THE DIXIELAND PERIOD circa 1918-28
In
1918, a competent New Orleans group, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released
their first recordings, now recognized as the first jazz record. This radical
new sound caused an overnight sensation. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band
were not as fiery as some of their New Orleans peers, but they opened up
the floodgates. By this time, much of middle class America had purchased
their own family record players, and the demand for records was booming.
This blockbuster record cannot be underestimated. It kicked off a sensation
so big that, by the mid-1920s, the young hip crowd claimed to be living in
the "jazz age."
As
record companies issued a barrage of jazz records, a new audience opened
up, partly from word of mouth, but greatly because of jazz recordings, and
the New Orleans players spread north to Chicago, Kansas City, and New York.
Their influence spread even quicker through circles of musicians, and jazz
bands sprouted up left and right. Soon jazz musicians came from all over
the map, not just from New Orleans. For the most part, these jazz bands adhered
to the formula of playing stomps, marches, popular songs and blues in hot
tones, with solos and hot inflections.
In
the early 20s, the most critically acclaimed band that played with jazz group
improvisation as a consistent aesthetic was the classic King Oliver's Creole
Jazz Band, which an up-and-coming trumpet player named Louis Armstrong joined.
As
great as the King Oliver band was, Armstrong soon struck out on his own and
made the definitive recordings associated with the period, crystallizing
the sound of jazz, and setting it on course for years to come. These recordings
are known as the Hot Fives and Sevens.
The
1920s were a fertile period for musicians who were either from New Orleans
or were directly influenced by the New Orleans sound. Of the many bands and
musicians from this period, a few stand out: For the definitive recordings
of this era, see: Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, Jelly Roll Morton, Earl Hines,
Bix Beiderbeck and Kid Ory.
