The Georgians were a jazz and dance band formed in 1921 and led by trumpeter Frank Guarente. It was one of the earliest "bands within a band", being a subset of the Paul Specht Orchestra. Specht's full group played in the

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

of the Hotel Alamac in New York City beginning in 1920; a subgroup performed in the hotel's

cocktail lounge Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

or nightclub under the leadership of Guarente. The Georgians recorded on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Specht credited Columbia

A & R Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

executive Frank Walker with the group's name. The Georgians' first recording was Columbia A3775, containing "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" and their rendition of the popular tune "Chicago" on the flip side, released in March 1923. Another record was Columbia 23-D: "Hometown Blues" and "You May Be Fast, But Your Mama's Gonna Slow You Down". Their chief arranger was pianist

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 ...

. The group toured Europe from 1922 to 1924, before rejoining the Phil Specht Orchestra. After the group disbanded, Guarente formed the New Georgians and toured Europe from 1924 to 1927. A few studio recording groups used the name between 1924 and 1929. According to one source, they were the Georgians without Guarente and with different directors, while

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

states they were unrelated. Two titles were released in 1925 featuring

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 ...

References

External links

Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgians American jazz ensembles from New York City Musical groups established in 1921 1921 establishments in New York City