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From 1927 to 1929 Baby Dodds played in his brothers' band at Kelly's Stables along with Freddie Keppard. He was the drummer on many of the classic Chicago Jazz recordings of Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers and Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven. Throughout the Depression, Baby played in many of the small groups lead by his brother Johnny, and then went on to play with Jimmy Noone, and with Bunk Johnson in the 1940's.
From;
Warren "Baby" Dodds was one of first great drummers of Jazz and the brother of clarinetist Johnny Dodds. It has been said of him, "the nimble, thimbled fingers of Baby Dodds on the washboard produced magic". He got his start playing in parades in New Orleans, occasionly with Frankie Dusen's Eagle Band. Baby played briefly with his brother Johnny in Kid Ory's Band, but was embrassed when all the musicians walked off stage because of his poor playing. This incident only served to inspire him to become a better musican. He played in several other bands in New Orleans before joining Fate Marable's riverboat band in 1918. While working on the riverboat he played with Louis Armstrong, Johnny St. Cyr, and Pops Foster, among others. He stayed in Marable's band until King Oliver asked him to join his band in San Francisco in 1921. Dodds followed Oliver to Chicago and was the drumer in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. After the breakup of that band Dodds worked with Honore Dutrey at the Dreamland in Chicago and with several other bands in the city.
The Baby Dodds Story as told to Larry Gara, Louisiana State
University Press, 1959