KidOry

Edward 'Kid' Ory was born in LaPlace, Louisiana on Christmas Day 1886 and came to New Orleans as a young man, where he established himself as one of the city's leading bandleaders before World War I. His band at various times included Buddy Bolden veterans, King Oliver, and the young Louis Armstrong.

Ory is credited with inventing the 'tailgate' style of trombone playing — a slurring, smearing approach that contrasted with the more refined European trombone tradition and became fundamental to New Orleans jazz. He was the first New Orleans jazz musician to record, cutting sides in Los Angeles in 1922.

After years of retirement from music, Ory was rediscovered in the 1940s during the New Orleans jazz revival and returned to recording and performing with remarkable energy. His recordings from this period with his Creole Jazz Band are joyful, swinging documents of the original style.

Ory continued performing into the 1960s, an extraordinary longevity that allowed him to serve as a living link to the origins of jazz. He died in Hawaii in 1973. His composition 'Muskrat Ramble' became one of the most performed standards in jazz history.