Ory started playing music with home-made instruments in his childhood, and by his teens was leading a well-regarded band in Southeast Louisiana. He kept La Place, Louisiana, as his base of operations due to family obligations until his twenty-first birthday, when he moved his band to New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one of the most influential trombonists of early jazz. [1][2]House on Jackson Avenue, New Orleans, was Ory's residence in the 1910s Ory retired from music in 1966 and spent his last years in Hawaii, with the devoted assistance of Trummy Young. He died in Honolulu.