Kid Rena

An early New Orleans legend, Kid Rena's abilities are largely lost to history. He played in the same Waif's Home Band as Louis Armstrong and in 1919 he replaced Armstrong in Kid Ory's band. Unlike Armstrong, Rena mostly stayed in New Orleans throughout his life (although he visited Chicago a few times in the 1920s). Rena led his own groups, formed the Pacific Brass Band, and was often featured with the Tuxedo Brass Band. He was active up until 1947 when bad health forced his retirement. Unfortunately, Kid Rena only had one recording session (in 1940) and he is very subpar during the poorly recorded performances (sounding as if he were 82 rather than 42), leaving today's listeners virtually no reason to remember him, but his contemporaries did think highly of his talent.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo