Hal Smith, whose prolific writings over the years have qualified him as a jazz historian in my book, has long admired trombonist Edward “Kid” Ory (1886-1973). As Hal points out, “Ory gained an enviable reputation as leader of one of the finest bands in New Orleans, using dynamics that could bring the sound down to a whisper, a light, lifting rhythm feel, and play just the right tempos for dancers.”
Ory went to California in the early 1920s, and his band was the first African-American jazz band to record (including his own famous composition, “Ory’s Creole Trombone”). He moved to Chicago where he played with three of the most revered groups in the history of recorded jazz: King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators, Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers and Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five. During this period, he also wrote two other jazz standards: “Muskrat Ramble” and “Savoy Blues.” Out of music for an extended period, Ory was rediscovered in 1944 by Orson Welles who featured his band of New Orleans v
