Baby Dodds
b. Warren Dodds, 24 December 1898, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 14 February 1959. Dodds began taking drum lessons in his early teens and made appearances in street parades. Among his first professional engagements were stints in the bands of Bunk Johnson, Willie Hightower, Papa Celestin and Fate Marable, with whom he stayed for three years until 1921. He then joined King Oliver, who was working in San Francisco, and travelled with the band to Chicago the following year. From 1924 he played in a succession of leading bands, mostly in Chicago, among them those of Honore Dutrey, Freddie Keppard and his older brother, Johnny Dodds. Throughout the '30s Dodds was still based in Chicago, playing with his brother, and recorded with many leading traditionalists. In the early '40s Dodds again worked with Bunk Johnson, now a rediscovered trumpet legend. He also played with Mezz Mezzrow, Art Hodes and Miff Mole. In 1950 he suffered a stroke but was soon back, playing with Natty Dominique and also performing in pick-up groups at various clubs in New York and Chicago. Persistent ill-health eventually resulted in partial paralysis. and he died in 1959. Generally held to be the master of New Orleans drumming, Dodds's style was based upon immaculate timekeeping and faultless technique. Eagerly studied by young drummers in Chicago during his many years there, he was a formative influence upon Dave Tough, who urged his slightly younger colleague Gene Krupa to listen to the same source. In practice, few of his devotees ever played like him, mainly because, in performance, Dodds did much more than merely keep time. His accompaniment, especially for soloists, was usually a display of all of his many skills and was, consequently, much fussier than many front-line players liked. Although he adhered closely to the New Orleans tradition, Dodd used his drum patterns in a manner that was in advance of his time and which was not fully exploited until the advent of bebop. In 1946 he recorded a session for Circle Records, during which he explained his technique and played several demonstration solos. 
Further reading: THE BABY DODDS STORY, Warren Baby Dodds and Larry Gara.