orig. Joseph Oliver
born May 11, 1885, Abend, La., U.S.
died April 8, 1938, Savannah, Ga.
U.S. jazz cornetist and bandleader.
Oliver grew up in New Orleans and established himself as the city's preeminent cornetist, coleading a band with trombonist Kid Ory (1886–1973) before moving to Chicago in 1918. In 1922 Oliver hired his New Orleans protégé Louis Armstrong to join him in Chicago in his Creole Jazz Band. Their recordings together, including "Dipper Mouth Blues," are jazz classics.