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In 1939, Jelly Roll Morton's New Orleans Jazzmen cut one of the
earliest jazz tribute records, "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say."
Cornetist Bolden may have been the first man to play jazz, according
to Ken Burns' recently aired PBS series Jazz, but we can only guess
how he sounded since he left no recorded legacy. In fact, not until
long after Bolden's mental problems forced him to retire from music
would jazz be committed to wax. Another legendary New Orleans horn
man, Freddie Keppard, turned down an early offer from the Victor
label, leaving the first jazz records to be made in 1917 by a group
of five white Crescent City musicians who'd joined together in
Chicago as the Original Dixieland Jass (soon changed to Jazz)
Band.
The ODJB set off a national jazz craze with its often frantic
polyphony, in the process introducing many jazz warhorses-to-be such
as "Tiger Rag". Keppard, based here during the 20s, eventually made
about two dozen sides that reveal him to be hard-driving but
not-quite-swinging. Perhaps the first really interesting jazz soloist
on record (1922) was Leon Roppolo, clarinetist with the New Orleans
Rhythm Kings, a rollicking white group that one year later
participated in a historic studio encounter with pianist Morton.
The PBS series rightly hails Jelly Roll as the first jazz composer,
but fails to detail his illustrious recording career as a soloist and
leader. With a handpicked ensemble dubbed the Red Hot Peppers, Morton
captured his personal vision of the New Orleans style in a series of
beautifully recorded sessions beginning here in 1926.
The Windy City served as jazz capital of the universe in the
early-to-mid 20s, with no working group surpassing New Orleans
cornetist King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. Its seminally swinging 1923
recordings mark Louis Armstrong's debut, in the company of some of
the finest first-generation jazzmen--drummer Baby Dodds, his elder
clarinetist brother Johnny, and Oliver himself, whose influence on
jazz trumpet would be surpassed only by his protege Armstrong. The
pair's duet breaks continue to astonish despite the passage of 78
years and the persistence of 78 rpm surface noise.
The band broke up around the time of its final session that year, but
the members continued to record together through the decade.
Armstrong's celebrated Hot Five and Hot Seven consisted mainly of
Oliver sidemen. Johnny Dodds eventually recorded again with everyone
from the Creole Band,and on one date together with his brother and
Jelly Roll Morton formed one of the first great jazz trios on record.
Oliver carried on with larger groups playing written arrangements,
still managing to feature his majestic horn to good effect.
Louis left the band and then left town to join Fletcher Henderson in
New York, but returned in late 1925 to make his first recordings as a
leader with the Hot Five. The first performing band he fronted, his
Stompers, had as musical director innovative pianist Earl Fatha
Hines. Clarinetist Jimmie Noone, Dodds' biggest rival in town,
snagged Hines to kick off a series of utterly charming recordings
with his Apex Club Orchestra in 1928. Hines went on to form his
long-lived Grand Terrace Orchestra and influence countless pianists,
including a young Bill Basie.
Hines continued recording with Armstrong through the end of '28,
their collaboration yielding the pivotal "West End Blues" along with
highly rated items like "Beau Koo Jack", written and ingeniously
arranged by Alex Hill. Hill worked as a pianist with virtuosic
trumpeter Jabbo Smith, who in 1929 released a series of recordings on
Brunswick designed to compete with Armstrong's successes on OKeh.
Smith's sides failed at their immediate objective, but are highly
recommended to anyone curious to hear the Armstrong style being
nudged further up toward the stratosphere.
Still, there were other new directions to take with jazz in the 20s,
like that pursued by Iowan Bix Beiderbecke, who found inspiration in
the ODJB's music. He became an instant hero to young suburban fans
while only in his early 20s, offering them hope that a white kid
could play authentic jazz too. Bix's understated cornet style hardly
resembled the blues-drenched exuberance of Armstrong, but the two
players recognized each other as peers.
Rising to prominence with the Wolverines, a spirited bunch named for
Jelly Roll Morton's "Wolverine Blues," Beiderbecke went on to find a
musical soul mate in C-Melody saxophonist Frank Trumbauer, a major
influence on Lester Young, Bix and Tram worked with the dance
orchestras of Gene Goldkettte and Paul Whiteman, but achieved jazz
immortality through their small group studio work, especially on the
ballad "Singin' the Blues" (1927).
By this time some of the eager kids Bix had inspired a few years
before were beginning to mature and get noticed. The Chicago-based
Austin High Gang, including Jimmy McPartland (cornet), Frank
Teschmacher (clarinet), Bud Freeman (tenor) Joe Sullivan (piano), and
Gene Krupa (drums) cut records that year for the OKeh label, just
like their idols Louis and Bix. In New York, Red Nichols combined
Bix-influenced phrasing, exceptional reading ability, and business
smarts to become one of the most successful musicians of his time. On
a long string of records released under a multitude of band names
like the Five Pennies, Nichols featured the cream of a new generation
of able freelancers like trombonists Miff Mole, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn
Miller, and Jack Teagarden, reedmen Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman,
Adrian Rollini, and Pee Wee Russell, and the violin and guitar duo of
Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang.
Jazz took yet another curious direction during the 20s, following a
route through France, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Greece, Turkey,
Sweden, Spain, Egypt, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Italy. New Orleans
clarinetist and soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet hit all these
places, making him the most cosmopolitan of the early jazz greats.
His discography is no less interesting than his travel itinerary. He
made that Jelly Roll date that celebrated Buddy Bolden and the early
days in New Orleans. The next time Bechet recorded for Victor he had
drummer Kenny Clarke, this being just about the time (1940) "Klook"
started gathering with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and
Thelonious Monk for some rather interesting jam sessions at
Minton's.
Frank Youngwerth, musician, composer, writer, and longtime Bix
Beiderbecke afficianado, works for Tower Records
Suggested Listening:
Louis Armstrong-Hot 5s & 7s-single disc
overview-ASV 5171 $11.99*
-Complete Hot 5s & 7s-newly remastered, beautifully
packaged, nominated for a Grammy this year-89 tracks-4 CDs Columbia
Legacy 63527 $54.99
-Hot 5s & 7s-4 CDs-John RT Davies remastering-JSP 100
$26.99
Johnny Dodds Story-1923-29-Jz Archives 158412
$11.99
Freddy Keppard-The Complete Set-1923-26-Retrieval
79017-import-John RT Davies remastering-$16.99
King Oliver-1923 w/Louis Armstrong-Jazz Archives 157462
$11.99
-Greatest Recordings 1923-30-ASV 5218 $11.99*
-Father of New Orleans Trumpet -1926-30-Jazz Archives 159242
$11.99
Jelly Roll Morton-1923-24-Milestone 47018 $16.99
-Birth of the Hot-the classic Chicago Red Hot Peppers
sessions-1926-27-beautifully remastered-RCA 66641-$11.99
-The Pearls-RCA 6588-incl. "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden
Say"-$11.99
New Orleans Rhythm Kings-w/Jelly Roll Morton-Milestone 47020-
$16.99
Original Dixieland Jazz Band-RCA 61098-$16.99
Sidney Bechet-The Legendary-RCA 6590 $11.99
Bix Beiderbecke-Vol 1-Singin' the Blues Columbia 45450
$11.99
-Vol.2-At the Jazz Band Ball-Columbia 46175 $11.99
(We also have a couple of the out of print Bixology box sets from
Italy's IRD)
Red Nichols & the Five Pennies-Rhythm of the
Day-ASV 5025 $11.99*
Jimmy Noone-Apex Club Orchestra-25 greatest
recordings-ASV 5235 $11.99*
-Apex Blues with Earl Hines-Decca 633 $16.99
Jabbo Smith-1929-38-(John RT Davies mastering)
Retrieval 79013 $16.99
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang-Stringin' the
Blues-32 sides from 1927-33 2 CD set- Koch Jazz 7888 $23.99
or for a nice overview, try:
Hot Trumpets 1923-45 w/Louis (West End Blues), Bix
(Singin' the Blues), King Oliver (Dippermouth Blues), Bunny Berigan
(I Can't Get Started), Red Allen, Billy Butterfield, Jabbo Smith, Red
Nichols, Harry James 25 tracks ASV 5208 $11.99*
These titles are available at the Jazz Record Mart. To order call 800-684.3480.
