Dodds grew up in New Orleans, influenced by street drummers as well as ragtime players. His playing with the "King" Oliver band and with Louis Armstrong in the early and mid - 1902s reveal the typical " New Orleans " Dixieland style, more controlled then ragtime. often in a " four " feel rather than in "two" as was often the case with both ragtime and the later "Chicago-style" Dixieland. Dodds's improvisatory efforts are best documented with the Oliver band when playing woodblock, where he effectively mixed rolls, triplets, and dotted rhythms as background to the horn solos, rather than to simply play a series of ostinato patterns or to elaborate on a melody in the manner of the ragtime drummers. This characteristic set Dodds apart from drummer before him and depicts the primary role of the drum set drummer to the present day: to support and in turn become influenced by the musicians whom the drummer is accompanying.