Mutt Carey

Thomas "papa Mutt" Carey was an old-fashioned trumpeter who spoke of Buddy Bolden with reverence, made a point of honoring Freddie Keppard, and named Joe Oliver as a major inspiration, especially in the use of mutes. A longtime cohort of Kid Ory, he embodied the earliest stylistic manifestations of the jazz trumpet tradition. Born in Hahnville, LA, in 1891, Thomas Carey was the youngest of 17 offspring. He tried his hand at drumming, took up the guitar, and studied the peck horn with his brother Pete before settling on the cornet in 1912.



Thomas worked with his brother Jack's Crescent Orchestra in 1913 -- a high-profile arrangement, as the jazz standard "Tiger Rag" was colloquially known as "Play Jack Carey." He paraded with the Tuxedo, Superior, and Eagle bands, acquired the nickname Papa Mutt, and on Joe Oliver's recommendation replaced Lewis Matthews with Kid Ory's band in 1914. Mutt hit the road in 1917 in the company of pianist Steve Lewis, clarinetist Johnny Dodds, and drummer Max Hill as the musical component of Mack & Mack's Merrymakers of Mirth, a vaudeville revue that worked the TOBA circuit. After the show hit Chicago, Dodds returned to New Orleans to work with Ory while Carey stayed on, gigging at the Pekin Cafe and with Lawrence Duhe at the Dreamland.

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