Kid Ory

Kid Ory (born Dec. 25, 1886, Laplace, La., U.S.—died Jan. 23, 1973, Honolulu, Hawaii) was an American trombonist and composer who was perhaps the first musician to codify, purely by precept, the role of the trombone in classic three-part contrapuntal jazz improvisation. Ory is often remembered as a “tailgate” trombonist, one whose style of playing fills in, or supports, other band instruments and is reminiscent of the styles of prejazz ragtime bands and cakewalk bands.

Ory began to play as a child on homemade instruments. By 1911 he was leading one of the best-known bands in New Orleans. Among its members at various times were several musicians who later were highly influential in jazz development, including Sidney Bechet, Mutt Carey, Jimmy Noone, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong.

In 1919 Ory moved to California, forming a new band in Los Angeles. After five years he joined King Oliver in Chicago and by the end of the 1920s had become a prolific jazz recording artist. He played with King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five (later, Hot Seven), and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers.

In 1930 Ory retired from music to run a successful chicken farm, but on his comeback in 1939 he enjoyed even greater success. He worked with clarinetist Barney Bigard (1942) and trumpeter Bunk Johnson (1943), and his motion-picture credits include Crossfire (1947), New Orleans (1947), and The Benny Goodman Story (1956). A musician of rough, almost coarse, candour and naive sensibilities, he must be seen in the context of the early days of jazz, which he influenced heavily. His outstanding jazz composition is “Muskrat Ramble” (1926).