Johnny Dodds

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Johnny Dodds (Template:IPAc-en; April 12, 1892 – August 8, 1940)Template:Sfn was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist based in New Orleans, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Lovie Austin and Louis Armstrong. Dodds was the older brother of drummer Warren "Baby" Dodds, one of the first important jazz drummers.Template:Sfn They worked together in the New Orleans Bootblacks in 1926.Template:Sfn Dodds is an important figure in jazz history.Template:Sfn He was the premier clarinetist of his era and, in recognition of his artistic contributions, he was posthumously inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame.Template:Sfn He has been described as "a prime architect in the creation of the Jazz Age."Template:Sfn

Biography

Dodds was born in Waveland, Mississippi. His childhood environment was a musical one.Template:Sfn His father and uncle were violinists, his sister played a melodeon, and in adolescence Johnny sang high tenor in the family quartet.Template:Sfn According to legend, his instrumental skill began with a toy flute which had been purchased for his brother, Warren "Baby" Dodds.Template:Sfn He was known for his serious and reserved manner as well as his "funky blues playing," which earned him the nickname "toilet."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He moved to New Orleans in his youth and studied the clarinet with Lorenzo Tio and Charlie McCurdy.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He played with the bands of Frankie Duson, Kid Ory,Template:Sfn and Joe "King" Oliver.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Dodds went to Chicago and played with Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, with which he first recorded in 1923. Dodds blamed the breakup on not wanting to travel and on musical conflicts due to Oliver's failing musical abilities.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also worked frequently with his good friend Natty Dominique during this period, a professional relationship that would last a lifetime. After the breakup of Oliver's band in 1924, Dodds replaced Alcide Nunez as the house clarinetist and bandleader of Kelly's Stables.Template:Sfn From 1924 to 1930, Dodds worked regularly at Kelly's Stables in Chicago.Template:Sfn He recorded with numerous small groups in Chicago, including Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven and Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers. He also recorded prolifically under his own name, Johnny Dodds' Black Bottom Stompers, between 1927 and 1929 for Paramount, Brunswick/Vocalion, and Victor. He became a big star on the Chicago jazz scene of the 1920s, but his career precipitously declined with the Great Depression.Template:Sfn Although his career gradually recovered,Template:Sfn he did not record for most of the 1930s, affected by ill-health; he recorded only two sessions—January 21, 1938, and June 5, 1940—both for Decca. On August 8, 1940, Dodds died of a stroke in his Chicago home<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois.

File:Grave of Johnny Dodds (1892–1940) at Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, IL.jpg

Dodds' grave at Lincoln Cemetery

Known for his professionalism and virtuosity as a musician and his heartfelt, heavily blues-laden style, Dodds was an important influence on later clarinetists, such as Benny Goodman,Template:Sfn who stated that no one ever surpassed Dodds in achieving a finer tone with the clarinet.Template:Sfn The tone was probably caused by the use of double embouchure (lower and upper lips over the mouthpiece) in combination with a very hard reed (a thin piece of cane resting against the mouthpiece) according to CDK Cook in the Syncophated Times May 10, 2020. Dodds was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1987.Template:Sfn

Sibling rivalry

Several accounts suggest the Dodds brothers did not always get along. When the brothers were young children, Johnny received a clarinet from his father while Baby did not get a drum even though he asked for one.<ref name="pas">Template:Cite web</ref> In The Baby Dodds Story, Baby Dodds discusses his jealousy of his older brother when they were children. As they grew up, Johnny refused to let Baby play music with him because Baby was a heavy drinker and Johnny did not drink. When Joe Oliver hired Baby to join his band and Johnny realized how much Baby's talent as a drummer had grown, Johnny changed his mind.Template:Sfn Although they continued to argue about Baby's excessive drinking, they grew closer as brothers and musicians. Baby was greatly affected by his brother's death.Template:Sfn