The Story of Welles and Ory, Part One

Jeff Barnhart: Welcome back, Hal! I couldn’t start this next topic without you!! In an earlier column (TST Jan-Feb 2023) we enjoyed a two-part exploration of Edward “Kid” Ory’s early years, especially his stints in the 1920s in Chicago as a sideman in such legendary bands as, among others, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers. In 1929, when Ory’s wife convinced him the Windy City was no match for the sunshine of California, he returned to the West Coast only to find the jazz scene greatly diminished. Then, fifteen years later, he led a band that frequently performed on Orson Welles’ popular radio show! Could you flesh out the details of Ory’s musical life between 1929 and 1944 and illuminate how he and his band would get involved with the man who created a national scare with his radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds in 1938 and immortalized the name “Rosebud” in his 1941 film, Citizen Kane? Hal Smith: Thank you, Jeff. According to John McCusker’s great book Creole Trombone, after returning to California Ory worked as a sideman in Los Angeles and in the Bay Area—but there was not enough musical activity for him to continue in music full-time. Ory wound up working as a janitor for the Santa Fe Railway. He did have a brief turn in the spotlight—with “Papa Mutt” Carey, Buster Wilson, and Ed Garland—in 1943, with the gro