Spikes' Seven Pods Of Pepper Orchestra

Kid Ory relocated to California from New Orleans in 1919 when his doctor advised him to move to a dry climate, because of his poor health. Ory formed his Original Creole Jazz Band (they sometimes were billed as Kid Ory's Brown-Skinned Babies) the same year and played residencies in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland up until 1925. Spike's Seven Pods of Pepper Orchestra was the name that Kid Ory's Original Creole Jazz Band recorded under in 1922 for the Sunshine label, which only released three records, all which featured Ory's band. The records were also released under the name of the Sunshine Band. The label was run by two brothers, John and Reb Spikes. The record was only sold in their music store at 12th and Central Avenue in Los Angeles . Although only 5000 of these records were printed, the two tracks were the first jazz recordings made by an African-American band from New Orleans and they are a fine example of the New Orleans ensemble style of playing. It is interesting to compare this 1922 version of Ory's Creole Trombone with the version of Ory's Creole Trombone that he recorded five years later with Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. The band also recorded two Blues records a month earlier on the Sunshine label. The first under the name of Ruth Lee accompanied by Ory's Sunshine Orchestraand the other being Roberta Dudley accompanied by Ory's Sunshine Orchestra.