At The Jass Band Ball Aeolian Vocalion ODJB 1917

"At the Jazz Band Ball" is a 1917 jazz instrumental recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The instrumental is one of the earliest and most recorded jazz compositions. It is a jazz classic and a standard of the genre. The instrumental was recorded by

Larry Shields Lawrence James Shields (September 13, 1893 - November 21, 1953) was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist. He was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background Shields was born in ...

Tony Sbarbaro Antonio Sparbaro, known professionally as Tony Sbarbaro or Tony Spargo (June 27, 1897 – October 30, 1969) was an American jazz drummer associated with New Orleans jazz. He was the drummer of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band for over 50 years ...

Henry Ragas Henry W. Ragas (January 1, 1891 – February 18, 1919) was a jazz pianist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background He played piano with the Original Dixieland Jass Band on ...

Nick LaRocca Dominic James "Nick" LaRocca (April 11, 1889 – February 22, 1961), was an American early jazz cornetist and trumpeter and the leader of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. He is the composer of one of the most recorded jazz classics of all-time ...

, and Eddie Edwards, the members of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. It was composed by Nick LaRocca and Larry Shields, and first recorded as "At the Jass Band Ball" by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on September 3, 1917, in New York and released as an Aeolian Vocalion single, A1205. The instrumental was rerecorded on March 19, 1918, and was released as a Victor 78 single, Victor 18457, Matrix #B-21583/1, with "Ostrich Walk" as the flip side. A third version was recorded on April 16, 1919, in London, England and released as a 78 single as Columbia 735 with "Barnyard Blues" as the flip side. Lyricist

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

added lyrics to the original 1917 ODJB instrumental in 1950.

Other recordings

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

and His Gang recorded it in 1927.

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...

and His Orchestra in 1938. Muggsy Spanier and His Ragtime Band and

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sc ...

and His Famous Chicagoans recorded in 1940. Spanier's recording was RCA Bluebird B-10518-A. In 1959, The Dukes of Dixieland released an album entitled ''At the Jazz Band Ball'' featuring an instrumental version of the song as the opening track.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded the song in 1960 for their album ''

Bing & Satchmo ''Bing & Satchmo'' is a 1960 studio album by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong that was arranged and conducted by Billy May. The album was recorded for Crosby's label, Project Records, and released by MGM. Crosby and Armstrong worked together ma ...

''.

Pete Fountain Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr. (July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016), known professionally as Pete Fountain, was an American jazz clarinetist. Early life and education LaFontaine was born to Pierre, Sr. and Madeline, in a small Creole cottage-style fr ...

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

, George Barnes and his Octet,

Phil Napoleon Phil Napoleon (born Filippo Napoli; 2 September 1901 – 1 October 1990) was an early jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Boston, Massachusetts. Ron Wynn observed that Napoleon "was a competent, though unimaginative trumpeter whose greatest val ...

's Emperor's of Jazz,

Nappy Lamare Joseph Hilton "Nappy" Lamare (June 14, 1905 – May 8, 1988) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist. Music career Lamare was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He got his nickname from his friend, Eddie Miller, becau ...

, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen,

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

and his Chicago Jazz,

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...

Art Hodes Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist. Biography Hodes was born in Mykolaiv, in present-day Ukrain ...

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

, Joe Venutti, the Sons of Bix, Nick LaRocca and His Dixieland Jazz Band,

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz. He was ...

, the Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra, and

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

are other recordings.At the Jazz Band Ball: Second Hand Song.
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Sources

*Stewart, Jack. "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band's Place in the Development of Jazz." New Orleans International Music Colloquium, 2005. *Lange, Horst H. Wie der Jazz begann: 1916-1923, von der "Original Dixieland Jazz Band" bis zu King Olivers "Creole Jazz Band". Berlin: Colloquium Verlag, 1991. *Brunn, H.O. The Story of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960. Reprinted by Da Capo Press, 1977.

References

External links

"At the Jazz Band Ball" on the Library of Congress National Jukebox.At the Jazz Band Ball: Second Hand Songs.Original Dixieland Jazz Band recordings online. archive.org.
{{Authority control Songs about jazz Songs about parties 1917 compositions Original Dixieland Jass Band songs Jazz compositions Instrumentals 1910s jazz standards