Freddie Keppard

Freddie Keppard was a pre-Armstrong 'King' of the New Orleans cornet, leading the Original Creole Orchestra. He notoriously refused to record in 1915 out of fear others would steal his ideas. When he finally did record in the 1920s, he showcased a rough, driving, ragtime-heavy style whose recorded work preserves something of pre-Armstrong New Orleans jazz.