(b in or nr New Orleans, 11 May 1885; d Savannah, 8 April 1938). American jazz cornettist and bandleader. He moved in 1918 to Chicago, where in 1920 he formed what was to be King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. The band was reorganized in 1924 as the Dixie Syncopators. After 1927 Oliver led bands but seldom performed. One of the most important musicians in the New Orleans style, he was renowned for ‘wa-wa’ effects.

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