At the Jazz Band Ball

Put And Take (Adrian Rollini, bass sax, hot fountain pen, Joe Venuti's Blue Four, 1930); Delta Serenade - Theme (Duke Ellington, 1940); I'm Coming Virginia (Sidney Bechet, sop sax, & His New Orleans Feetwarmers, 1941); Wang Wang Blues (Rollini, "goofus", The Goofus Five, 1927); Knockin' on wood (Red Norvo, xylophone, 1933); Jazz Me Blues (Adrian Rollini Trio, vibes, chimes, 1950); Girls Like You Were Meant For Boys Like Me (Red McKenzie's Mound City Blue Blowers, comb, 1930); For No Reason at All in C (Frankie Trumbauer, C melody sax 1927); Wild Cat, (Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, 1927); Junk Man (Jack Teagarden, Caspar Reardon, harp, 1934); Sweet Sue (Dave Apollon, mandolin, 1933); Sugar (Alberta Hunter, Fats Waller pipe organ (1927); Summit Ridge Drive (Artie Shaw and His Gramercy Five, Johnny Guarnieri, harpsichord, 1940); Mr. J.B. Blues (Jimmie Blanton, bass, Duke Ellington, 1940).

A 60 min. version of the Jelly Roll Morton episode. More tunes! More details.Music: (Original) Jelly Roll Blues (1910; rec. 1923); King Porter Stomp (1923); Alan Lomax Library of Congress Interviews (1938); Black Bottom Stomp” (1926); The Crave (1910; rec. 1938); The Pearls (1927); Maple Leaf Rag (1899; rec. 1938); Grandpa’s Spells (1926); Shreveport (Stomp) (1929; Freakish (1929); Hyena Stomp (1927) Sidewalk Blues (1926); Mamie’s Blues (1900; rec. 1938); Doctor Jazz (1926).Performers: Jelly Roll Morton, The Red Hot Peppers.

Whether or not Jelly Roll Morton actually invented jazz, as he famously claimed, his remarkable journey from Storyville to the Library of Congress is worth reconsidering. Blends commentary, historic recordings, and interviews to reveal Morton’s genius, contradictions, and enduring role in shaping the sound and story of early jazz. Music: "Original Jelly Roll Blues" (1924), “King Porter Stomp” (1923), Alan Lomax interviews, Library of Congress (1938), “Black Bottom Stomp” (1926), “The Pearls” (1926), "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899), “Grandpa’s Spells" (1926), “Shreveport Stomp” (1929), “Freakish” (1929), "Mamie's Blues" (1900), “Doctor Jazz” (1926). Performers: Jelly Roll Morton, The Red Hot Peppers.

John Hammond was a visionary jazz producer and talent scout who discovered or championed Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and Lester Young. A tireless advocate for integration, he helped break racial barriers in jazz, produced historic recordings, and brought Black artists to wider audiences through concerts and radio.Music: Count Basie: "One O'Clock Jump" (1937), Bessie Smith: "Downhearted Blues" (1923); Garland Wilson: "St. James Infirmary/ When Your Lover Has Gone" (1931); Billie Holiday: “Your Mother’s Son-in-Law” (1933); Billie Holiday: "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (1935); Benny Goodman: "After You've Gone" (1935); From Spirituals to Swing, 1938.

Bassists: Pops Foster, Wellman Braud, Thelma Terry, Walter Page, June Rotenberg, Slam Stewart, Jimmy Blanton. Music: Mahogany Hall Stomp, Washington Wobble, Freeze and Melt, Starlight and Tulips, Pagin' The Devil, Blue Devil Blues, Hesitation Boogie, Play Fiddle, Play, Jack the Bear.

Classical meets jazz. Featuring: John Kirby Sextet, George Gershwin, James P. Johnson, Duke Ellington, Carl Maria von Weber, Benny Goodman, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Art Tatum, Fats Waller. Music: Mr. Haydn Gets Hip, Beethoven Riffs On, Rhapsody in Blue, You've Got To Be Modernistic, excerpt from Black, Brown, and Beige, excerpt from Invitation to the Dance, Let's Dance, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Var. 15), Honeysuckle Rose.

At the Jazz Band Ball is a podcast devoted to jazz from its earliest days through the 1940s. Every show is an exploration of an artist, a venue or an instrument. Louis Armstrong at Connie's Inn in Harlem, Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club, Bix Beiderbecke at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, and lots more. Join me on Substack, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Early jazz drummers, pt. 2. Featuring: Buddy Gilmore, Chick Webb, Sonny Greer, George Wettling, Dave Tough, Gene Krupa, Papa Jo Jones.Music: Castle House Rag, Vote for Mr. Rhythm, Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away), Jumpin' Pumpkins, Drummer's Delight, Three Little Words, Shine, Sing Sing Sing, Drum Boogie, Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today), Delta Serenade.

Featuring: Baby Dodds, Zutty Singleton, Sid Catlett, Viola Smith, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, Pee Wee Russell; Songs include: Spooky Drums, China Boy, Sugar Foot Strut, I Found a New Baby, Moppin' and Boppin', Rose Room, Mop Mop, Steak Face.

Benny Carter Recorded June 14, 1992, Courtesy of Smithsonian Jazz Oral HistoryThis native New Yorker made memorable impressions as a great bandleader and improviser. Largely self-taught, Benny Carter's first instrument was the trumpet, although the alto saxophone eventually became his principal instrument. He participated in tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic and wrote arrangements for singers including Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong. Carter received numerous awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.Complete Transcript (145 pages) View PDFClip 1: MP3 Family Musical HistoryClip 2: MP3 First SaxophoneClip 3: MP3 Meeting Count BasieClip 4: MP3 First ArrangementsClip 5: MP3 Why the SaxophoneClip 6: MP3 1932’s First OrchestraClip 7: MP3 Dizzy Gillespie’s ImpactClip 8: MP3 Writing for Film and TVBenny Carter Photo Provided Courtesy of Ed Berger

Benny Carter, alto sax, trumpet - Rambling in C (1937), Plain Dirt (1929), That's How I Feel Today (1929), Six or Seven Times (1929), Keep a Song in Your Soul (1930), Chinatown My Chinatown (1930), Keep a Song in Your Soul (1930), Symphony in Riffs (1933), Waltzing the Blues (1936), When Lights Are Low (1936), Cow Cow Boogie (1942). Featuring: McKinney's Cotton Pickers, The Little Chocolate Dandies, Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, Benny Carter and His Harlem Club Orchestra, Benny Carter and His Swing Quartet, Ella Mae Morse with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra.

Featuring: Louis Armstrong, California Ramblers, Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra, Art Tatum, Fats Waller, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith.Songs: Dinah, Gut Bucket Blues, Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie!, Flamin' Mamie, Tea For Two, Squeeze Me, Davenport Blues, St. Louis Blues.

Holiday jazz featuring: Peggy Lee, Ella Logan, Victoria Spivey, Lonnie Johnson, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Julia Lee, Fletcher Henderson, Claude Thornhill, John Kirby, Putney Dandridge, and Fats Waller.Songs include: Jingle Bells, Winter Weather, Santa Claus Came in the Spring, There's Frost on the Moon, Every Day's a Holiday, Snowy Morning Blues, Snowfall, Arab Dance, Bounce of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Christmas Spirits, Chistmas Without Santa Claus.

Bonus show, Christmas jazz 1940s. Featuring: Peggy Lee (with Art Lund and Benny Goodman): Winter Weather (1941) and Julia Lee and Her Boyfriends (1948): Christmas Spirits. Regular Christmas show to appear in a couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Jazz as "The Devil's Music," 1920s, 30s, 40s. Featuring: Louis Armstrong, Marion Harris, Fats Waller, Hot Lips Page, Jelly Roll Morton, Mildred Bailey, Louis Prima, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday.Songs: The Skeleton in the Closet, I'm a Jazz Vampire, Dry Bones, Skull Duggery, Boogaboo, Ghost of a Chance, Mr. Ghost is Going to Town, The Ghost of Smokey Joe, Haunted House Blues, Ghost of Yesterday,

AJBB Extra! Bubber, Bix, and Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra. "Rockin' Chair" (1930). What a band: Benny Goodman (Saxophone, Clarinet) Bud Freeman (Tenor Saxophone) Tommy Dorsey (Trombone) Jimmy Dorsey (Alto Saxophone) Jack Teagarden (Trombone) Bix Beiderbecke (Cornet) Bubber Miley (Trumpet) Joe Venuti (Violin) Irving Brodsky (Piano) Eddie Lang (Guitar) Gene Krupa (Drums). Enjoy!

The Father of Stride Piano. Featuring: Carolina Shout, Harlem Strut, The Charleston, Jingles, Blue Spirit Blues, You've Got to be Modernistic, Snowy Morning Blues, Yamekraw.

Featuring collaborations with: James P. Johnson, Alberta Hunter, Elizabeth Handy, Herman Autrey, Una Mae Carlisle, The Deep River Boys, Myra Johnson, Lee Wiley, Ada Brown.

Music's big bundle of joy. Featuring: I Ain't Got Nobody, Carolina Shout, That's All, Sugar, Squeeze Me, (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue, Ain't Misbehavin', Honeysuckle Rose, Then I'll Be Tired of you.

Bessie Smith (1894-1937), the Empress of the Blues. Featuring: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, St. Louis Blues, Beale Street Mama, Cake Walkin' Babies From Home, Backwater Blues, After You've Gone, Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl, Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer).