The Beginning

In the early days there was a trumpet player named Joe Oliver who is one of the most important figures in early Jazz. Joe had an array of improvisational styling that made him a great soloist that lead him to becoming a leader of his own band. He was the mentor and teacher of Louis Armstrong. Louis idolized him and called him Papa Joe. Oliver even gave Armstrong the first cornet that Louis was to own. Joe was famous for his using mutes, derbies, bottles and cups to alter the sound of his cornet. He was able to get a wild array of sounds out of his horn with this arsenal of home made mutes. Oliver started playing in
New Orleans around 1908 He often worked in bands around town and in 1917 he was being called the "King" . In 1919 he moved to Chicago and played in The Original Creole Orchestra He toured with the band, but when he returned to Chicago in 1922 he started the King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band . Oliver imported his protégé Louis Armstrong from New Orleans. The band first sessions around 1923 were a milestone in Jazz, introducing the playing of Louis Armstrong to the world. Unfortunately the Creole Jazz Band gradually fell apart in 1924. Oliver went on to record a pair of duets with the great pianist Jelly Roll Morton . In 1925 he became the leader of the Dave Peyton's band and moved the band to New York City in 1927. Oliver continued to record until 1931 he continued to tour the South with various groups, and settled in Georgia where he worked in a pool hall up until his death in 1938.