The Brief Reign of King Oliver

In 2020, I published A Map of Jazz: Crossroads of Music and Human Rights (WS Publishing), a book that looks at the culture of jazz on a timeline with cultures of the world. At more than 500 pages, the book is incomplete by necessity; there is no well-marked path, and the history is sometimes nebulous. However, as a map of events and the chronology of jazz music, it leads to unfamiliar places. The series Backstories dives deeper into people and places along the genre's blue highways.

Jazz royalty was a contrivance from the genre's earliest days. James Reese Europe was appointed "king" before jazz was jazz; Buddy Bolden was later crowned by his fans, and Paul Whiteman crowned himself. Ella Fitzgerald was the Queen of Jazz and Benny Goodman was the King of Swing. We have had a Duke, a Count, an Ambassador, a Prez, a Prince of Darkness, and another of "cool." Jazz has had more exalted leaders than the House of Habsburg. "King" was bestowed upon jazz cornetist Joseph King Oliver (1885-1938) as a mark of respect for his dominance and influence in early New Orleans jazz. While no single event cemented the title, it was likely an organic honorific reflecting his status as one of jazz's earliest and most revered band leaders.

The previous installment of Backstories looked at the legacy of Lil Hardin Armstrong. Oliver figured prominently in her and Louis Armstrong's professional development. More importantly, Oliver was a creative counselor and foundational to the first generation of jazz in the 1920s—his innovations helped mold the genre. Oliver's pioneering use of instruments, mentorship of Armstrong, and leadership of the Creole Jazz Band shaped the legacy of a too-brief career.

Oliver was born in Abend, Louisiana, on a sugar-cane plantation and moved to New Orleans early in life. He grew up in a musical environment and began playing the trombone but later switched to cornet, studying under celebrated musicians like Bolden and Bunk Johnson. The cornet did not come easily to Oliver. Based on interview excerpts, Margaret Moos Pick reported in Riverwalk Jazz (2012), "His folks said he was 'slow to learn music,' and Bunk Johnson told people that Joe Oliver was 'a poor cornet player for a long time.' He was sent home from his first job with the Eagle Brass Band for playing 'so loud and so bad.' But when he finally got the hang of playing cornet, Joe Oliver got about as good as anybody ever did."

By the 1910s, Oliver was a leading figure in New Orleans' brass bands and dance ensembles. His first broad exposure came around 1912 when trombonist Kid Ory (a Buddy Bolden protégé) asked him to join his six-piece ensemble in New Orleans. The band would later add Armstrong (in his first professional role) and clarinetists Johnny Dodds and Jimmie Noone. Ory's bands had developed a significant following while he was still in his teens. He developed a "tailgate trombone" style, emphasizing bass notes and slurs, central to Dixieland music's polyphonic texture. Ory also established the glissando as an essential early New Orleans Jazz component. His respect for Oliver's contributions and audience approval led Ory to name the cornetist as co-leader.

In 1918, racial tensions and the closure of Storyville (New Orleans' red-light district) dealt a significant blow to that city's music and its musicians; many subsequently found opportunities playing in Mississippi riverboat orchestras. Ory went to Los Angeles and formed the Ory's Sunshine Orchestra with old and new members. Oliver and many other early jazz musicians relocated to Chicago, which quickly became the jazz capital of the United States. Oliver rapidly became a central figure in the city's burgeoning jazz scene.

Oliver's rise to prominence was firmly established with his Creole Jazz Band, which he formed in 1922 at Chicago's Lincoln Gardens. This band was among the pioneering Black jazz ensembles to record extensively, producing tracks for Gennett, Okeh, and Paramount. Their influential recordings—most notably "Dippermouth Blues," featuring Oliver's signature muted solo, and "Canal Street Blues"—demonstrated the distinctive New Orleans polyphonic ensemble style, with Oliver's cornet leading the way and Armstrong as second cornet. The clarinetist Johnny Dodds, trombonist Honore Dutrey. and Lil Hardin formed the core group. Oliver's band produced the earliest notable collection of recordings by Black jazz artists, though contemporary reports indicate that these records merely captured a glimpse of the energy and impact of their live shows.

The fates aligned against Oliver quickly. In 1924, Armstrong's rising talent began to eclipse Oliver's, and Armstrong left to join Fletcher Henderson's orchestra in New York. It was a bad omen for Oliver's future. The Creole Jazz Band would have a run of less than two years. Oliver declined residence at Harlem's Cotton Club in September 1927. Dissatisfied with the financial terms, he chose to forgo the engagement. The opportunity subsequently went to Duke Ellington and propelled him to national prominence. By the late 1920s, Oliver's career faltered on multiple fronts. He suffered from severe gum disease, which affected his ability to play. According to jazz historian Gunther Schuller, by the early 1930s, Oliver could barely hold his cornet due to pain and deteriorating teeth (Schuller, Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development, 1968). Oliver was generous in compensating his musicians, but he struggled to secure profitable engagements. When the Great Depression hit, many of his bookings vanished.

Changing musical tastes further impacted Oliver. Before the age of "modern jazz" (roughly beginning in the 1980s), the style of popular music changed every ten years. The rise of big bands and swing music in the 1930s made Oliver's New Orleans-style jazz sound outdated. He failed to maintain relevance despite attempts to modernize his sound with a larger group. Oliver's later recordings for Victor and Vocalion in the late 1920s were poorly promoted, with minimal royalties. Many of his musicians, including clarinetist Albert Nicholas, recalled that Oliver was often cheated out of earnings (Nicholas, interview in Jazz Oral History Project, 1975).

Following a transitory period with the Dave Peyton Orchestra, Oliver formed The Dixie Syncopators, playing at the Plantation Cafe in Chicago from 1925 to 1927. Oliver's recordings with the Syncopators in the early 1930s were largely forgettable. There are flashes of the pioneering innovator scattered about, but the music is mostly unremarkable. His playing is unassuming and austere, and progressively worsening health issues greatly diminished Oliver's performance. Nevertheless, he manages a few moments of brilliance through the considerable physical pain of playing.

Around 1935, Oliver relocated to Savannah, Georgia, hoping to find steady work in a smaller, less competitive market. According to jazz historian Walter C. Allen, Oliver could barely press his lips to the mouthpiece without pain (Allen, King Oliver: His Life and Times, 1955). Despite this, he occasionally played with local musicians in Savannah, though these gigs were sporadic and poorly paid. Having pawned his cornet, he worked odd jobs, ran a small fruit stand, and worked as a pool hall janitor. Trumpeter Doc Cheatham, who toured through Georgia in the 1930s, remembered Oliver as a "broken man" who still had moments of musical brilliance but was clearly suffering (Cheatham, interview in Jazz Oral History Project, 1980).

In 1937, he moved to New York City, hoping for a comeback, but found little work. Jazz writer Walter C. Allen noted that Oliver was so broke he sometimes slept in parks (Allen, King Oliver: His Life and Times, 1955). His final months were spent in a Harlem rooming house, suffering from arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure. On April 8, 1938, Oliver died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 56. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, but his grave remained unmarked until 1997, when a fundraiser led by jazz enthusiasts finally placed a headstone.

Oliver's influence reached far beyond his performances. The Creole Jazz Band's recordings helped commercialize New Orleans-style jazz beyond its origin, influencing future generations of musicians. His band became a model for other ensembles, and his innovative use of mutes and "talking" cornet improvisations inspired musicians across various genres, including rock guitarists who imitate his "wah-wah" effects. Despite facing health challenges and changes in musical trends, Oliver's contributions established a foundation for future developments in jazz.

References

• Schuller, Gunther. Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development. Oxford University Press, 1968.
• Brothers, T. (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. W.W. Norton & Company.
• Giddins, G. (2001). Satchmo: The Genius of Louis Armstrong. Da Capo Press.
• Jazz Oral History Project, Smithsonian Institution (interviews with Albert Nicholas, 1975).
• The Brownsville Herald, July 24, 1936, guest columnist Paul Whiteman
• Kenney, William H. Chicago Jazz: A Cultural History, 19041930. Oxford UP, 1993.
• Lomax, Alan. Mister Jelly Roll. Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1950.
• Williams, Martin. King Oliver. A.S. Barnes, 1960
• Whyton, Tony. Jazz Icons: Heroes, Myths and Jazz Tradition. Cambridge UP, 2010.
• Allen, Walter C. King Oliver: His Life and Times. Jazz Monographs, 1955.
• Cheatham, Doc. Interview in Jazz Oral History Project, Smithsonian Institution, 1980.
• Bushell, Garvin. Jazz from the Beginning. University of Michigan Press, 1988.

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