Jazz Crazy Records

An Archive of Early Jazz on 78 RPM

Category: Jazz

  • “Sweet Georgia Brown” – Oliver Naylor’s Orchestra (1925)

    “Sweet Georgia Brown” – Oliver Naylor’s Orchestra (1925)

    Oliver Naylor was an Alabamian piano player who formed Naylor’s Seven Aces in Birmingham in 1923 – a band that included a handful of New Orleans players such as Jules Bauduc (brother of Ray Bauduc, the drummer of Johnny Bayersdorffer’s band).

    The band toured as the Oliver Naylor Orchestra and played several stints in NYC at the Roseland Ballroom and the Knickerbocker grill before recording this track for Victor in 1925.

    Hot, stompin’, and rhythmically surprising at every turn, this tune just cooks! Never a dull moment as the unrelenting hot breaks and ensemble playing continually drives momentum forward.

    Recorded in Camden, New Jersey on May 1, 1925.
    Released as Victor 19688

    Credits:
    Bill Perry – Director, Arranger
    Edward “Pinky” Gerbrecht – cornet
    Pete Beilman – trombone
    Jerry Richel – clarinet, alto sax
    Jack Howard – alto sax
    Lester “Gilly” Bouchon – clarinet, tenor sax
    Oliver Naylor, Bob Zurke – piano
    Jules Bauduc – banjo
    Carl Hansen – tuba
    Louis Darrough – drums

  • “I Miss My Swiss” – Fletcher Henderson and his Orch. f/ Louis Armstrong (1925)

    “I Miss My Swiss” – Fletcher Henderson and his Orch. f/ Louis Armstrong (1925)

    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

  • Sau-Sha Stomp – Jabbo Smith and his Rhythm Aces (1929)

    Sau-Sha Stomp – Jabbo Smith and his Rhythm Aces (1929)

    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

  • “St. Louis Blues” – Nashville Jazzers (1927)

    “St. Louis Blues” – Nashville Jazzers (1927)

    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

  • “Kansas City Blues” – Memphis Stompers (1928)

    “Kansas City Blues” – Memphis Stompers (1928)

    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

  • “Drunk Again” – Lonnie Johnson (1947)

    “Drunk Again” – Lonnie Johnson (1947)

    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

  • “The New Twister” – New Orleans Owls (1927)

    “The New Twister” – New Orleans Owls (1927)

    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

  • “You Can’t Do What My Last Man Did” – Maggie Jones (1933)

    “You Can’t Do What My Last Man Did” – Maggie Jones (1933)

    An early session with “The Texas Moaner” Maggie Jones (aka Fae Barnes) accompanied by Fletcher Henderson on piano.

    “You Can’t Do What My Last Man Did” was a James P. Johnson tune with lyrics by Allie Moore. It had already been recorded in a frenzy of sessions by Ethel Waters, Mamie Smith, Alberta Hunter, and Johnson himself earlier that year.

    Jones had just recorded her debut session with Black Swan Records. The result was one of the last few blues records to be released by Black Swan before they declared bankruptcy in late 1923.

    Henderson was truly an unsung hero who accompanied countless early blues singers on records for Black Swan, Paramount, Pathé, Columbia, Victor, and Vocalion – helping to shape the sound of these early blues vocalists as he also developed his own jazz orchestra.

    Jones delivers a fine performance of this no-holds-barred breakup song. Favorite line: “When the clock on the wall strikes half-past three, I want all the things you took from me.”

    “Hendersonia” notes that this Pathé session was contracted by California Ramblers manager Ed Kirkeby and that his session notes show “Lucy Jameson” as the singer – perhaps the birth name of Maggie Jones – or perhaps yet another stage name.

    A record with a fascinating history!

    Recorded in New York on September 4, 1923.

  • “Some of These Days” – Washboard Rhythm Kings (1933)

    “Some of These Days” – Washboard Rhythm Kings (1933)

    The Washboard Rhythm Kings were a studio band from the early 30s with no permanent members. When I first heard bass player Ghost Howell belt out the chorus on their wild version of “Tiger Rag” I was hooked on the energy of their performances.

    Here we have Ghost on vocals and a scat chorus on the inspired “Some of these Days” from August 19, 1933. Transferred from a very nice master pressing on the UK Brunswick label (Brunswick 02075).

    Originally released in the U.S. as Banner 32867, Domino 145, Melotone M-12794, Oriole 2763, Perfect 15823, Romeo 2136, and Vocalion 2688.

    Lots of question marks in the credits, but here are a few confirmed players:
    John Haughton – trombone
    Jerome Carrington – alto sax
    Carl Wade – tenor sax
    Ghost Howell – string bass, vocals

  • “Mood Indigo” – Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra (1930)

    “Mood Indigo” – Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra (1930)

    A remarkable tune that changed jazz forever – “Mood Indigo” by Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra. Originally titled “Dreamy Blues”, it is a composition that makes a radical shift from the hot jazz idiom – evoking a serene melancholy with gentle wistful solos. A key moment in American music.

    This Victor release was not the first recording of the tune – in fact, it was the seventh recording (though three of the others were never issued on 78 rpm). Earlier versions were recorded on Brunswick (10/17), Okeh (10/30) and Victor (11/21 – though this take did not get released until much later on an Ellington RCA Victor album set).

    Recorded in New York on December 10, 1930.
    Released on Victor (22587, 24486, 44-0010) and HMV (B-4842, B-6354, EA-989, HN-207, K-6153)

    Credits:
    Duke Ellington – piano, arranger, director
    Arthur Whetsel, Freddy Jenkins, Cootie Williams – trumpet
    Joe Nanton – trombone
    Juan Tizol – valve trombone
    Johnny Hodges – clarinet, alto sax, soprano sax
    Harry Carney – clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax
    Barney Bigard – clarinet, tenor sax
    Fred Guy – banjo
    Wellman Braud – string bass
    Sonny Greer – drums