March of Time - Original Dixieland Jazz Band

[perfessorbill]

It was Goodman and his band who really got swing music going, particularly with the help of arranger Fletcher Henderson. Discouraged on their 1936 tour from NY to LA, the Goodman band was ready to give up the night they played one supposedly final gig in Los Angeles, which exploded in popularity. As for swing, Armstrong and Oliver had MUCH more to do with it than LaRocca, Shields, Ragas and later Robinson. Still, it is an entertaining story.

[perfessorbill]

Hmmm. Nice to see them there, but there is a lot of fiction in this account. It was allegedly Shields, not LaRocca that got them back, together, Robinson was not in the lineup until nearly 1920 (pianist Ragas died from the flu epidemic in 1919), and they more or less stole the jazz concept from AAs in New Orleans and Chicago. Also, they weren't the first offered to make jazz recordings, just the first to accept. As for swing, it did not become a reality until the summer of 1936,

[MrXnews2]

Interesting period video! The acoustic engineer looks like Charles Sooy, the man who originally engineered "Livery Stable Blues" by the ODJB [Sooy died in 1945, so it could be him]. The musicianship of all the performers is excellent, as well!

[KawhackitaRag]

Oh to have just five more seconds of that scene with J. Russel Robinson in the cafe!!! Or how about the Onyx Club with Stuff Smith and Co.??? Marvelous! To have been there...

Also interesting is how Felix Arndt's wonderful rag "Clover Club" is beautifully massacred between 2:20 and 2:40 !

Finally, how come the old ODJB record played between 3:45 and 3:57 is CLEARER, has MORE BASS, and MORE PRESENCE than any modern-day transfer of same I've ever heard? What are we doing wrong today???

[mlaprarie]

@KawhackitaRag - Dittos on Stuff Smith, Jonah Jones, and their fabulous Onyx club band! I wonder, is this the only film of the original group playing together in its native environs?

[sirjuandabicho]

Magnifico, muchas gracias por compartirlo.

[jaelob]

Did they say there was a raging, heated debated about whether the origins of jazz were Indian? Do they mean American Indian or India? It seems so preposterous, perhaps now that we have the advantage of retrospect. I can't imagine how that debate could have arisen, or that it could have lasted very long.

[johnpetters]

As well as the great Tony Sbarbaro, we see a glimpse of the amazing Chick Webb!

[daxorion]

Awesome video!