Warren Baby Dods (December 24, 1898 - February 14, 1959) is an American jazz drummer who was born in New Orleans , Louisiana .
| Warren dods | |
|---|---|
 Baby Dods, Ole South, New York, December 1946, photo: William P. Gottlieb | |
| basic information | |
| Birth name | Warren dods |
| Date of Birth | December 24, 1898 |
| Place of Birth | New Orleans , Louisiana , USA |
| Date of death | February 14, 1959 (aged 60) |
| Place of death | |
| A country | |
| Professions | Drummer |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Genres | Jazz , Dixieland |
| Collectives | Johnny Dods , Jelly Roll Morton , Art Hows |
Baby Dods (pronounced Dots) was the younger brother of clarinetist Johnny Dods . He is known as one of the best jazz drummers of the time when the era of big bands was just beginning , and he made a great contribution to nascent jazz . Dods was among the pioneer drummers who improvised on performances and recordings. He brought variety to his performance through accents and expressive movements of his hands during his jazz solos on the snare drum, nevertheless continuing to keep the rhythm on the bass drum. Among those who inspired him were Louis Cotrell , Harry Zeno, Henry Martin, and Tabby Hall.
Dods had a reputation as a young gifted drummer from New Orleans , worked in musical groups with young Louis Armstrong on steamboats cruising around the Mississippi . He moved to California in 1921 to work with Joe "King" Oliver, and then moved with him to Chicago , where he had a main place of work.
Dods recorded with Louis Armstrong , Jelly Roll Morton and his brother Johnny Dods . In the late 1940s, he worked with Jimmy Ryan in New York . On one of his returns to New Orleans, he signed up with Bank Johnson . After three strokes between 1949 and 1950, Dods basically only taught and occasionally played, as he was not able to fully play out the performance. In 1954, he played for Natty Dominic on his recordings, where bassist Israel Crosby and pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong also played with him. [2]
The skillful play of Dods continued to be admired. He considered it important to play in a variety of ways, depending on who you are and what you play. Dods is also possibly the first jazz drummer to be recorded outside the band: in 1945 he recorded 2 solos for Circle Records and the next year he recorded a series of solos and reminiscences for Folkways Records . [3]
Content
Ryde Rhythm Grid Discoverer
Most of the artists of that time played a short buzz or a simple back beat (beats on the 2nd and 4th beat of a measure). Dods preferred to play a long-sounding buzz-beat, lasting until the next hit and filling the time between them. He later discovered that you can keep a rhythmic grid on the ride. Since then, this technique has become a basic element of jazz drummers.
Links
Literature
- The Baby Dodds Story , a biography written by Larry Gara based on an interview with Dods, first published in 1959, ISBN 978-1-888408-08-9 .