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The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a
Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...
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 standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...
s, the most famous being " Tiger Rag". In late 1917, the spelling of the band's name was changed to Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The band consisted of five musicians who had played in the Papa Jack Laine bands. ODJB billed itself as the Creators of Jazz. It was the first band to record jazz commercially and to have hit recordings in the genre. Band leader and cornetist Nick LaRocca argued that ODJB deserved recognition as the first band to record jazz commercially and the first band to establish jazz as a musical idiom or genre.


Origins

In early 1916, a promoter from Chicago approached clarinetist
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 ...
and drummer Johnny Stein about bringing a New Orleans-style band to Chicago, where the similar Brown's Band From Dixieland, led by trombonist Tom Brown, was enjoying success. They then assembled trombonist Eddie Edwards, pianist Henry Ragas, and cornetist Frank Christian. Shortly before they were to leave, Christian backed out, and Nick LaRocca was hired as a last-minute replacement. On March 3, 1916 the musicians began their job at Schiller's Cafe in Chicago under the name Stein's Dixie Jass Band. The band was a hit and received offers of higher pay elsewhere. Since Stein as leader was the only musician under contract by name, the rest of the band broke off, sent to New Orleans for drummer Tony Sbarbaro, and on June 5, started playing under the name, The Dixie Jass Band. LaRocca and Nunez had personality conflicts, and on October 30 Tom Brown's Band and ODJB agreed to swap clarinetists, bringing Larry Shields into the Original Dixieland Jass Band. The band attracted the attention of theatrical agent Max Hart, who booked the band in New York City. At the start of 1917 the band began an engagement playing for dancing at Reisenweber's Cafe, on
Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the ...
, in Manhattan.


First recordings

While a couple of other New Orleans bands had passed through New York City slightly earlier, they were part of
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
acts. ODJB, on the other hand, played for dancing and hence, were the first "jass" band to get a following of fans in New York and then record at a time when the American recording industry was essentially centered in the northeastern United States, primarily in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...
. Shortly after arriving in New York, a letter dated January 29, 1917, offered the band an audition for the
Columbia Graphophone Company Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managemen ...
. The session took place on Wednesday, January 31, 1917. Nothing from this test session was issued. The band then recorded two sides for the
Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
, "Livery Stable Blues" and " Dixieland Jass Band One-Step", on February 26, 1917 at Victor's New York studios. These titles were released as Victor 18255 in May 1917, the first issued jazz record. The band's recordings, first marketed as a novelty, were a surprise hit, and gave many Americans their first taste of jazz. Musician
Joe Jordan Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth. A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club ...
sued, since the "One Step" incorporated portions of his 1909
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
composition "That Teasin' Rag". The record labels subsequently were changed to "Introducing 'That Teasin' Rag' by Joe Jordan". A court case dispute over the authorship of "Livery Stable Blues" resulted in the judge declaring the tune in the "public domain". In the wake of the group's success of the Victor record, the ODJB returned to Columbia in May, recording two selections of popular tunes of the day chosen for them by the label (possibly hoping to avoid the copyright problems which arose after Victor recorded two of the band's supposedly original compositions) " Darktown Strutters' Ball" and "
(Back Home Again in) Indiana "(Back Home Again in) Indiana" is a song composed by James F. Hanley with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald that was published in January 1917. Although it is not the state song of Indiana (which is "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"), it is perhaps ...
" as catalogue #A-2297. Numerous jazz bands were formed in the wake of the success of ODJB that copied and replicated its style and sound. Also bands were brought from Chicago and California (such as the Frisco Jass Band) in an attempts to join the jazz craze. Established bands of different types and bandleaders such as Wilbur Sweatman began billing their groups as "jass" or "jazz" bands.
Earl Fuller Earl Bunn Fuller (March 7, 1885 – August 19, 1947) was a pioneering American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, composer and instrumentalist. Fuller helped to initiate the popularity of jazz in New York City shortly before America's entry into W ...
, bandleader at a competing New York venue, was ordered by management to form a "jass" band. W. C. Handy recorded one of the earliest cover versions of an ODJB tune when he released a recording of "Livery Stable Blues" by Handy's Orchestra of Memphis for Columbia in 1917. In 1918, the song "When You Hear That Dixieland Jazz Band Play" by Shelton Brooks, "the King of Ragtime Writers", was published by Will Rossiter in Chicago. It was a tribute to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, who were featured on the cover.


Original New Orleans Jazz Band

When the New Orleans Jazz style swept New York by storm in 1917 with the arrival of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band,
Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
was part of the audience at Reisenweber's Cafe on
Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the ...
when ODJB played that venue. Durante was very impressed with the band and invited them to play at a club called the Alamo in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
where Jimmy played piano. Durante had his friend, Johnny Stein (the previous drummer and leader of the group), assemble a group of like-minded New Orleans musicians to accompany his act at the Alamo. Stein did so, with a band consisting of fellow veterans of the Laine bands in New Orleans, other than pianist Durante. In late 1918 they recorded two sides for
Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
under the name of the New Orleans Jazz Band. They recorded the same two numbers a couple of months later for
Gennett Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoa ...
under the name of Original New Orleans Jazz Band, and in 1920 the same group recorded again for Gennett as Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band. They later billed themselves as "Durante's Jazz and Novelty Band".


Sicilian influence

Both LaRocca and Sbarbaro were children of immigrants from the Italian region of
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. The Sicilian capital of
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...
had long held cotton and citrus fruit trade with New Orleans. This resulted in the establishment of a direct shipping line between the two port cities which enabled a vast number of Sicilians to migrate to New Orleans, and other American cities, between the late 1800s and early 1900s. With this migration, Sicilian sound was brought to New Orleans and integrated with regional African-American music. The band would capitalize on this growing integration.


Later history of the band

After their initial recording for the Victor Company, the ODJB recorded for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...
(after the first Victor session, not before as has sometimes been reported) and
Aeolian-Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...
in 1917, then returned to Victor the following year, while enjoying continued popularity in New York. Trombonist Edwards was drafted for World War I in 1918 and replaced by Emile Christian, and pianist Henry Ragas died of influenza in the
1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
the following year and he was replaced by pianist and composer
J. Russel Robinson Joseph Russel Robinson (July 8, 1892 – September 30, 1963) was an American ragtime, dixieland, and blues pianist and composer who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. Career Robinson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his teen ...
. Robinson composed the jazz standard "Eccentric" ("That Eccentric Rag"), " Margie", "Jazzola", " Singin' the Blues, which was recorded by
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 ...
,
Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He a ...
, and
Eddie Lang Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...
, "Mary Lou", "Pan Yan (And His Chinese Jazz Band)", "How Many Times?", "Aggravatin' Papa (Don't You Try to Two-Time Me)", "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", "Get Rhythm in Your Feet", recorded by Red Allen and His Orchestra with Chu Berry, "Yeah Man!", recorded by
Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black music ...
and His Orchestra in 1933 and released on Vocalion, "Reefer Man" for
Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalis ...
in 1932, "Dynamite Rag", "Meet Me at No Special Place", recorded by
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
, "Alhambra Syncopated Waltzes", "Te-na-na (From New Orleans)", "Beale Street Mama", recorded by
Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock an ...
and Cab Calloway, and "Palesteena (Lena from Palesteena)". In 1916, Robinson, whose name appeared as "J. Russel Robinson", collaborated with W. C. Handy on the song "Ole Miss Rag". In 1919, Robinson collaborated with Handy and Charles N. Hillman on "Though We're Miles and Miles Apart", which was released by Handy's publishing company. Robinson also wrote the blues classic "St. Louis Gal", which was recorded by
Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock an ...
. Robinson's compositions for the band recorded and released in 1920, include the classic "Margie" and "Palesteena (Lena from Palesteena)", were among the most popular and best-selling hits of 1920. "Aggravatin' Papa" was composed with lyricist
Roy Turk Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...
and Addie Britt and was recorded by
Alberta Hunter Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 – October 17, 1984) was an American jazz and blues singer and songwriter from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. After twenty years of working as a nurse, Hunter resumed her singing career in 1977. Early life Hu ...
in 1923 with Fletcher Henderson's Dance Orchestra and also by Bessie Smith,
Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...
,
Florence Mills Florence Mills (born Florence Winfrey; January 25, 1896 – November 1, 1927), billed as the "Queen of Happiness", was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian. Life and career Florence Mills (Florence Winfrey) was born a daughter of for ...
, Lucille Hegamin, and
Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in ''St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role in ...
. Robinson also collaborated with Roy Turk on the compositions "Sweet Man O' Mine" and "A-Wearin' Away the Blues", and he wrote "Mama Whip! Mama Spank! (If Her Daddy Don't Come Home)" for blues and jazz singer
Mamie Smith Mamie Smith (née Robinson; May 26, 1891 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist, and actress. As a vaudeville singer she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues histor ...
and her Jazz Band in 1921, which were released on the Okeh label. Robinson was a member of the band until it broke up in 1923. He rejoined the band when it reformed in 1936. "Margie", composed by J. Russel Robinson with
Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...
, with lyrics added by
Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. I ...
, has been covered over a hundred times. "Margie" has been recorded by
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...
, who also covered the band's "Tiger Rag",
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
,
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
,
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...
and His Orchestra in 1935, the Billy Kyle Swing Club Band, Claude Hopkins, Red Nichols,
Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...
,
George Paxton George Paxton (March 24, 1914 – April 19, 1989) was an American big band leader, saxophonist, arranger, and publisher during the 1930s and 1940s. He was president of Coed Records and a producer for the label. Early career He was born in Jacks ...
, the Dutch Swing College Band,
Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
,
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 tempe ...
,
Don Redman Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader, and composer. Biography Redman was born in Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, United States. His father was a music teacher ...
, Cab Calloway,
Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentlem ...
,
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, ...
, and
Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...
. "Margie" was a no. 9 hit for ODJB in 1921 with J. Russel Robinson on piano. Eddie Cantor had the biggest hit version of the ODJB classic, spending five weeks at no. 1 in 1921. The song also was featured in the movie ''The Eddie Cantor Story'' and was the theme of the television series of the same name in 1961–1962. Cantor also recorded ODJB's "Palesteena (Lena from Palesteena)".
Gene Rodemich Eugene Frederick Rodemich (April 13, 1890 in St Louis, Missouri – February 27, 1934 in New York) was a pianist and orchestra leader, who composed the music for numerous films in the late 1920s and early 1930s, mostly cartoons and live-action sho ...
and His Orchestra reached no. 7 with their version in 1920. Ted Lewis and His Band reached no. 4 in 1921.
Frank Crumit Frank Crumit (September 26, 1889 – September 7, 1943) was an American singer, composer, radio entertainer and vaudeville star. He shared his radio programs with his wife, Julia Sanderson, and the two were sometimes called "the ideal couple ...
had a no. 7 hit in 1921. Claude Hopkins and His Orchestra reached no. 5 in 1934 with Orlando Peterson on vocals. Don Redman and His Orchestra got to no. 15 in 1939 with a cover of the ODJB song.
Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...
,
Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad " Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first re ...
,
Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
,
Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday ...
, Jimmy Smith,
Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie L ...
,
Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as La ...
, and Shelly Manne also have recorded the song.
Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...
recorded the song in 1938 with a Sy Oliver arrangement that featured Trummy Young.


London tour

Other New Orleans musicians, including Nunez, Tom Brown, and Frank Christian, followed ODJB's example and went to New York to play jazz as well, giving the band competition. LaRocca decided to take the band to London, where they would once again enjoy being the only authentic New Orleans jazz band in the metropolis, and again present themselves as the Originators of Jazz because they were the first band to record the new genre of music dubbed jass or jazz. The band's April 7, 1919 appearance in the revue ''
Joy Bells ''Joy Bells'' was a revue staged at the London Hippodrome at the end of World War I. It was devised by Albert de Courville, with music and lyrics by H. G. Pether, Rupert Hazell, Oliver Wallace, Harold Weeks and others. The revue opened on 25 Mar ...
'' at the
London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few s ...
was the first official live jazz performance by any band in the United Kingdom and was followed by a command performance for
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
at
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
. The concert did not start auspiciously, with the assembled aristocracy, which included French Marshal
Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...
, peering through opera glasses at the band "as though there were bugs on us", according to LaRocca. The audience loosened up, however, after the king laughed and loudly applauded their rendition of "The Tiger Rag". The British tour ended with the band being chased to the
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
docks by Lord Harrington, who was infuriated that his daughter was being romanced by the lead singer of the band. In London, they made twenty more recordings for the British branch of Columbia. While in London, they recorded the second, more commercially successful, version of their hit song "Soudan" (also known as "Oriental Jass"). The band returned to the United States in July 1920 and toured for four years. This version of the band played in a more commercial style, adding a saxophone to the arrangements in the manner of other popular orchestras. In 1927 LaRocca was replaced by 19-year-old trumpeter Henry Levine, who later brought this kind of repertoire to the NBC radio show '' The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street''. Jazz pianist and composer
Frank Signorelli Frank Signorelli (May 24, 1901 – December 9, 1975) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Signorelli was born to an Italian Sicilian family in New York City, New York. Signorelli was a founding member of the Original Memphis Five in 1917, ...
, who collaborated on the jazz standards "A Blues Serenade", recorded by Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington, "Gypsy", and " Stairway to the Stars", joined ODJB for a brief time in 1921.


Break-up

The band broke up in the late 1920s and its originators scattered. During the Depression, trombonist Eddie Edwards was discovered operating a newsstand in New York City. Newspaper publicity resulted in Edwards fronting a local nightclub band. In 1936, the musicians played a reunion performance on network radio. Victor invited them back into the recording studio, and over the next two years the band recorded 25 sides for Victor as "The Original Dixieland Five." The group toured briefly before disbanding again. Clarinetist Larry Shields received particularly positive attention on this tour, and Benny Goodman has commented that Shields was an important early influence. In the 1940s and 1950s, Edwards and Sbarbaro both formed bands without other original members under the ODJB name;
Teddy Roy Theodore Gerald Roy (April 9, 1905, Du Quoin, Illinois - August 31, 1966, New York City) was an American jazz pianist. Roy played cornet before switching to piano. He played in the Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra and with Jean Goldk ...
was one of the players in Edwards's version of the band. In 1944, a new version of "Tiger Rag" was released as V-Disc 214 by the reformed band. "Sensation Rag" also was released as V-Disc 214B2. V-Discs were non-commercial recordings issued only to the U.S. armed forces. Back in New Orleans, LaRocca licensed bandleader
Phil Zito Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * Phil (film), ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as ...
to use the ODJB name for many years. Nick LaRocca's son, Jimmy LaRocca, continues to lead bands under the name The Original Dixieland Jazz Band. In 1960 the book, ''The Story of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band'', was published. Writer H. O. Brunn based it on Nick LaRocca's recollections, which sometimes differ from that of other sources.


Influence

ODJB was the first band to record jazz successfully, establishing and creating jazz as a new musical idiom and genre of music. Bix Beiderbecke was influenced by the ODJB to become a jazz musician and was heavily influenced by Nick LaRocca's cornet and trumpet style. Louis Armstrong acknowledged the importance of ODJB:


Film appearances

In 1917, the band made the first appearance of a jazz band in a motion picture, a
silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid ...
entitled, '' The Good for Nothing'' (1917), directed by
Carlyle Blackwell Carlyle Blackwell (January 20, 1884 – June 17, 1955) was an American silent film actor, director and producer. Early years Blackwell was born in Troy, Pennsylvania. He studied at Cornell University before J. Stewart Blackton discovered him a ...
, who also played the lead role as Jack Burkshaw. Written by Alexander Thomas, it also featured
Evelyn Greeley Evelyn Greeley (1888–1975) was a prominent actress in silent films. She appeared in approximately 30 films from 1915 to 1922. Early life and education Evelyn Greeley was born on November 3, 1888 in Austria.1900 U.S. Census - Emily Mahorko C ...
and Kate Lester and was produced by William Brady. Nick LaRocca, Larry Shields, Tony Sbarbaro, and Henry Ragas appeared in the film as a band, with LaRocca on cornet, Shields on clarinet, Ragas on piano, and Sbarbaro on drums. The film was released on December 10, 1917, produced by Peerless Productions, and distributed by World Pictures. Nick LaRocca and the reunited Original Dixieland Jass Band performed "Tiger Rag" in ''
The March of Time ''The March of Time'' is an American newsreel series sponsored by Time Inc. and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was based on a radio news series broadcast from 1931 to 1945. The "voice" of both series was Westbrook Van Voorhis. ...
'' newsreel segment titled "Birth of Swing," released to U.S. theaters February 19, 1937.


Music of ODJB


"Tiger Rag"

The band's 1917 composition "Tiger Rag" became one of the most popular and ubiquitous of jazz standards. There were 136 cover versions of ODJB's copyright jazz standard and classic "Tiger Rag" by 1942. It has been standard ever since. Their first release, " Livery Stable Blues", featured instruments doing barnyard imitations and the fully loaded trap set, wood blocks,
cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...
s,
gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
s, and Chinese
gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...
s. This musical innovation represented one of the first experimental exercises in jazz. At the time, their music was liberating; the barnyard sounds were experiments in altering the tonal qualities of the instruments, and clattering wood blocks broke up the rhythm. The music was very lively when compared to the pop music of the time. Many of the tunes first composed and recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, such as "Tiger Rag" and "Margie", were recorded by many of the major jazz bands and orchestras of the twentieth century, black and white. "Tiger Rag" was recorded by many artists, from Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington to Glenn Miller to Benny Goodman. "Tiger Rag", in particular, became popular with many colleges and universities having a tiger as a mascot. In the biography ''John Coltrane: His Life and Music'', published in 1999, Lewis Porter noted that ODJB's classic, "Margie", was a "specialty" of
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...
, a song he performed regularly in his early career. "Tiger Rag", "Margie", "Clarinet Marmalade", "At The Jazz Band Ball", "Sensation Rag", and "Fidgety Feet" remain much played classics in the repertory of contemporary Dixieland and traditional jazz bands. Their tunes were published as collaborations by some or all of the entire ensemble, including band leader Nick La Rocca. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band recording of "Tiger Rag" was no. 1 for two weeks on the U.S. Hit Parade charts beginning on December 11, 1918. The Mills Brothers recorded "Tiger Rag" in 1931 with lyrics and spent four weeks at no. 1 on the charts in 1931–1932 with their version of the ODJB song. The Eddie Edwards composition "Sensation Rag" (aka "Sensation") was performed at the 1938 landmark Benny Goodman jazz concert at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
released on the album ''
The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert ''The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert'' by Benny Goodman, Columbia Records catalogue item SL-160, is a two- disc LP of swing and jazz music recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York City on January 16, 1938. First issued in 1950, the landmark ...
''. Compared to later jazz, the ODJB recordings have only modest improvisation in mostly ensemble tunes. Clarinetist Larry Shields is perhaps the most interesting player, showing a good fluid tone, and if his melodic variations and breaks now seem overly familiar, this is because they were imitated widely by musicians who followed in the band's footsteps. Their concept of arrangement was somewhat limited, and their recordings can seem rather repetitive. The lack of a bass player is scarcely compensated for by the piano on their earlier, acoustically recorded sessions. Nonetheless, ODJB arrangements were wild, impolite, and definitely had a jazz feel, and that style still is referred to as the style of music known as Dixieland.


Covers

ODJB's songs were recorded by other musicians, such as Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, one of the most popular and influential jazz bands of the 1920s. * "Beale Street Mama" – by J. Russel Robinson, recorded by Henderson in 1923 as an instrumental on Paramount. * "Clarinet Marmalade" – recorded in 1926, released on Vocalion and Brunswick. In 1931, Henderson recorded a new version for Columbia. * "Livery Stable Blues" – recorded in 1927, released on Columbia * "Fidgety Feet" – by Nick LaRocca, recorded in 1927, released on Vocalion * "Sensation" – recorded in 1927, released on Vocalion * "Tiger Rag" – recorded in 1931, released on Crown * "Aggravatin' Papa" – collaboration with Robinson, recorded in 1923 with Alberta Hunter on vocals * "Singin' the Blues (Till My Daddy Comes Home)" – recorded in 1931 with Rex Stewart on cornet Bix Beiderbecke recorded nine compositions associated with the ODJB from 1924 to 1930: "Fidgety Feet", his first recording in 1924, "Tiger Rag", "Sensation", "Lazy Daddy", "Ostrich Walk", "Clarinet Marmalade", "Singin' the Blues" with Frankie Trumbauer and Eddie Lang, "Margie", and "At the Jazz Band Ball".


Recordings

The band's seminal 78-rpm recordings include the following (on Victor, Columbia, and Aeolian Vocalion):


1917–1920

# " Dixie Jass Band One-Step"/"Introducing That Teasin' Rag"/" Livery Stable Blues", 1917, Victor 18255. This was the second pressing. The original title of the A side was "Dixieland Jass Band One-Step". # " At the Jazz Band Ball"/"Barnyard Blues", 1917, Aeolian Vocalion A1205 # "
Ostrich Walk Ostrich Walk" is a 1917 jazz composition by the Original Dixieland Jass Band released as an instrumental as an Aeolian Vocalion and a Victor 78. Frankie Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke recorded the song in 1927. The song is a jazz milestone as one of ...
"/" Tiger Rag", 1917, Aeolian Vocalion A1206 # " Reisenweber Rag/Look at 'Em Doing It Now", 1917, Aeolian Vocalion 1242 # " Darktown Strutters' Ball"/"
(Back Home Again in) Indiana "(Back Home Again in) Indiana" is a song composed by James F. Hanley with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald that was published in January 1917. Although it is not the state song of Indiana (which is "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"), it is perhaps ...
", 1917, Columbia A2297; the ODJB recording of "Darktown Strutters' Ball" was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
on February 8, 2006 # "At the Jazz Band Ball" (1918 version)/"Ostrich Walk" (1918 version), 1918, Victor 18457 # "Skeleton Jangle"/"Tiger Rag" (1918 version), 1918, Victor 18472 # "Bluin' the Blues"/"
Sensation Rag "Sensation Rag" or "Sensation" is a 1918 jazz instrumental by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. It is one of the earliest jazz recordings. It is not related to Joseph Lamb (composer), Joseph Lamb's 1908 "Sensation Rag", which is a ragtime piano ...
", 1918, Victor 18483 # "Mournin' Blues"/" Clarinet Marmalade", 1918, Victor 18513, "Mournin' Blues" also appeared as "Mornin' Blues" on some releases. The full B side title was "Clarinet Marmalade Blues". # "Fidgety Feet (War Cloud)"/"Lazy Daddy", 1918, Victor 18564 # "Lasses Candy"/"Satanic Blues", 1919, Columbia 759 # "Oriental Jazz" (or "Jass"), 1919, recorded November 24, 1917 and issued as Aeolian Vocalion 12097 in April 1919 with "Indigo Blues" by Ford Dabney's Band # "At the Jazz Band Ball" (1919 version)/"Barnyard Blues" (1919 version), 1919, recorded in London, England, April 16, 1919, English Columbia 735 # "Soudan" (also known as "Oriental Jass" and "Oriental Jazz"), 1920, recorded in London, England, in May 1920 and released as English Columbia 829; was composed by Czech composer Gabriel Sebek in 1906 as "In the Soudan: A Dervish Chorus" or "Oriental Scene for Piano, Op. 45". The B side was "Me-Ow" by the London Dance Orchestra # " Margie"/" Singin' the Blues"/"
Palesteena "Palesteena", or, "Lena from Palesteena", was a 1920 song, with lyrics by Con Conrad, and music by J. Russell Robinson. Background It was originally recorded and performed by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, a band of New Orleans jazz musician ...
", 1920, Victor 18717 # "Broadway Rose"/"Sweet Mama (Papa's Getting Mad)"/"Strut, Miss Lizzie", 1920, Victor 18722


1921–1946

# "Home Again Blues"/"Crazy Blues"/"It's Right Here For You (If You Don't Get It, Tain't No Fault O' Mine)", 1921, Victor 18729 # "Tell Me/Mammy o' Mine", 1921, recorded in the UK and released as Columbia 804 # " I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"/"My Baby's Arms", 1921, Columbia 805 # "I've Lost My Heart in Dixieland"/"
I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now "I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" is a popular song written in 1919 by Irving Berlin. It was published by Music Publishers Inc. in New York, New York. The song tells of a young man who returns to work as a manager in his father's factory f ...
", 1921, Columbia 815 # "Sphinx/ Alice Blue Gown", 1921, Columbia 824 # "Jazz Me Blues/
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
", 1921, Victor 18772 # "
Royal Garden Blues "Royal Garden Blues" is a blues song composed by Clarence Williams and Spencer Williams in 1919. Popularized in jazz by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band,
"/"Dangerous Blues", 1921, Victor 18798 # "Bow Wow Blues (My Mama Treats Me Like a Dog)", 1922, Victor 18850. The B side was "Railroad Blues" by the Benson Orchestra of Chicago under pianist and composer Roy Bargy # "Toddlin' Blues"/"Some of These Days", 1923, Okeh 4738 # "You Stayed Away Too Long/Slipping Through My Fingers", 1935, Vocalion 3099 # "Original Dixieland One-Step/Barnyard Blues" (new version of "Livery Stable Blues"), 1936, Victor 25502 # "Who Loves You?"/"Did You Mean It?", 1936, Victor 25420, featuring vocals by Chris Fletcher and trumpet by Nick LaRocca # "Old Joe Blade", 1936, Victor 26039-B, Nick LaRocca and the Original Dixieland Band featuring J. Russel Robinson on vocals # "Good-Night, Sweet Dreams, Good-Night"/"In My Little Red Book", 1938, Bluebird B-7444, which featured vocals by Lola Bard # "Tiger Rag" (1943 version), 1944, V-Disc 214B1, issued June, 1944, with Eddie Edwards and Tony Sbarbaro # "Sensation" (1943 version), 1944, V-Disc 214B2, with Eddie Edwards and Tony Sbarbaro # "Shake It and Break It"/"When You and I Were Young, Maggie", 1946, Commodore C-613


Soundtracks

The soundtrack album to the 2011 ''
Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920 ...
'' series on HBO includes performances of three songs recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band: "Livery Stable Blues", "Mournin' Blues", and "Margie", performed by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks Orchestra. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 54th Grammy Awards.


Honors

In 1977, the ODJB classic " Singin' the Blues", co-written by ODJB pianist J. Russel Robinson, was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
in a landmark 1927 recording by Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet and Eddie Lang on guitar, as Okeh 40772-B, recorded on February 4, 1927. On April 3, 1992, the City Council of New Orleans issued a proclamation honoring the members of the band. In 2003, the 1918 ODJB recording of "Tiger Rag" was placed on the U.S. Library of Congress
National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservat ...
. In 2006, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's recording of "Darktown Strutters' Ball", released in 1917 as Columbia single A2297, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."


See also

* *


Notes


References


The ODJB on RedHotJazz
Contains
.ram RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...
files of their vintage recordings.
Jimmy LaRocca's Original Dixieland Jazz Band
* Stewart, Jack. "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band's Place in History". ''The Jazz Archivist'', Vol. VI, No. 1 (May, 1991), p. 7-8. * 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 Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...
, 1977.
Original Dixieland Jazz Band Discography.


External links


U.S. Library of Congress, National Jukebox, featuring original ODJB recordings on Victor.
* *
Original Dixieland Jass Band
Red Hot Jazz Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Original Dixieland Jass Band American jazz ensembles from New Orleans Columbia Records artists Dixieland ensembles Jazz musicians from New Orleans Musical groups established in 1916 Musical groups disestablished in 1925 Musical groups reestablished in 1936 Musical groups disestablished in 1936 Musical groups from New Orleans Victor Records artists Vocalion Records artists