Home > Joe "King" Oliver

Joe "King" Oliver was born in Abend, Louisiana near Donaldsonville. He moved to New Orleans in his youth. Oliver played cornet in the New Orleans brass bands and dance bands and also in the city's red-light district, Storyville. The band he co-led with trombonist Kid Ory was considered New Orleans' hottest and best in the 1910s. Oliver achieved great popularity in New Orleans across economic and racial lines, and was in demand for playing jobs from rough working classs black dance halls to white society debutante parties.

According to an interview at the Tulane Jazz Archive with Oliver's widow Stella Oliver, in 1919 a fight broke out at a dance where Oliver was playing, and the police arrested Oliver and the band along with the fighters. This made Oliver decide to leave the Jim Crow South.

After travels in California, by 1922 Oliver was the jazz " KingThis article treats the generic title monarch . For the origins of the word king and its English use, see Germanic king. For other meanings of the word, see Monarch (disambiguation A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. The word derives from Greek" in Chicago (see: Jazz royaltyJazz royalty is a term that reflects the many great jazz musicians who have some sort of royal title in their names or nicknames. Earliest jazz "monarchs" in New Orleans The practice goes back to New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, back before t), with King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band performing at the Royal Gardens (later renamed the Lincoln Gardens). Virtually all the members of this band had notable solo careers. Personnel was Oliver on cornet, his protegé Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong ( August 4, 19011 July 6, 1971) (also known by the nickname Satchmo was an African American jazz musician. Probably the most famous jazz musician of the 20th century, Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose musical s, second cornet, Baby DoddsWarren "Baby" Dodds ( December 24, 1898- February 14, 1959) was a jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Baby" Dodds was the younger brother of clarinetist Johnny Dodds. He is regarded as one of the very best jazz drummers of the pre- Big band era,, drumFor other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). A drum is a musical percussion instrument, consisting of a membrane which is usually stretched taut over a cylindrical tube that is open at the other end. The membrane is struck, either with the hand ors, Johnny DoddsJohnny Dodds ( April 12, 1892 August 8, 1940) was a jazz clarinetist, and older brother of drummer Baby Dodds. Born Waveland, Mississippi, he moved to New Orleans in his youth, studied clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. Played with bands of Frankie Duson, Kid Ory, clarinetThe clarinet (sometimes historically spelled clarionet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinettist. Professional clarinets are made from African hardwood, often grenadilla or (rarely) Honduran r, Lil Hardin, (later Armstrong's wife) on piano, Honore Dutray on trombone, and Bill Johnson, bass and banjo. Recordings made by this group in 1923 demonstrated the serious artistry of the New Orleans style of collective improvisation or Dixieland music to a wider audience.

In the mid and late 1920s Oliver's band transformed into a hybrid of the old New Orleans style jazz band and the nationally popular larger dance band, and was christened "King Oliver & His Dixie Syncopators". Oliver started to suffer from gum disease which started to diminish his playing abilities, but remained a popular band leader through the decade.

Unfortunately, Oliver's business acumen was was less than his musical ability. A succession of managers stole money from him. He demanded more money for his band than the Savoy Ballroom was willing to pay, and lost the gig. In similar fashion, he lost the chance for an engagement at New York City's famous Cotton Club when he held out for more money; young Duke Ellington took the job and subsequently catapulted to fame.

The Great Depression was harsh to Oliver; he lost his life savings when a Chicago bank collapsed, as he struggled to keep his band together on a series of hand-to-mouth gigs until the band broke up and Oliver was stranded in Savannah, Georgia, where he worked as a janitor and died in poverty.