Henry "Kid" Rena[1] (August 30, 1898 – April 25, 1949)[2] was an American jazz trumpeter, who was an early star of the New Orleans jazz scene.
Rena was hit hard by the Great Depression, 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 Hale Broun asked Kid Rena to record.
Joe Rene (Kid Rena's brother and drummer on the session) said that Kid refrained from playing high notes on the recording session because "he didn't want anyone to get his style".
[4] Rena never recorded again; he was an alcoholic, and failing health led him to stop playing in 1947.