I'm always interested in discovering new music that was recorded prior to the 1930's. Especially from the 20's (Bix Biederbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Paul Whiteman, Helen Kane, Ruth Etting, Etc.) What are some of your favorites?
Probably several people are going to recommend Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens (1925-29), available on a cheap 4 disc JSP box that has acclaimed sound.
A lot of great suggestions in this thread. Have fun exploring the broad range of styles during this period. I've been on a bit of a jazz guitar kick lately and have really been enjoying the recordings of Eddie Lang with Joe Venuti on violin on Columbia/Okeh:
I've been on a huge Fletcher Henderson kick this year. Probably the greatest most forgotten major jazz figure (I think in large part because of the bias among '60s and '70s jazz critics against any orchestrated jazz that wasn't Duke Ellington). Sadly there's no great Henderson anthologies out there. The Columbia A Study in Frustration sounds bad and has weird edits to the material, really, sadly, a must to avoid. The John R.T. Davies remastered Harmony and Vocalion sets are good and have some great stuff, but since Henderson recorded for so many labels, there's lots of great (and historically important) music missing, like "The Gouge of Amour Avenue" with the famous trombone solo by Charlie "Big" Green; or the famous hot number with one of Coleman Hawkins' best early solos, "The Stampede." The collections of material from Armstrong's period in the band are wack too. The well re-mastered, I think also by Davies, Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong sound great, but there are only a handful of complete performances on there. Most of the track are just snippets of the Armstrong solos (again, based on the widespread critical presumption that somehow the Armstrong solos were the jazz part and the only thing worth listening to!) Not '20s stuff, but the Henderson early '30s material is just as good -- sometimes better and the band really starts creating the model for big band swing -- with Horace and Fletcher Henderson arrangements, and Benny Carter arrangements, and with Hawkins really developing in the great player he would obviously become. The Yeah Man! anthology on Hep is really good, with some primo Henderson and primo Hawkins, but not all the great Benny Carter arrangements More great '20s stuff I've been listening to a lot lately -- Jelly Roll Morton's Chicago Red Hot Peppers recordings of '26 and '27: not just all the great Morton compositions and pretty well recorded for the era, but incredibly well played. Of course I love the Armstrong Hot Fives and Sevens, and, going into the early '30s, the Bluebird big band sides are, I think, under appreciated. Ellington's '20s stuff is great too, but like Henderson's it's scattered across a couple of labels, and while it's better anthologized than Henderson's music, personally I have to pick and choose. Like I love the Ellington solo "Black Beauty" from 1928, but I gotta pick and choose between a lot of different recording of "Black and Tan Fantasy" and "East St. Louis Toodle-00" and "The Mooch," etc. The only kind of one-stop anthology of that stuff I love (and it doesn't have the solo Black Beauty) is the old RCA Bluebird Early Ellington (1927-1934), which is sadly out of print and wastes more space than is necessary on "Creole Love Call" but has the best band versions of much of the greatest early Ellington repertoire. Some of those great, hot dance bands make some outstanding recordings too, like Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchetra, or Jean Goldkette's McKinney's Cotton Pickers, when he wooed Don Redman way from Fletcher Henderson -- I haven't delved deeply enough into that stuff. Same thing with the Eddie Lang stuff as a leader. I really need to dig more deeply into that stuff. Of course the Trumbauer and Bix stuff that the OP mentioned, while I think it's a little spotty, is in places amazing, like "Trumbology" or "In a Mist," though the latter is hardly "hot" jazz.
What a trip! That this thread gets bumped just a few months after I stumbled upon an original 78 of the Mound City Blowers in near mint condition at the local Goodwill! Mind blowing! Beave
1931-1934 recordings, on Decca, arrangements by Benny Carter and The Henderson Brothers. With Henry "Red" Allen, Rex Stewart, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey and Ben Webster, among others. Although I do prefer the earlier recordings on Timeless, the Harmony and Vocalion recordings, Volumes 1 & 2.
The best of that era for me is The Luis Russell Orchestra (with Henry "Red" Allen), McKinney Cotton Pickers, Jabbo Smith, Johnny Dodds, Jelly Roll Morton, and of course, Satchmo. The ones you mentioned are a little to "white bread" for me. The ones I mentioned, in my opinion, play much hotter.
I agree with you there. This was originally posted as it's own thread, but somehow got moved here. I listen to some music recorded prior than 1926, as far back as 1900s. Even so, I'll give the ones I don't know that you listed a listen. Thanks!!!
Here's some more info on the series: Classics Records Chronological Classics complete discography - Wikipedia
Not sure if anyone mentioned Sidney Bechet but he was maybe the 1st sax star. His stuff with The New Orleans Feetwarmers is essential.
I merged your thread with the one I started seven years ago, which focused on what I and many others consider the "golden age of jazz." After the stock market crash and the great depression, record companies changed their ideas on what they thought the public wanted to hear. To me, much of the music lost its fire. As Joe Bussard said, "the sound changed in 1933; the tone was gone. When they came back with .25 cent records, the sound had changed for good. It wasn’t the same. Lost that beautiful tone." To me, the record companies were trying to battle against the popularity of radio, and expand their customer demographics by making the music "less scary, more melodic." The smaller combos expanded to large bands, and the solos were less daring. Just my opinion. I expanded the time line of my subject title, from 1926 back to 1922, to be more inclusive. I used 1922 as a jumping off point, because that's when Gennett Records began recording jazz groups performing in Chicago, such as New Orleans Rhythm Kings and King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band with Louis Armstrong. Other giants of jazz that were beginning their recording careers were Jelly Roll Morton, and The Wolverines, which featured Bix Beiderbecke, one of your favorites. Paramount and Okeh Records also started releasing jazz titles around this time. I hope we can keep this thread as hot as a Jabbo Smith trumpet solo!
I hope so too! I just stumbled upon this great thread, without knowing how old the earliest posts were. Lots of familiar names here, but also a few I didn't know or don't know that well, so lots of reading and listening to do tonight
I'm looking for recommendations of Clarence Williams material, specific mid-t0-later period years of 1927-1934. Normally, I would stop at 1030, but I love this cut from his "jug band" recorded in 1934.
Shop at Frog Records. I have most of these. Essentials in my jazz collection! clarence williams Frog Records: Jazz/Blues music
Thanks, I do shop at Frog, and actually call them directly to order! Very nice blokes. I just wanted feedback on what CDs were best. I already have "Shake 'Em Up," and love it.
Might be a bit out of your time frame but you would like this, i think! Clarence Williams Washboard Bands 1926-29 Frog Records: Jazz/Blues music
I posted about this superb compilation a while back on a 'listening to Blues' thread. I think it deserves to be listed here too due the exceptional early Blues, Country & Jazz diamonds that were included in the track selection. R. Crumb's HEROES OF BLUES, JAZZ, and COUNTRY - Various Artists (Yazoo) CD HEROES of the BLUES 01 - On the Road Again - Memphis Jug Band 02 - Dark Night Blues - Blind Willie McTell 03 - Minglewood Blues - Cannon's Jug Stompers 04 - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - Skip James 05 - I'm Gonna Cross the River of Jordan (Some O' These Days) - Jaybird Coleman 06 - High Water Everywhere - Charley Patton 07 - I Got Mine - Frank Stokes PIONEERS of COUNTRY MUSIC 08 - Sugar Baby - 'Dock' Boggs 09 - Big Bend Gal - Shelor Family 10 - The Peddlar and His Wife - Hayes Sheperd 11 - Little Rabbit - Crockett's Kentucky Mountaineers 12 - All Night Long Blues - Burnett & Rutherford 13 - Mineola Rag - East Texas Serenaders 14- Greenback Dollar - Weems String Band EARLY JAZZ GREATS 15 - Kater Street Rag - Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra 16 - Sobbin' Blues - 'King' Oliver's Creole Jazz Band 17 - Mojo Strut - Parham - Parham-Pickett Apollo Syncopators 18 - Somebody Stole My Gal - Frankie Franko & His Louisianians 19 - Wild Cat Blues - Clarence Williams' Blue Five 20 - Kansas City Stomps - 'Jelly Roll' Morton's Red Hot Peppers 21 - King Joe - Jimmy Noone Original recordings from 1927 -1931. All tracks selected and compiled by R. Crumb. The disc is exceptionally well mastered and the CD is presented in excellent top quality sound. * The CD is included free with the Hardback edition of this illustrated book...