Kid Sheik

[1] Cola started playing the trumpet at age 16 where he took informal lessons from Wooden Joe Nicholas.

[4] But for Cola, when he wasn't playing trumpet, he was spending his spare time sewing sacks that would soon contain sugar.

[1] Sheik had toured England with Barry Martyn's band in 1963, Europe (1966) and New York (1968) with Captain John Handy, and Japan with Louis Nelson in 1970.

[1] In his later years (1985), he married pianist and singer Sadie Goodson who he also played with in duos and ensembles in New Orleans.

He is also featured in a 35mm twelve-minute black and white film directed by Frank Decola titled "The Cradle Is Rocking".

Kid Sheik Colar on trumpet with Captain John Handy on saxophone, Preservation Hall , 1965