An Archive of Early Jazz on 78 RPM
An exciting performance of Dizzy Gillespie’s bop standard “Night in Tunisia” by the Bud Powell Trio featuring drummer Max Roach and bassist Curly Russell.
If you listen closely you can faintly hear Powell’s hummed vocalizations during his playing.
Recorded in New York on May 1, 1951.
Released as Blue Note 1576.
Later included on the 10″ ep “The Amazing Bud Powell” (Blue Note LP 5003)
Credits:
Bud Powell – piano
Curly Russell – bass
Max Roach – drums
It is well-known that Fletcher Henderson recorded many sides on the Harmony label in 1925-26 under the pseudonym “The Dixie Stompers”.
His first session with Harmony (a budget label owned by Columbia) resulted in two sides released as Harmony 4-H and 5-H under the name “The Southern Serenaders”. This pseudonym (which was also used by many other dance orchestras on various labels) has resulted in some confusion as to the identity of the band.
Some contend this could be a Sam Lanin recording. However, the last thirty seconds of the song reveal a lovely trumpet solo which is unmistakably Louis Armstrong, then a member of the Fletcher Henderson orchestra.
The Henderson band went on to record over 30 more sides for the Harmony label (many which were also released on sister labels Velvet Tone and Diva), but after one more Columbia recording session with Henderson in October of 1925, Armstrong would leave the band to start recording with his famous “Hot Five” in November of 1925.
Recorded in New York, New York on August 7, 1925.
Credits
Fletcher Henderson – piano, director, arranger
Elmer Chambers, Joe Smith, Louis Armstrong – trumpet
Charlie Green – trombone
Buster Bailey – clarinet, alto sax
Don Redman – alto sax, tenor sax
Coleman Hawkins – tenor sax
Charlie Dixon – banjo
Bob Escudero – tuba
Kaiser Marshall – drums
Billy Jones – vocals
Trumpet player Jabbo Smith was 20 years old when this thrilling record was cut. 1929 saw Smith record over 20 sides in lightning succession – many of which were his original compositions. His wild style was exciting and intoxicating.
Unfortunately, the onset of the depression and crash of the record industry hit at the worst time for Jabbo’s career. He moved to Milwaukee and got married – playing sporadically and recording briefly in 1938. By the 40s, he was off of the jazz scene radar altogether – working a steady job at Avis car rental – only resurfacing decades later.
Despite the shortness of his career – the energy of these 1929 performances is a real achievement in the history of jazz.
Originally released on Brunswick in the U.S., this much more affordable British Vocalion is a dubbed repress from the early 50s.
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on March 1, 1929.
Jabbo Smith – trumpet
Omer Simeon – clarinet
George James – alto sax
Cassino Simpson – piano
Hayes Alvis – tuba
Ikey Robinson – banjo
Sides 1-4 of a Chaoju (Teochew Opera 潮剧) recorded approximately 1931.
Odeon A 227162 – made in Germany.
Chaoju (潮剧, Teochew opera)
Translation help appreciated! ^_^
潮音
中一枝香
韓廷美當火頭軍
花旦嬋鳳花旦一鳴
德國造
Madison 5001
“St. Louis Blues” – Nashville Jazzers
Recorded in New York, c. 1927.
Bob Fuller was very active in the NYC jazz scene in the 1920s. He played as a sideman for many blues singers such as Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith, Clara Smith, Rosa Henderson, Josie Miles, Maggie Jones, and Viola McCoy.
He also played in small combos such as George McClennan’s Jazz Devils, Three Monkey Chasers, The Three Hot Eskimos, Five Musical Blackbirds, Rocky Mountain Trio, Kansas City Five (with Bubber Miley), and (perhaps most famously) Three Jolly Miners.
This recording date is not precisely known – but it would have come well after his early work as a sideman (1924-26) and the last Three Jolly Miners record (early 1926).
Here we hear the W. C. Handy standard “St. Louis Blues” arranged for a small combo. Mike Jackson’s banjo emphatically plunks out the first few notes – and is soon joined by fine solos on cornet (by frequent collaborator Tom Morris) and clarinet. After a relaxed banjo solo by Jackson, he switches to piano for the outro.
This copy is fairly clean but, like many releases on the Madison label, suffers from a higher level of grainy surface noise. Still, it’s a fine listen!
Credits
Bob Fuller – clarinet / alto sax
Tom Morris – cornet
Mike Jackson – piano / banjo
“Στην Υπόγα” – Κώστα Μπέζου (Α. Κωστής)
“In the Tavern” – Kostas Bezos (A. Kostis)
Recorded in Athens in 1930 by Victor representative Tetos Dimitriadis and released in the U.S. as Victor V-58061.
This mysterious rebetiko artist recorded a handful of records in the early 30s – most of which were pressed in very small numbers and all of which did not attain widespread awareness until much later.
Unlike typical rebetikos who came from among the poorest population in urban Athens, Bezos was somewhat of outlier. He was born outside of Athens to a middle-class family and came to Athens to work as a journalist and cartoonist. He began a Hawaiian band called the “White Birds” that he played guitar in. At the age of 25, in 1930, he recorded this track and went on to record a total of 12 sides.
After 1932, he appears to have stopped making records. While he continued his work at the newspaper, he also tried his hand at acting. He died of tuberculosis during the Nazi occupation of Greece in 1943. He was 37.
An excellent article about him can be found here:
https://www.lifo.gr/culture/music/poios-itan-o-mystiriodis-kai-afanis-rempetis-kostas-mpezos
(Use Google translate to translate this page)
The B Side of Victor V-58061 can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/NXRTuQeJblI
Some excellent bluesy solos on this one!
Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on February 11, 1928.
Released in May of 1928 as Victor 21270.
Credits:
Snooks Friedman – drums, director
James Migliore (or Estes Monasco?) – cornet
Ken Herlin – trombone
Elly Bellare – clarinet, alto sax
Rupe Biggadike – piano
Bob Cooke – banjo
Lonnie Johnson’s career in music is quite remarkable. A key figure in the development of blues and jazz guitar in the 20s and early 30s, he continued making music through the 1960s.
In the late 1940s, he revisited an earlier acoustic tune he recorded for Decca in 1938 (“Laplegged drunk again” on Decca 7537) with an interesting twist: This new version featured Lonnie on electric guitar backed by piano and bass.
Originally released on the King label in 1950 – for whom Lonnie recorded many R&B sides during the postwar period – here we have a British Vogue pressing from 1951. Though the record was released in 1950, the matrix number indicates the recording was made a bit earlier.
Credits –
Lonnie Johnson – guitar and vocal
Allen Smith – piano
Monte Morrison – bass
Great early bebop tune by a quartet led by saxophonist Allen Eager that featured drummer Max Roach.
Recorded in NYC on March 22, 1946
Released as Savoy 621
Credits:
Tenor Saxophone – Allen Eager
Piano – Edwin Finckel
Bass – Bob Carter
Drums – Max Roach
A real hot one from The New Orleans Owls, a band that played frequently at hotels in New Orleans from 1922-27. They recorded many of their records in New Orleans – including this one, from their last recording session.
Recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 26, 1927.
Released as Columbia 1547-D.
Credits:
Benjie White – director, clarinet, alto sax
Bill Padron, Red Bowman, cornet
Frank Netto – trombone
Pinky Vidacovich – clarinet, alto sax
Lester Smith – tenor sax
Sigfre Christensen – piano
Nappy Lamare – banjo, guitar
Dan LeBlanc – tuba
Earl Crumb – drums