven (Hot Five recordings like 'Muskrat Ramble,' 'Savoy Blues'; New Orleans gigs) [1910s-1920s]
• King Oliver - Band member nicknamed 'King' by Ory; later recorded together in Chicago (Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators; New Orleans band) [1910s-1920s]
• Jelly Roll Morton - Recorded with Morton's Red Hot Peppers in Chicago (Red Hot Peppers sessions) [1920s]
• Mutt Carey - Frequent cornetist in Ory's bands from New Orleans to Revival era (1922 recordings; 1940s Creole Jazzband) [1910s-1940s]
• Ed Garland - String bassist in multiple Ory bands (1922 recordings; 1940s Creole Jazzband) [1920s-1940s]

Artists Influenced

• Louis Armstrong - Hired by Ory as protégé; given first professional job and cornet (Replaced Oliver in Ory's band; later Hot Five)
• King Oliver - Crowned 'King' by Ory; played in his band (Ory's New Orleans band) [1910s]

External Links

• Spotify