Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orch. - Rumba Negro, 1929

Bennie Moten (1894 --1935) was a jazz pianist and band leader born in Kansas City, Missouri. He led the Kansas City Orchestra, the most important blues-based orchestra active in the South West in the 1920s, and helped to develop the „riffing" style that would come to define many of the 1930s Big Bands. His first recordings were made in 1923, and were rather stiff interpretations of the New Orleans style of King Oliver and others. They also showed the influence of the Ragtime that was still popular in the area. They next recorded in 1926 for Victor In the more sophisticate style of Fletcher Henderson. By 1928 Moten's piano was showing some Boogie Woogie influences, but the real revolution came in the early 1930s when he recruited Count Basie, Walter Page and Oran 'Hot Lips' Page. Walter Page's walking bass lines gave the music an entirely new feel compared to the 2/4 tuba of his predecessor Vernon Page, coloured by Basie's understated, syncopated piano fills. In this time Ben Webster (tenor sax) and Jimmy Rushing (vocal) had also joined. Tragically Bennie Moten died in 1935 from a botched tonsillectomy operation. Buster Moten briefly took over the band, but many of its top members eventually gravitated towards Count Basie.

Recording: Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra - Rumba Negro, Victor 1929

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Roaring
• Twenties
• jazz
• orchestra
• riff
• 1920s
• American
• hot
• dance
• band

[4freespeech]

Great tuba work! Reminds me of "Tuba Fats" Lacen in N.O. There's just something about a TUBA that makes rhythm & blues, isn't there?

[minniemousie]

The lesson, often lost among musicians, was not to follow other bands' sryle; but rather to develop one's own style.

Benny knew how to DEVELOP his own unique rhythm and sound.

When he died, Count Basie picked up the ball and ran with it and all jazz was touched by what Bennie began!

The "Walking Bass" is still a key ibngredient in music today!

Don't you just love listening to this particular recording? It is a sterling example of geniius!

Thanks, 240252, for posting.

[tychaton08]

Merci!

[Olivierroaring20]

Great work on this track! All is perfect: tuba (!!! what a deep sound!!!), drums, solos, tempo...

[TopsyDurham]

Actually, it was Eddie Durham, center front, who brought Basie into this Band. Basie could not read or write music, so it was the charts of Eddie Durham that changed the direction of this and many other Bands. When Moten died, Basie was voted leader and they changed the name of the Band. When Durham left, the Band flopped until Durham came back & wrote TOPSY for them. See DurhamJazz. com Hope this helps.

[tdub1941]

Fabulous! Love it! LIKE

RagJazzMonkey Tom in Kansas City

[pharcelle1]

They were 'GREAAAAT''! 

[Squarerig]

Rumba Negro/Blanco-who cares?A delightful piece of its time.Could not be better;thank you24052.

[zootyzoot]

@minniemousie I think that Count Basie was already running with the ball while Benny Moten was still nominally leading the band.

[JOHNNY4RIVELS]

I by too late born, I like very much that art of music.