Henry "Kid" Rena was an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 trumpeter who was an early star of the New Orleans jazz scene.

Rena may have taken lessons from Manuel Perez

Manuel Perez

Manuel Perez may refer to:*Manuel Perez , Boxing Prospect in the Lightweight division*Manuel Perez , California State Assemblyman, 80th District*Manuel Pérez , President of Nicaragua 1843-1844...

 as a youngster. He and Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

 played in the same waif's home

Orphanage

An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...

 band, and when Armstrong joined the band on the S.S. Capitol, Rena was named his replacement in Kid Ory

Kid Ory

Edward "Kid" Ory was a jazz trombonist and bandleader. He was born in Woodland Plantation near LaPlace, Louisiana.-Biography:...

's band in 1919. He played with Ory until 1922, when Ory moved to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

; that year Rena formed his own band. This ensemble played all the New Orleans jazz houses regularly and played Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 in 1923-24. He led the Eureka Brass Band

Eureka Brass Band

The Eureka Brass Band was a brass band from New Orleans, active from 1920 to 1975.The group was founded by trumpeter Willie Wilson, and its early members included clarinetists Willie Parker, John Casimir, and George Lewis...

 in the late 1920s, remaining with them until 1932, when he formed his own brass band

Brass band

A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...

.

Rena was hit hard by the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, and he eked out a living locally in New Orleans playing old-style jazz as it waned in popularity in favor of swing jazz. In 1940, Heywood Broun

Heywood Broun

Heywood Campbell Broun, Jr. was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, now known as The Newspaper Guild. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he is best remembered for his writing on social issues and...

 asked Kid Rena to record. Eight recordings were made in total, done at the Hotel Roosevelt and recorded by local radio station WWL on August 21, 1940. Rena's prowess as a live soloist was legendary, but by the time he recorded, he had lost much of his technical ability, and the recordings are of poor quality.

Rena never recorded again; he was an alcoholic, and failing health led him to quit playing in 1947. He died two years later.

Rena's 1940 sessions have been re-released on compact disc.