John Philip Hountha "Johnny" Stein (1891 or 1895 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

– September 30, 1962 in New Orleans) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

drummer and bandleader. Stein's surnames are the subject of much confusion; his mother's name was Stein from a previous marriage, and although he was apparently given the last name Hountha, he used Stein professionally. He put together a band in New Orleans in 1915, which included

Alcide Nunez Alcide Patrick Nunez (March 17, 1884 – September 2, 1934), also known as Yellow Nunez and Al Nunez, was an American jazz clarinetist. He was one of the first musicians of New Orleans to make audio recordings. Biography Alcide Patrick Nunez wa ...

, Eddie Edwards,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

; this group played an extended run at the Schiller Cafe in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1916. In the middle of that year, Edwards, Ragas, and LaRocca all left Stein's band and formed the

Original Dixieland Jazz Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their " Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the ...

; Stein later made the case that he deserved credit for the formation of this group, which was the first to record jazz music. Following their departure he put together an entirely new band to finish his contract at the Schiller. Shortly after this he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and played with Jimmy Durante's

Original New Orleans Jazz Band The Original New Orleans Jazz Band was one of the first jazz bands to make recordings. Composed of mostly New Orleans musicians, the band was popular in New York City in the late 1910s. The group included some of the first New Orleans style play ...

in 1918-1920, also recording with them on Gennett Records. He continued to lead bands and play as a sideman in New York and Chicago until 1961, when he returned to New Orleans. He died there the following year.

References

*Karl Koenig, "Johnny Stein". '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Johnny 1890s births 1962 deaths American jazz drummers Jazz musicians from New Orleans Gennett Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Original New Orleans Jazz Band members