Clarinettist Johnny Dodds was born in New Orleans , Louisiana ,
in 1892. Johnny Dodds was one of the greatest jazz clarinetists of the Twenties and he possessed a very soulful and emotional style of playing. Dodds and Louis
Armstrong complimented each other perfectly when the two musicians worked
together in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band and later in Armstrong’s Hot Five
and Seven recording bands.
Dodds played in many of the leading jazz
bands of the classic jazz era. Dodds played in Kid Ory’s band in New Orleans from 1912 to 1919, and like Armstrong, he
played on riverboats with Fate Marable before moving to Chicago in 1921 to play with King Oliver’s
Creole Jazz Band. Dodds also lent his fine clarinet chops to Jelly Roll Morton’s
band, The Red Hot Peppers. Dodds appeared on most of Armstrong’s classic Hot
Five recordings and recorded numerous excellent sides under his own during the
Twenties.
The best of Dodds’ solo recordings include,
“Clarinet Wobble,” “Wild Man Blues,” and “Piggly Wiggly.” Dodds continued to
play and record in Chicago
throughout the Thirties, and also ran a taxi cab company with his brother,
drummer Baby Dodds, until his death in 1940.
Johnny Doods (third from right) with the Fate Marable Band |