Edward Kid Ory

Edward "Kid" Ory

Edward was born on December 25^th in Laplace, Louisiana. As a child he began to play on homemade instruments. By 1911 he was a bandleader in New Orleans who led the finest there ever were in Jazz history such as Louis Armstrong or King Oliver.In 1919 he moved to Los Angeles where he formed a new band, but after 5 years joined King Oliver in Chicago and became a wealthy recording musician in the late 1920´s. He ran a successful chicken farm after his retirement in 1930 but his popularity even grew when he had a comeback in 1939. Edward continued working with great Jazz musicians such as Barney Bigard, Bunk Johnson and also received various motion-picture credits.

A musician of rough openness and naïve sensibility, he must be seen in the context of the early days of Jazz which he influenced heavily. As a trombonist and composer he was probably the first musician to use his instrument for solos using Tailgate effects. Kid codified the role of the trombone in the classic contrapuntal Jazz improvisation.