Biography
Paul Mares earned recognition as an exceptional yet underappreciated trumpeter who led the forward-looking New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Self-taught on his instrument, he gained initial performing opportunities alongside Tom Brown’s ensemble aboard the riverboat Capitol. Departing New Orleans in 1919, he joined Ragbaby Stevens in Chicago and soon began working as a freelance musician throughout the city. In 1921 he assembled the Friars Society Orchestra, whose roster prominently included trombonist George Brunies and clarinetist Leon Rappolo. Between 1922 and 1923 the ensemble, now operating under the name New Orleans Rhythm Kings, cut sides for Gennett and stood, at that moment, as arguably the strongest jazz unit captured on disc, surpassed only later by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. Although Mares remained characteristically modest about his own contributions and noted Oliver’s influence on his style, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings themselves exerted considerable sway over emerging players, among them the Austin High School Gang and Bix Beiderbecke.
The original lineup of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings disbanded in 1924. Mares spent a brief period working in New York, returned to New Orleans the next year, and directed two additional recording dates still issued under the group’s name. He subsequently withdrew from active performance to join the family fur enterprise, after which the New Orleans Rhythm Kings receded into the past. Mares relocated to Chicago in 1934; the following year he mounted a short-lived return, supervising a session that produced four selections before stepping away once more. He operated a barbecue restaurant, contributed to defense-plant labor during World War II, and reentered music in 1945, fronting a final ensemble from 1945 to 1948 that left no recorded legacy.
The original lineup of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings disbanded in 1924. Mares spent a brief period working in New York, returned to New Orleans the next year, and directed two additional recording dates still issued under the group’s name. He subsequently withdrew from active performance to join the family fur enterprise, after which the New Orleans Rhythm Kings receded into the past. Mares relocated to Chicago in 1934; the following year he mounted a short-lived return, supervising a session that produced four selections before stepping away once more. He operated a barbecue restaurant, contributed to defense-plant labor during World War II, and reentered music in 1945, fronting a final ensemble from 1945 to 1948 that left no recorded legacy.