Jazz Crazy Records

An Archive of Early Jazz on 78 RPM

Category: Jazz

  • “Floyd’s Guitar Blues” – Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy (1939)

    “Floyd’s Guitar Blues” – Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy (1939)

    Recorded in New York on March 16, 1939.
    Master pressing released in the UK as Brunswick 02789.

    Andy Kirk – director, bass sax
    Floyd Smith – electric guitar
    Earl Thomson, Harry Lawson, Clarence Trice – trumpet
    Ted Donnelly, Henry Wells – trombone
    John Harrington – clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax
    Don Byas – alto sax, baritone sax
    Earl Miller – alto sax
    Dick Wilson – tenor sax
    Claude Williams – violin
    Mary Lou Williams – piano
    Booker Collins – string bass
    Ben Thigpen – drums

    Equipment used in the transfer:
    • Lenco L75 turntable with Shure M91ED cartridge
    • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
    • Audacity (for digitization, de-clicking, and De-RIAA/Re-EQing)
    • Logic (for additional EQ tweaks, light compression, and stereo mixdown to mono)
    • Adobe Premiere (for adding label image and final export to MP4)

  • “Honeycomb Harmony” – Musical Stevedores (1929)

    “Honeycomb Harmony” – Musical Stevedores (1929)

    Columbia 14406-D
    Recorded on January 30, 1929 in New York

    Freddy Jenkins, Louis Metcalf – trumpet
    Henry Hicks – trombone
    Clarence Grimes – clarinet
    Charlie Holmes – soprano sax, alto sax
    Cliff Jackson – piano, cymbal
    Elmer Snowden – banjo
    Bud Hicks – tuba, scat vocals

  • “Happy Rhythm” – Musical Stevedores (1929)

    “Happy Rhythm” – Musical Stevedores (1929)

    Columbia 14406-D
    Recorded on January 30, 1929 in New York

    Freddy Jenkins, Louis Metcalf – trumpet
    Henry Hicks – trombone
    Clarence Grimes – clarinet
    Charlie Holmes – soprano sax, alto sax
    Cliff Jackson – piano, cymbal
    Elmer Snowden – banjo
    Bud Hicks – tuba, scat vocals

  • “Limehouse Blues” – Quintette of the Hot Club of France (1936)

    “Limehouse Blues” – Quintette of the Hot Club of France (1936)

    Recorded on May 4, 1936 in Paris, France.
    Released in the U.S. on Victor 25511.

    Credits
    Arthur Briggs, Alphonse Cox, Pierre Allier – Trumpet
    Eugene d’Hellemmes – Trombone
    Stephane Grappelly – Violin
    Django Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret, Joseph Reinhardt – Guitar
    Lucien Simoens – String Bass

    Equipment used in the transfer:
    • Lenco L75 turntable with Shure M91ED cartridge
    • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
    • Audacity (for digitization, de-clicking, and De-RIAA/Re-EQing)
    • Logic (for additional EQ tweaks, light compression, and stereo mixdown to mono)
    • Adobe Premiere (for adding label image and final export to MP4)

  • “Wall St Wail” – The Jungle Band (Duke Ellington) – 1929

    “Wall St Wail” – The Jungle Band (Duke Ellington) – 1929

    Recorded on December 10, 1929 in New York, New York.
    Released as Brunswick 1186 in the UK.

    Rough month for the market – fortunately, we’ve been there before – Duke Ellington’s Jungle Band shows us how to respond to market downturns.

    A wild ride recorded on December 10, 1929 (just a few weeks after the crash that started the Great Depression), this side gives us a wealth of solos and hot breaks by Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Barney Bigard, Joe Nanton, and Wellman Braud.

    Duke Ellington – Piano, Arrangement, Director
    Arthur Whetsel, Freddy Jenkins, Cootie Williams – Trumpet
    Joe Nanton – Trombone
    Juan Tizol – Valve Trombone
    Johnny Hodges – Clarinet, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax
    Harry Carney – Clarinet, Alto Sax, Baritone Sax
    Barney Bigard – Clarinet, Tenor Sax
    Fred Guy – Banjo
    Wellman Braud – String Bass
    Sonny Greer – Drums

  • New Orleans Bootblacks – “Mad Dog” (1926)

    New Orleans Bootblacks – “Mad Dog” (1926)

    Columbia 14337-D
    Recorded in Chicago on July 14, 1926.

    Credits
    George Mitchell – cornet
    Kid Ory – trombone
    Johnny Dodds – clarinet
    Joe Clark – alto saxophone
    Lil Armstrong – piano
    Johnny St. Cyr – banjo

    Equipment used in the transfer:
    • Lenco L75 turntable with Shure M91ED cartridge
    • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
    • Audacity (for digitization, de-clicking, and De-RIAA/Re-EQing)
    • Logic (for additional EQ tweaks, light compression, and stereo mixdown to mono)
    • Adobe Premiere (for adding label image and final export to MP4)

  • Henry “Red” Allen – “Whose Honey Are You”

    Henry “Red” Allen – “Whose Honey Are You”

    Vocalion S-18 (matrix 16682-1)
    UK Master Pressing
    Recorded in New York on January 23, 1935

    A lovely UK master pressing of the infectious “Whose Honey Are You?” by Henry “Red” Allen and his Orchestra.

    Recorded in January of 1935 and released in the UK on the colorful “Swing Series”, this recording features a Buster Bailey clarinet solo bursting with energy sandwiched between two contrasting trumpet solos by Allen and Pee Wee Erwin. The excellent rhythm section of Pops Foster and Paul Barbarin keeps the swing swung.

    Credits
    Henry Allen – trumpet, vocals
    Pee Wee Erwin – trumpet
    George Washington – trombone
    Buster Bailey – clarinet
    Luis Russell – piano
    Danny Barker – guitar
    Pops Foster – string bass
    Paul Barbarin – drums

    Also released as Banner 33355, Conqueror 8474, Melotone MT-13322, Oriole 3097, Perfect 16080, Romeo 2471, and Imperial 6041.

  • “Wild Man Blues” – Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers (1927)

    “Wild Man Blues” – Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers (1927)

    HMV B.10645
    Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on June 4, 1927.

    If the Hot Seven version of “Wild Man Blues” took its sweet time slowly and masterfully unraveling its tale, the Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers version, recorded about a month later, seems to take a lighter approach.

    It begins with a startling cacophonous series of knocks followed by a warning to “get away from that, boy, ‘fore the wild men get you” punctuated by a wild roar for good measure.

    This tune clips at a faster pace with George Mitchell leading us through the first solo on cornet. Jelly and Johnny Dodds cut back and forth while proceedings are often interrupted by the novel acrobatics of Stump Evans on alto sax. The many starts, stops, and breaks also showcase the syncopations and fills of drummer Baby Dodds.

    Though recorded in June of 1927, this side does not seem to have been released domestically on Bluebird until 1941. Here we have transferred a UK dub pressing.

    Credits
    Jelly Roll Morton – piano
    George Mitchell – cornet
    Johnny Dodds – clarinet
    Gerald Reeves – trombone
    Stump Evans – alto saxophone
    Bud Scott – guitar
    Quinn Wilson – tuba
    Baby Dodds – drums
    Lew LeMar – effects

    Equipment used in the transfer:
    Lenco L75 turntable with Shure M91ED cartridge
    Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
    Audacity (for digitization, de-clicking, and De-RIAA/Re-EQing)
    Logic (for additional mild EQ tweaks, a light touch of compression, and stereo mixdown to mono)
    Adobe Premiere (for adding label image and final export to MP4)

  • “Wild Man Blues” – Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven (1927

    “Wild Man Blues” – Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven (1927

    Okeh 8474
    Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on May 7, 1927.

    The Hot Seven version of “Wild Man” is a tour-de-force of extended contrasting solos by an increasingly exuberant Louis Armstrong and a dark “almost secretive” Johnny Dodds playing at the top of their game.

    Louis Armstrong – Trumpet, Vocals
    Johnny Dodds – Clarinet
    Kid Ory – Trombone
    Lil Hardin – Piano
    Johnny St. Cyr – Banjo
    Pete Briggs – Tuba
    Baby Dodds – Drums

  • “Deep Henderson” – The Savannah Syncopators (King Oliver) – 1926

    “Deep Henderson” – The Savannah Syncopators (King Oliver) – 1926

    Brunswick 3245
    Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on April 21, 1926.
    Originally released as Vocalion 1014 under the name “King Oliver And His Dixie Syncopators”

    Cornet – King Oliver, Bob Shoffner
    Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Barney Bigard
    Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Albert Nicholas, Billy Paige
    Piano – Luis Russell
    Trombone – Kid Ory
    Banjo – Bud Scott
    Tuba – Bert Cobb
    Drums – Paul Barbarin