Joe "King" Oliver was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz, also a notable composer, he wrote many tunes still played today, including Dippermouth Blues, Sweet Like This, Canal Street Blues, Doctor Jazz and Sugarfoot Stomp.
Joe "King" Oliver was born in Aben, Louisiana and moved to New Orleans in his youth. He first studied the trombone, then changed to cornet. From 1908 to 1917 he played cornet in New Orleans brass bands and dance bands and in the city's red-light district. A band he co-led with trombonist Kid Ory was considered one of the best and hottest in New Orleans in the late 1910s. He was popular in New Orleans across economic and racial lines and was in demand for music jobs of all kinds. As a player, Oliver took great interest in altering his horn's sound. He pioneered the use of mutes, including the rubber plumber's plunger, derby hat, bottles and cups. His favourite mute was a small metal mute made by the C.G. Conn Instrument Company, with which he played his famous solo on his composition the Dippermouth Blues. His recording Wa Wa Wa with the Dixie Syncopators can be credited with giving the name wah-wah to such techniques. Oliver performed mostly on cornet, but like many switched to trumpet in the late 1920s. He credited jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden as an early influence and in turn was a major influence on numerous younger cornet/trumpet players in New Orleans and Chicago, particularly the most famous of them all, Louis Armstrong. As mentor to Armstrong, Oliver taught young Louis and gave him his job in Kid Ory's band. Louis remembered Oliver as "Papa Joe" and considered him his idol and inspiration.
