"Sensation Rag" or "Sensation" is a 1918 jazz instrumental by 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 ...
. It is one of the earliest jazz recordings. It is not related to
Joseph Lamb's 1908 "Sensation Rag", which is a
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 ...
piano piece.
Background
The instrumental was recorded on June 25, 1918, in New York as a one-step and was released as a single on RCA Victor as Victor 18483 with "Bluin' the Blues" as the flip side. It was composed by
Eddie Edwards, the trombonist in the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
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 ...
recorded the instrumental "Sensation" on September 16, 1924, and released as Gennett 78 single 5542 with "Lazy Daddy" as the flip side. "Sensation" was recorded by
Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra in 1927 and released on Vocalion, and by
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 La ...
's Big Four featuring Eddie Lang in 1928. "Sensation Rag" or "Sensation" was performed at the 1938 landmark
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 co ...
jazz concert at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
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 ...
''.
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...
and His Orchestra released the song as a 78 single under the title "Sensation Stomp".
Miff Mole,
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader.
Biography Early life and career
Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...
,
Jimmy Dorsey
James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...
, Fred Morrow,
Arthur Schutt
Arthur Schutt (November 21, 1902 – January 28, 1965) was an American jazz pianist and arranger.
Schutt was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, and learned piano from his father. He accompanied silent films as a teenager in the 1910 a ...
,
Vic Berton
Vic Berton (born Victor Cohen; May 7, 1896 – December 26, 1951) was an American jazz drummer.
Berton was born, Victor Cohen, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father was a violinist and began his son on string instruments around age five ...
, and The Arkansas Travelers also recorded the song. "Sensation" was also released on V Disc by the ODJB as No. 214B, VP 435, Hot Jazz, June, 1944, with Eddie Edwards and Tony Sbarbaro. Yank Lawson and His Orchestra released the song as a single as Signature 15004. Pete Fountain and Freddy Randall and His Band also recorded the song.
The song is featured in the biopic ''The Benny Goodman Story''.
The Benny Goodman Story. IMDB.
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References
Further reading
*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.
External links
"Sensation Rag" on the Library of Congress National Jukebox.Online version of the ODJB recording. archive.org.
{{Original Dixieland Jass Band
1918 compositions
1910s jazz standards
Original Dixieland Jass Band songs
Jazz compositions
Instrumentals