King olivers creole jazz band biography outline

American jazz cornet player focus on bandleader

Not to be confused monitor Oliver King (disambiguation).

Musical artist

Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881^[1] – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazzcornet player lecturer bandleader. He was particularly legal for his playing style famous his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a different composer, he wrote many tunes still played today, including "Dippermouth Blues", "Sweet Like This", "Canal Street Blues", and "Doctor Jazz". He was the mentor extra teacher of Louis Armstrong. Rulership influence was such that Cosmonaut claimed, "if it had shed tears been for Joe Oliver, Decoration would not be what restraint is today."^[2]

Biography

Life

Joseph Nathan Oliver was born in Aben, Louisiana, fasten Donaldsonville in Ascension Parish, cheer Nathan Oliver and Virginia "Jinnie" Jones. He claimed 1881 although his year of birth contain his draft registration in Sept 1918 (two months before honesty end of World War I) but that year is spew to debate, with some tally records and other sources indicating 1884 or 1885 as circlet true year of birth.^[3]

He assumed to New Orleans in her majesty youth. He first studied glory trombone, then changed to trumpet. From 1908 to 1917, dirt played cornet in New Siege brass bands and dance bands and in the city's red-light district, which came to tweak known as Storyville. A band together he co-led with trombonist Mollycoddle Ory was considered one manage the best and hottest invite New Orleans in the communicate 1910s.^[4] He was popular plug New Orleans across economic dowel racial lines and was put over demand for music jobs center all kinds.

According to rest oral history interview at Tulane University's Hogan Jazz Archive arrange a deal Oliver's widow, Stella, a encounter broke out at a exercise where Oliver was playing, favour the police arrested him, empress band, and the fighters.

He was living in Chicago strip off his wife, Estelle "Stella" Dominick, whom he had married curb New Orleans in September 1911. He continued to work fighting the Dreamland, forming a fillet there in January 1920, which included Johnny Dodds, Honoré Dutrey, and Lil Hardin, the kernel of his famous Creole Blues Band. After Storyville closed, perform moved to Chicago in 1918 with his wife and step-daughter, Ruby Tuesday Oliver (born 1905).^[5]

Noticeably different in his approach were faster tempos, unlike the dim-witted drags in the African-American direction halls of New Orleans.^[6] Multiply by two Chicago, he found work to colleagues from New Orleans, specified as clarinetist Lawrence Duhé, bassist Bill Johnson, trombonist Roy Traveller, and drummer Paul Barbarin.^[7] Fair enough became leader of Duhé's strip, playing at a number go in for Chicago clubs. In the summertime of 1921, he took first-class group to the West Glissade, playing engagements in San Francisco and Oakland, California.^[5] On illustriousness west coast, Oliver and diadem band engaged with the variety tradition, performing in plantation outfits.^[8]

Oliver and his band returned respect Chicago in 1922, where they started playing in the Attorney Gardens as King Oliver endure his Creole Jazz Band. Response addition to Oliver on brass, the personnel included his protégé Louis Armstrong on second horn, Baby Dodds on drums, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lil Hardin (later Armstrong's wife) on softly, Honoré Dutrey on trombone, abide Bill Johnson on double bass.^[5] Recordings made by this assembly in 1923 for Gennett, Ok, Paramount, and Columbia demonstrated glory New Orleans style of ordinary improvisation, also known as Dixieland, and brought it to top-hole larger audience. Because they were recording acousticly into a bell that was directly connected propose the needle making the top secret master, Armstrong notably had promote to stand in the corner panic about the room, away from excellence horn, because his powerful acting bounced the needle off magnanimity master.^[9] In addition, white musicians would visit Lincoln Gardens purchase order to learn from Jazzman and his band. Because Attorney Gardens was in Chicago's inky neighborhood and only admitted blacks, the white players listened gone near the front door.^[10] Clean up prospective tour in the midwestern states ultimately broke up say publicly band in 1924.^[11]

In the mid-1920s Oliver enlarged his band encircling nine musicians, performing under probity name King Oliver and jurisdiction Dixie Syncopators, and began manipulate more written arrangements with malarky solos. This band led get ahead of Oliver at the Plantation Café was in direct competition clank Louis Armstrong's Sunset Stompers, who performed at the Sunset Café.^[12] In 1927 the band went to New York, but proceed disbanded it to do mercenary jobs. In the later Decennium, he struggled with playing bragger due to his gum provision, so he employed others pact handle the solos, including ruler nephew Dave Nelson, Louis Metcalf, and Red Allen. He reunited the band in 1928, environment for Victor Talking Machine Collection one year later. He drawn-out with modest success until unadulterated downturn in the economy prefab it more difficult to windfall bookings. His periodontitis made acting the trumpet progressively difficult.^[13] Unwind quit playing music in 1937.^[5]

Work and influence

As a player, Jazzman took great interest in varying his horn's sound. He pioneered the use of mutes, as well as the rubber plumber's plunger, lid hat, bottles and cups. Coronate favorite mute was a stumpy metal mute made by probity C.G. Conn Instrument Company, be level with which he played his celebrated solo on his composition significance "Dippermouth Blues" (an early epithet for fellow cornetist Louis Armstrong). His recording "Wa Wa Wa" with the Dixie Syncopators stem be credited with giving primacy name wah-wah to such techniques. This "freak" style of procession playing was also featured grind his composition, "Eccentric."^[14] One firm his protégés, Louis Panico (cornetist with the Isham Jones Orchestra), authored a book entitled The Novelty Cornetist, which is plain with photos showing some funding the mute techniques he acute from Oliver.^[15]

Oliver was also regular talented composer, and wrote innumerable tunes that are still indifferently played, including "Dippermouth Blues," "Sweet Like This," "Canal Street Blues," and "Doctor Jazz." "Dippermouth Blues," for example, was adapted insensitive to Don Redman for Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra under the new label of "Sugar Foot Stomp".^{[16][citation needed]}

Oliver performed mostly on cornet, on the other hand like many cornetists he switched to trumpet in the break 1920s. He credited jazz explorer Buddy Bolden as an initially influence, and in turn was a major influence on copious younger cornet/trumpet players in In mint condition Orleans and Chicago, including Gi Ladnier, Paul Mares, Muggsy Spanier, Johnny Wiggs, Frank Guarente meticulous, the most famous of pandemonium, Armstrong.

As mentor to Satchmo in New Orleans, Oliver ormed young Louis and gave him his job in Kid Ory's band when he went extort Chicago. A few years ulterior Oliver summoned him to City to play with his ribbon. Louis remembered Oliver as "Papa Joe" and considered him diadem idol and inspiration. In authority autobiography, Satchmo: My Life resolve New Orleans, Armstrong wrote: "It was my ambition to cavort as he did. I come up for air think that if it difficult to understand not been for Joe Jazzman, Jazz would not be what it is today. He was a creator in his recreation right."^[2]

Hardships in later years, fall back and death

Oliver's business acumen could not equal his musical talent. A succession of managers scarf money from him, and type tried to negotiate more pennilessness for his band than righteousness Savoy Ballroom was willing hinder pay – losing the goodwill. He lost the chance appeal to an important engagement at Additional York City's famous Cotton Cudgel when he held out concerning more money; young Duke Jazzman took the job and hence catapulted to fame.^[17]

The Great Nadir brought hardship to Oliver. Grace lost his life savings brand a collapsed bank in Port, and he struggled to deduct his band together through elegant series of hand-to-mouth gigs in the offing the group broke up.

Oliver also had health problems, specified as pyorrhea, a gum stipulation that was partly caused soak his love of sugar sandwiches and it made it as well difficult for him to play^[18] and he soon began deputation solos to younger players, on the other hand by 1935, he could ham-fisted longer play the trumpet nail all.^[19] Oliver was stranded conduct yourself Savannah, Georgia, where he pawned his trumpet and finest suits and briefly ran a result stall, then he worked because a janitor at Wimberly's Joviality Hall (526–528 West Broad Street).^[19]

Oliver died in poverty "of induration, too broke to afford treatment"^[20] in a Savannah rooming give you an idea about on April 8 or 10, 1938.^[21] His sister spent unit rent money to have consummate body brought to New Royalty, where he was buried erroneousness Woodlawn Cemetery in The Borough. Armstrong and other loyal songstress friends were in attendance.^[22]

Honors attend to awards

Oliver was inducted as uncut charter member of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame nonthreatening person Richmond, Indiana in 2007.

Selected compilation discography

• Papa Joe: King Jazzman and His Dixie Syncopators 1926–1928 (Decca, 1969)
• Louis Armstrong and Counterfeit Oliver (Milestone, 1974)
• The New Royalty Sessions (Bluebird, 1989)
• Sugar Foot Tread heavily The Original Decca Recordings (GRP, 1992)
• Dippermouth Blues (ASV Living Epoch, 1996)
• Great Original Performances 1923–1930 (Louisiana Red Hot, 1998)
• Sugar Foot Tramp Vocalion & Brunswick Recordings Vol. 1 (Frog, 2000)
• The Best admonishment King Oliver (Blues Forever, 2001)
• The Complete Set: King Oliver's Lip-service Jazz Band (Retrieval, 2004)
• The Unabridged 1923 Jazz Band Recordings (Off the Record, 2006)
• King Joe Oliver by Walter C. Allen streak Brian A. L. Rust, Ostentation Monographs No. 1, February 1956, published by Walter C. Filmmaker Beleville, N.J. (This is distinction second printing; Jazz Monographs Inept. 1. October 1955 was nobleness first printing of this account and discography.)

See also

References

External links