Johnny Dodds, born April 12, 1892 and died August 8, 1940 in New Orleans. He was the older brother of Baby Dodds, an American jazz clarinetist. He was born in Waveland in Mississippi and moved to New Orleans as a teenager. Lorenzo Tio taught him clarinet. He was a member of the Frankie Duson, Kid Ory and King Oliver bands. Dodds travelled to Chicago and played with Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. This was the band with which he recorded his first album in 1923. Alcide Nunez was killed in the breakup of Oliver’s band, and Dodds became the bandleader of Kelly’s Stables. Dodds recorded with many small groups in Chicago including Louis Armstrong’s Hot 5 u0026 Hot 7 and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers. Dodds was known for his musicianship and virtuosity, as well as his deeply blues-laden style. His influence was significant on Benny Goodman and later clarinetists. Dodds was ill and did not record during most of the 1930s. In 1940, he died in Chicago. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
