INTRODUCTION TIME LINE of KID ORY’S CAREER Abbreviations of books and magazines used: AJ Albuquerque Journal ADB Anderson Daily Bulletin BBJ “Big Band Jazz” - Albert McCarthy CD Chicago Defender (via Storyville) DTN Daily Time News DB Downbeat ES Evening Standard, California FN Footnote(E) GRV New Grove Dictionary of Jazz GTJ & CR Good Time Jazz and Contemporary Record News ILB Independent, Long Beach JA The Jazz Archivist JJ Jazz Journal (E) JM Jazz Music (E) JMNO “Jazz Masters of New Orleans” - Martin Williams JN Jazz News {Aus) JOTBC “Jazz on the Barbary Coast” – Tom Stoddard JR Jazz Record JRP Jazz Report (E) JW Jazz Writing (this was a Jazz Appreciation Society book) KJO “King Joe Oliver” - Rust/Allen/Wright KSN Kingsport News LDN Lebanon Daily News LBPT Long Beach Press-Telegram MM Melody Maker (E) MR Mississippi Rag NOTFA “New Orleans Jazz: The Family Album” - Al Rose OT Oakland Times OTR Oakland Tribune PSS Pacific Stars and Stripes P Pickup (E) PS The Post Standard RC Record Changer RDF Redlands Daily Facts STY Storyville (E) TILII “Tell It Like It Is” - Joe Darensbourg TDC Tuscan Daily Citizen WCR West Coast Rag WA The Western Appeal All Are U.S. except where marked vii INTRODUCTION 1886 December 25th Edouard Ory was born at Laplace, Louisiana. (WCR - 2/95) (JA - Dec „94) 1899 Forms first band. Line up - Violin, Bass Viol, Guitar and Ory on Banjo. 1908 Brings a band to New Orleans - called “Ory‟s Brownskin Babies”. 1910 Ory moves to New Orleans. Photograph of the “Woodland Band” at Laplace, Louisiana - Chif Matthews cor, Johnny Brown vln, Kid Ory valve tbn, Stonewall Matthews gtr, Foster Louis sbs and Edward Robinson drs. (photo in NOTFA) 1913 Leads the band at Pete Lala‟s Cafe in Storyville. 1914 King Oliver joins Ory‟s band and brass band which was sometimes billed under joint names. 1916 Johnny Dodds joins Ory‟s band 1918 Jimmie Noone joins Ory‟s band 1919 Leaves New Orleans for Los Angeles. August 29th “Scrip Dance” at the Grunwald Tea House. Music by Oury‟s (sic) Orchestra. (Flyer/card) Autumn - leads bands at the Cadillac Cafe, Central Avenue, Dreamland Ballroom, L.A., Creole Cafe, Oakland, Cliffhouse, San Francisco (FN - Vol.8, no3). 1921 June - Recording for Sunshine Records (A1) 1922 February 28th - KO plays at a grand Mardi Gras Ball at Oakland Municipal Auditorium. „Music by King Oliver‟s and Ory‟s celebrated orchestras (WA - 18/2/22) May 20th - Ory‟s Band opens at “Wayside Park Cafe” (CD - 20/5/1922) “Ory‟s Sunshine Orchestra” make the first ever black jazz records. June 22nd - Spikes Brothers present their first artists in a public demonstration at “Gaumet Auditorium” with Roberta Dudley, Ruth Lee, The Famous Black and Tan Orchestra and Ory‟s Creole Jazz Band. (CD - 27/5/1922) July - Ory‟s band plays a “mammoth dance” at “Dreamland”, San Diego (CD - 15/7/1922) August 8th - Ory‟s band plays train excursion to San Diego. Personnel is given as Mutt Carey cornet/leader, Kid Ory trombone/manager, “Slocum” clarinet, Earl Whaley sax, Buster Wilson piano, Ed Garland bass and Ben Borders drums. (CD - 22/7/1922) September - Dance at “Hiawatha Dance Academy”. Plays with Dink Johnson on clarinet and L. Z. Cooper on piano (CD - 16/9/1922) October 4th - They open a brief season at the “Plantation Review” (CD - 7/10/1922) 1923 Makes first radio broadcast by a black jazz band. 1924 Moves to Chicago. viii INTRODUCTION 1925/1926 Joins King Oliver‟s Dixie Syncopators at the Plantation Cafe. Ory plays alto for the first six weeks (KJO) 1925 November 12th - Recording for OKEH (A2) 1926 February 22nd - Recording for OKEH (A3) February 26th - Recording for OKEH (A4) March 10th - Recording for Vocalion (A5) March 11th - Recording for Vocalion (A6) April 20th - Recording for Vocalion (A7) April 21th - Recording for Vocalion (A8) April 23th - Recording for Vocalion (A9 & A10)) May 28th - Recording for Vocalion (A11) May 29th - Recording for Vocalion (A12) June 16th - Recording for OKEH (A13) June 18th - Recording for OKEH (A14) June 23th - Recording for OKEH (A15) July 13th - Recording for Columbia (A16) July 14th - Recording for Columbia (A17) July 23th - Recording for Vocalion (A18) September 15th - Recording for Victor (A19) September 17th - Recording for Vocalion (A20) September 21th - Recording for Victor (A21) November 16th - Recording for OKEH (A22) December 16th - Recording for Victor (A23) 1927 April 22nd - Recording for Vocalion (A24) April 27nd - Recording for Vocalion (A25) May 9th - plays with King Oliver at the Savoy Ballroom, New York. June - Plays with Dave Peyton‟s Band at the New Plantation Cafe. Opens Chicago‟s Savoy Ballroom with the Clarence Black Band September 2nd - Recording for OKEH/Columbia (A26) September 26th - Recording for OKEH/Columbia (A27) December 9th - Recording for OKEH/Columbia (A28) December 10th - Recording for OKEH/Columbia (A29) December 13th - Recording for OKEH/Columbia (A30) 1928/1929 Plays with Boyd Atkins Chicago Vagabonds, at Sunset Cafe, Chicago 1928 July 2nd - Recording for OKEH/Columbia (A31) 1930 Returns to Los Angeles. Plays in a show called “Lucky Day” with the Leon Rene Band at the Pantages Theatre, San Francisco Plays with Mutt Carey‟s Jeffersonians and Emerson Scott‟s Band in Los Angeles. Photograph of KO with Clem Raymond‟s Orchestra at the Balconades Ballroom, San Francisco (JOTBC) 1931 Plays with Fred Washington Band at the Club Araby 1932 Plays with Charlie Echols Ebony Serenaders at Papkie‟s Club, L.A (BBJ) ix INTRODUCTION 1933 Retires from music to run a chicken farm with his brother John. Takes various odd jobs sorting mail and working in a railroad office. Plays alto and bass in neighbourhood dance bands. Plays a New Orleans type funeral in the Mexican Quarter. 1938 Brother John dies. KO visits New York City. 1939 Article about Ory in Jazz Information magazine. Visits New York city 1940s Date unknown - Private recording of KO playing valve trombone and clarinet (F1) 1940 Rehearses with Jelly Roll Morton‟s Big Band (JMNO) 1941 May 21st - KO composition copyright: Don‟t forget the Santa Fe Train and Bus July 10th - Pall Bearer at Jelly Roll Morton‟s funeral 1942 January 3rd - KO composition copyright: Jaywalk February 9th - KO composition copyright: Are You Selling Songs Mister? March 4th - KO composition copyright: Mussolini Carries the Drum for Hitler Regular guest spots with Barney Bigard‟s Band at the Trouville Club, LA (DB - 1/9/42) 1943 May - Plays with Zutty Singleton‟s Band at Billy Berg‟s Club, Vine Street, Hollywood (BBWH- p.198) May 9th - Ory plays Rudy Blesh concert. Later - Leads own quartet for residency at the Tip Toe Inn, 714E Whittier Boulevard, LA. x INTRODUCTION Line up - “Red Mac” Maclure tpt, (later replaced by Joe Darensbourg, clt) Buster Wilson pno, Alton Redd drs, Charles Mingus bass, Kid Ory doubles sbs, as, cor and tbn. (JR – Sept „45) This club was frequented by Orson Welles and Nesuhi Ertegun. (C1) 1944 March 15th - July 12th - Ory plays with the All Star New Orleans Band, first broadcast on the Orson Welles‟ Mercury Theatre radio show (see C2 - C14 and see Appendix 1) (MM - 23/5/64) April 19th - Jimmie Noone dies. Wade Whaley deps with the band. April - Recording for Jubilee (D1) May 3rd - Barney Bigard replaces Whaley May 18th - Recording for Standard Oil Schoolroom Broadcasts (C10) August 3rd - Recording for Crescent (B1) August 13th - Ory plays at Memorial concert for Jimmie Noone at the Trocadero Club, LA (RC – Oct „44) 1945 January 10th - Time Magazine interviews Ory. The story, called “The Kid Comes Back” appears in the February 5th issue (RC – Mar „45) February 12th - Recording for Exner (B2) February 18th - Ory Band plays two numbers, Muskrat Ramble and Savoy Blues at a benefit concert run by Norman Granz at the Philharmonic Hall LA. Also on the bill are Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Coleman Hawkins. (RC – April „45) March 18th - Plays a Hollywood High School Concert titled “Spirituals to Swing”. (RC – May „45) March 21st - Recording for Decca (B3) April 1st - KOCJB opens at Jade Palace Cafe, 6619-21 Hollywood Boulevard - for a one year residency, six nights a week, no Tuesdays. Minor Hall is on drums and Ory plays trumpet for the first few nights as Mutt Carey was on holiday in New Orleans. (RC – July „45) April 1st - Recording for Standard Oil Schoolroom Broadcast (C15) April 22nd - KOCJB play two or three Sunday afternoons at Ace Cain‟s Club, Western Avenue. Barney Bigard sits in. (RC – June „45) May 6th - Sunday afternoon sessions moves to the Jade Palace without Mutt Carey. However on the 13th, Carey was back. August 5th - Recording for Crescent (B4) August 14th - Joe Darensbourg leaves and returns to Seattle. (JM - Vol 3. no5) Barney Bigard plays for one week (JR – Oct „45). August - Darnell Howard joins. (DB -1/9/45) September 8th - Recording for Crescent (B5) November 3rd - Recording for Crescent (B6) 1946 January 24th - Recording for Standard Oil Schoolroom Broadcast (C16) February 10th - Recording live at The Green Room (C17) February 19th - KO signs contract with Columbia Records. February - Albert Nicholas joins KOCJB at the Radio Room, 1539 Vine Street, Hollywood (DB - 22/4/46) April 21st - Live Broadcast from Billy Berg‟s Club (C18) Late May - Recording for Jubilee (D2 & D3) June - Ory signs with the MCA Booking Agency (DB - 3/6/46) August 4th - Afternoon and evening dance run by the Yerba Buena Music Shop, at the Dawn Club, San Francisco. Albert Nicholas clt and L Z Cooper pno. (P – Oct „46) August - Albert Nicholas leaves and returns to New York. He is replaced by Jack Kelson (Kelso) for two months, Darnell Howard for a short time, and then Barney Bigard.