photo by John McCusker Bruce Boyd Raeburn Curator of the Hogan Jazz Archive, ReƟ ring aŌ er 38 Years of Service Born in a Livery Stable - “First Jazz Record” Turns 100 THE JAZZ ARCHIVIST A newsletter of the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive Volume XXX, 2017 Contributors: Colin Hancock and Hannah Krall, Vic Hobson, David Sager, Wayne D. Shirley THE JAZZ ARCHIVIST HOGAN JAZZ ARCHIVE 6801 FRERET STREET ROOM 304 TULANE UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118-5682 Volume XXX, 2017 In This Issue: © Tulane University Libraries, 2017. Permission to reproduce in whole and in part must be obtained in wri ng from Tulane 3-14 “Unraveling the Dawn of Recorded University Libraries. Jazz” by David Sager ISSN 1085-8415 15-24 “How Did the ODJB Learn to Play ‘Livery Stable Blues?’” by Vic Hobson Regarding the Cover 25-37 “Centenary Lessons: Exploring The fi rst jazz record turned 100 this the Roots of Jazz and the Music of the year, and the Hogan Jazz Archive turned 59. Meanwhile, Bruce Boyd Raeburn, Curator Original Dixieland ‘Jass’ Band” by Colin of the Jazz Archive, will turn 69, and he Hancock and Hannah Krall has decided to retire at the end of this year. Nobody knows the Jazz Archive better than 38-43 “In the Archive” Bruce. He came aboard as a student assistant in 1980 and worked his way up the ladder, 44-53 “‘Bessie Smith and Her Band’: The becoming a staff member in 1984, and then March 2, 1927, Session” by Wayne D. taking the helm in 1989, as the fourth in Shirley a noteworthy succession of curators: Bill Russell, 1958-1962; Dick Allen, 1962-1980; 54-56 “A Sneak Preview of the Eddie Curt Jerde, 1980-1989. While putting his Edwards Collec on” own distinctive brand on the place, Bruce wisely incorporated what he observed to be 57-59 “Curator’s Commentary” the most positive insights of his predecessors. During his long, eventful tenure, Bruce has nurtured more than a few promising students, and he has gone the extra mile to avail the full Jazz Archive experience to the widest possible constituency, from local backstreet EDITORIAL BOARD musicians to scholars and pilgrims from Lynn Abbo , Editor around the world. The Hogan Jazz Archive will hopefully continue to reap the rewards of Alaina W. Hebert, Assistant Editor his successful efforts to build a stronger and Dr. Bruce Boyd Raeburn, Curator more diverse institution. David Banush, Dean of Libraries 2 The Jazz Archivist XXX, 2017 Unraveling the Dawn of Recorded Jazz By David Sager The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, who made the fi rst jazz recordings in February 1917, has received le -handed compliments and faint praise for their recorded eff orts. More o en, they have been maligned by jazz historians, musicians, and afi cionados, who have repeatedly branded their work as mechanical, s ff , corny – or, at best – deriva ve. Courtesy Library of Congress Na onal Jukebox By assessing the ODJB’s recordings side-by-side with those made by other bands several years later, under very diff erent cultural circumstances, one can see that these cri cs have skewed musical history by inven ng outcomes based on personal prejudice and a narrow view of musical progression. The cri cs also helped plant the idea that jazz on record follows the same chronology as the music itself. Somehow, they have ignored the fact that the ODJB played an unnamed New Orleans-style dance XXX, 2017 The Jazz Archivist 3 music that shared common musical proper es with King Oliver, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, and others. Instead, the ODJB gets lumped together with their contemporaneous imitators who knew nothing, or at least li le, about musical counterpoint or playing crea vely using chord changes. Much of this is due, in part, to the fact that the ODJB – a white band – was largely represented in later years by bigoted and obtuse remarks from their corne st, Nick LaRocca, who made some par cularly odious comments about the African American role in jazz. Also, because their musicianship is some mes hard to discern through the fog of acous cal recordings and the frene c pace of the then popular one-step tempos, the ODJB has never been given an objec ve listening to by most. This ar cle is an a empt to rehabilitate the ODJB’s reputa on and make their music more accessible to modern ears. Here, I ask the reader to indulge me in a good-faith a empt to acquire a semblance of musical neutrality. Please consider these points: Suspend all no ons about jazz – what it sounds like and who plays it – and begin to think of jazz in terms of musical intent, rather than a style, or even a genre. Turn a en on to the fact that there was, back in the early 1900s, an unnamed type of dance music down in New Orleans that was born in the black neighborhoods. Note that musicians who played this sort of music called it rag me, although it was not the formal piano rag me of Sco Joplin. Some said it sounded like “rag me played by ear.” The music – with a variety of names – was slowly unleashed to the country by both black and white bands performing in cabarets and on the vaudeville circuit. IntroducƟ on of “Jass” to the General Public In late April 1917, it was business as usual at the Victor Talking Machine Company. The furniture department in Camden, New Jersey, was busy turning out various models of the Victrola, the company’s signature record player. Also in Camden, the record pressing plant was churning out hundreds of newly- recorded discs. These included Victor’s famous Opera c “Red Seal” records; the most expensive and pres gious in the catalog. There were the blue-labeled tles by personali es such as Nora Bayes and Harry Lauder, as well as second- er classical vocalists such as Reinald Werrenrath. The black-labeled popular series – the lowest priced and best-selling – included songs from the latest stage musicals and current light or comic popular songs, mostly performed by in-house ar sts who made steady money as record makers. The newly pressed discs were rushed to the stores, where talking machines and records were sold. Also on hand were copies of Victor’s May 1917 supplement, which announced all the new tles issued since the month previous. May’s issue sported a photo of one of its top selling ar sts on the cover, John McCormack, famous for his sensi ve rendi ons of sen mental Irish- nged songs. A turn of the page found the latest recording by Enrico Caruso, the most famous opera singer and recording ar st of the day. There were new tles by Frances Alda and the Elman String Quartet. Also, there were jaunty fox trots and peppy one-steps by Joseph C. Smith’s Orchestra, Victor’s leading dance band. Another turn of the page and suddenly there appears an instrumental quintet known as the Original Dixieland Jass Band. Although they are wearing suits, their pose is irreverent compared to the other rather prim photos; their posture is appalling. The unapologe c Victor copy reads: The Jass Band is the very latest thing in the development in music. It has suffi cient power and penetra on to inject life into a mummy, and will keep ordinary human dancers on their feet ll 4 The Jazz Archivist XXX, 2017 Victor’s May 1917 supplement featured popular Irish tenor John McCormack on the cover; on page 16, readers encountered a photo of the Original Dixieland “Jass” Band, accompanied by the release announcement for their fi rst recording (courtesy John Secrist Collection, Recorded Sound Collection, Library of Congress). breakfast me. “Livery Stable Blues” in par cular we recommend because, on the principle that like cures like, this par cular variety will be a posi ve cure for the common or garden type of “blues.” There was no men on of their home city. Earlier in the year, at Victor’s new recording laboratory, located in New York at 46 West 38th Street, on the twel h fl oor, the typical assortment of performers had paraded into the impersonal recording room with the ominous gaping metal horn. Recordings were then made mechanically, or XXX, 2017 The Jazz Archivist 5 acous cally, without the aid of electricity. Singers, speakers, and instrumentalists faced the recording horn and carefully aimed to the sweet spot that would effi ciently vibrate the recording diaphragm and stylus. If there were to be sudden changes in dynamics, the ar st would have to adjust his or her proximity to the horn. For louder tones, one needed to pull away and vice versa. Performers complained bi erly, since this would alter the intended dynamics and poten ally obliterate any sense of musicianship. S ll, with pa ence and experience, successful recordings were made. On February 26, 1917, a er a supposedly disappoin ng audi on for Columbia Records, the fi ve-piece Original Dixieland Jass Band – ODJB – came to record. Brief Background Here is a capsule history of the ODJB, one that treads on very familiar turf: A quintet of New Orleans musicians, known as Stein’s Band from Dixie, arrived in Chicago in March of 1916 to fulfi ll an engagement at a dive known as Schiller’s Café. As the story goes, a drunken patron yelled out to the band, excitedly, “Jass it up, boys,” and New Orleans-style rag me got a new name.