KING OLIVER AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Biography

Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (1885–1938) was a pioneering jazz cornet player and bandleader who played an instrumental role in popularizing jazz outside of New Orleans.[1] Born on a plantation in Louisiana, Oliver moved to New Orleans as a boy and began playing cornet in 1907.[4] By 1915, he was an established bandleader, and by 1917 he was being billed as "King."[4] From 1908 to 1917, he performed in New Orleans brass bands, dance bands, and in Storyville, the city's red-light district.[5] A band he co-led with trombonist Kid Ory was considered one of the best and hottest ensembles in New Orleans during the late 1910s.[5]

In 1918, Oliver moved to Chicago to work in bassist Bill Johnson's band at the Royal Gardens Café, marking the beginning of his most productive period.[1] By 1920, he was leading his own band at the Dreamland Café.[1] In 1922, Oliver formed his legendary King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band at the Lincoln Gardens, which included his protégé Louis Armstrong on second cornet, along with Baby Dodds on drums, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lil Hardin on piano, Honoré Dutrey on trombone, and Bill Johnson on double bass.[5] The band's recordings in 1923 for Gennett, Okeh, Paramount, and Columbia demonstrated the New Orleans style of collective improvisation and brought it to a larger audience.[5] The hallmark of these sessions was the complex intertwining duets between Oliver and Armstrong, in which the student gradually surpassed the teacher.[1] The band disbanded in late 1923 due to interpersonal conflicts and financial difficulties, exacerbated by Armstrong's increasing prominence and his wife Lil Hardin's encouragement for him to pursue better opportunities.[1]

In 1925, Oliver reorganized his band into the larger Dixie Syncopators, attempting to conform to growing demand for dance music rather than "hot" jazz.[1] When Oliver moved to New York in 1927, his career began a downward decline from which it never recovered.[2] He struggled with gum disease and periodontitis, which progressively made playing trumpet difficult, forcing him to employ other musicians to handle solos.[5] He quit playing music in 1937 and died in obscurity in 1938, working as a poolroom marker.[4] Despite his diminished later years, Oliver is remembered for his classic Creole Jazz Band recordings, brilliant cornet playing, and compositions including "Dippermouth Blues," "Canal Street Blues," and "Doctor Jazz."[2]

Fun Facts

• On Oliver's first night at the Royal Gardens in Chicago, the manager crowned him the new "King" with a golden paper crown, a gesture that led to his famous nickname.[3]
• During the 1923 Gennett recordings of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong had to stand in the corner of the room away from the recording horn because his powerful playing would bounce the needle off the master.[5]
• Oliver was offered a prestigious position as bandleader at the Cotton Club in New York but refused the gig, claiming he wasn't offered enough money; the position was later accepted by Duke Ellington.[6]
• Oliver's career decline was significantly hampered by severe gum disease and periodontitis, which progressively made it impossible for him to play trumpet, forcing him to employ other musicians to handle solos in his later years.[5]

Members

• Wooden Joe Nicholas - clarinet (from 1915)
• Paul Barbarin
• Paul "Stump" Evans
• Eric Franker - piano
• Charles Frazier
• Bobby Holmes
• Will Johnson
• Norman Lester - piano
• Goldie Lucas - guitar
• King Oliver
• Joseph Petit
• Clinton Walker - tuba
• Walter Wheeler - tenor saxophone

Original Members

• Wooden Joe Nicholas - clarinet

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Kid Ory - Oliver co-led a band with trombonist Kid Ory that was considered one of the best and hottest ensembles in New Orleans during the late 1910s (New Orleans brass and dance bands) [Late 1910s]

Key Collaborators

• Louis Armstrong - Oliver's protégé and second cornetist in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band; Armstrong initially deferred to Oliver but gradually surpassed him as a musician (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band recordings) [1922–1923]
• Baby Dodds - Drummer in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band) [1922–1923]
• Johnny Dodds - Clarinetist in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band) [1922–1923]
• Lil Hardin - Pianist in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band; later married Louis Armstrong (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band) [1922–1923]
• Honoré Dutrey - Trombonist in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band) [1922–1923]
• Bill Johnson - Bassist and bandleader; Oliver initially worked in Johnson's band at the Royal Gardens Café before forming his own ensembles (Royal Gardens Café band, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band) [1918–1923]
• Johnny St. Cyr - Banjo player who performed in later Creole Jazz Band sessions ("Mabel's Dream" and other recordings) [1923]

Artists Influenced

• Louis Armstrong - Oliver was Armstrong's teacher in New Orleans and brought him to Chicago as second cornetist; Armstrong's success ultimately overshadowed Oliver's reputation as a jazz pioneer (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band recordings) [1922–1923 and beyond]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #big-band