Original New Orleans Jazz Band
Encyclopedia
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 players to follow the Original Dixieland Jass Band
's success playing in Manhattan
. Like the "ODJB", most were veterans of Papa Jack Laine
's groups in New Orleans. Recordings of the group were issued by Gennett Records
and Okeh Records
. The group also reportedly recorded one or more sides for Emerson Records
, which seem to have never been issued.
Jimmy Durante
, the only New Yorker in the group, became well known for his showmanship and took over leadership from Frank Christian in 1920 and the group was renamed "Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band".
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands to make recordings. Composed of mostly New Orleans musicians, the band was popular in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the late 1910s.
The group included some of the first New Orleans style players to follow the Original Dixieland Jass Band
Original Dixieland Jass Band
The Original Dixieland Jass Band were a New Orleans, Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz single ever issued. The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being Tiger Rag...
's success playing in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Like the "ODJB", most were veterans of Papa Jack Laine
Papa Jack Laine
George Vital "Papa Jack" Laine was a pioneering band leader in New Orleans in the years from the Spanish-American War to World War I....
's groups in New Orleans. Recordings of the group were issued by Gennett Records
Gennett Records
Gennett was a United States based record label which flourished in the 1920s.-Label history:Gennett records was founded in Richmond, Indiana by the Starr Piano Company, and released its first records in October 1917. The company took its name from its top managers: Harry, Fred and Clarence Gennett....
and Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
. The group also reportedly recorded one or more sides for Emerson Records
Emerson Records
Emerson Records was a record label active in the United States between 1916 to 1928. Emerson Records produced between the 1910s and early 1920s offered generally above average audio fidelity for the era, pressed in high quality shellac. The fidelity of the later issues compares less...
, which seem to have never been issued.
Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, the only New Yorker in the group, became well known for his showmanship and took over leadership from Frank Christian in 1920 and the group was renamed "Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band".
Collective personnel
The band was usually a five piece group, but some musicians came and went. The precise personnel on some of the recordings is uncertain. Members of the band included:- Frank Christian, cornet
- Alfred Laine, cornet
- Frank Lhotak, trombone
- Jeff Loyacano, trombone
- Achille BaquetAchille BaquetAchille Joseph Baquet was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. He was an early musician on the New Orleans jazz scene....
, clarinet - Jimmy DuranteJimmy DuranteJames Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, piano - Johnny SteinJohnny SteinJohn Philip Hountha "Johnny" Stein was an American jazz 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...
, drums - Deacon Loyacano, drums
External links
- Original New Orleans Jazz Band on RedHotJazz with audio samples