Baby Dodds

Warren Dodds
Birth name	Warren Dodds
Born	December 24, 1898
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Died	February 14, 1959
Genres	Jazz, dixieland
Occupations	Drummer
Instruments	Drums
Associated acts	Johnny Dodds, Jelly Roll Morton, Art Hodes

Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was a jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"Baby" Dodds was the younger brother of clarinetist Johnny Dodds. He is regarded as one of the very best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era, and one of the most important early jazz drummers. Dodds was among the first drummers who improvised while performing to be recorded. He varied his drum patterns with accents and flourishes.

Dodds gained reputation as a top young drummer in New Orleans, then worked on Mississippi River steamship bands with young Louis Armstrong. He moved to California in 1921 to work with Joe "King" Oliver there, and followed Oliver to Chicago, which would be his base of operations.

Dodds recorded with Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Art Hodes, and his brother Johnny Dodds. In the late 1940s he worked at Jimmy Ryan's in New York City. On some of his trips back to New Orleans, he recorded with Bunk Johnson. Dodds died in Chicago at age 60.

Dodds continues to be admired for the creativity of his playing. He believed in playing something different for every chorus of every tune. Additionally Dodds is perhaps the first jazz drummer to record unaccompanied: in 1945 he recorded two solos for Circle Records, and the next year recorded a series of solos and reminiscences for Folkways Records.^[1]

Inventor of the floor bass drum

Dodds revolutionized the drum kit by inventing the floor bass or "kick drum".^{[citation needed]}

Popular culture references

Kanye West references Baby Dodds in his song Drive Slow, "See back back then then if you had a car, you were the Chi town version of Baby".

See also

Jazz portal

Music portal

• Music

References

Further reading

• The Baby Dodds Story, a biography by Larry Gara based on extensive interviews with Dodds, first published in 1959, ISBN 978-1888408089.

External links

• Selected Discography of Baby Dodds on Folkways Records

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