Solar Bell

On this date (26Feb) in 1917, the first professional recording of jazz was made by New Orleans’ Original Dixieland Jazz Band in the Victor Talking-Machine Company studios in New York City.

The first issues had Jazz spelled Jass.

The two songs, ‘Dixieland Jazz Band One-Step” and “Livery Stable Blues,” became the first jazz that many Americans had ever heard.

The tempo of these already lively tunes was increased to allow them to fit onto a single 78 rpm record.

“Livery Stable Blues’ included bandleader Nick La Rocca’s imitation of the whinnying of a horse with his cornet and Larry Shields’ impersonation of a crowing rooster on the clarinet.

A phenomenal quarter-million copies of these milestone recordings were sold.

This record helped jazz to become a popular musical genre almost overnight.

-cw-

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
Ronald Reagan

krossum

here is a fantastic collection of those early recordings (by Original Dixieland Jazz Band) if anyone's interested...

Amazon.com: The Essential Collection: Music: Original Dixieland Jazz Band

-Kelly

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“This art is acquired only by laborious studies, for the rebellious nature of the instrument demands a great aptitude coupled with a persevering willingness to become a master of it.” – F.G.A. Dauverné (1857)