Dixieland Jazz is also known as New Orleans Style Jazz. It was typically played by a small group of five to eight performers. The melodic instruments, or ‘front line’, included the cornet (or trumpet), clarinet and trombone. The front line players would improvise several contrasting melodic lines at once, producing a kind of polyphonic texture. This collective improvisation was the most distinctive feature of Dixieland.

The front line instruments were supported by a rhythm section that clearly marked the beat and provided a harmonic foundation over which the soloists could improvise.

New Orleans Jazz was usually based on a march or church melody, a ragtime, a popular song, or the 12-bar blues. A well-known tune associated with this style is When the Saints Go Marching In.

Dippermouth Blues is based on the 12-bar blues chord progression. Nine choruses of 12-bar blues are preceded by an introduction and followed by a brief coda. Choruses 1, 2, 5 and 9 are for full ensemble and illustrate the style of collective improvisation. Choruses 3 and 4 feature a clarinet solo with an accompaniment in repeated rhythm. The climax of the piece is King Oliver’s muted cornet solo (in choruses 6 to 8), heard against a background of improvisation by other instruments. Oliver’s solo, with its blue notes and swinging syncopations, was widely imitated by other jazz musicians.