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The Cotton Club
Famous jazz venue opened by the first African American world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Later bought out by Owney Madden who changed the name from Club De Luxe to The Cotton Club. The club featured some of America’s best jazz musicians and celebrities and socialites. -
Period: to
Early 20th Century Jazz Music
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James P. Johnson The Harlem Strut and Carolina Shout
The Harlem Strut and Carolina Shout, by pianist James P. Johnson, are recorded in New York. -
Norfolk Jazz Quartet
The Norfolk Jazz Quartet begins recording for OKeh, becoming one of the earliest and most popular group to emerge from the Tidewater area of Virginia, a fertile region for African-American singing quartets. -
Louis Armstrong and the King Oliver's Band
Louis Armstrong moves to Chicago to join King Oliver's Band. -
William "Count" Basie
Pianist William "Count" Basie makes his first recordings. -
Kid Ory's band
Trombonist Kid Ory's band, based in Los Angeles, makes the first recordings by a black ensemble playing in the New Orleans style. -
Fletcher Henderson Orchestra
Pianist and arranger Fletcher Henderson forms the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and begins performing at Club Alabama in New York. -
Washingtonians and Duke Ellington
Bandleader Elmer Snowden's Washingtonians performs in New York with Duke Ellington on piano. -
Bessie Smith 'Downhearted Blues'
Duke Ellington and dancers at the Cotton Club. Ellington led a jazz band at the club from 1927 to 1930.
This was Bessie Smith’s first recorded single and it sold 780,000 records in the first six months and eventually went on to sell 2 million copies. -
Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke and The Wolverines
The Wolverines with Beiderbecke at Doyle's Academy of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1924 -
Rhapsody in Blue
George Gershwin debuts Rhapsody in Blue along with Paul Whiteman's band. -
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey becomes a wildly popular blues singer across the country, with her band the Jazz Wild Cats. -
Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five
The Hot Five was Louis Armstrong's first jazz recording band led under his own name. It was a typical New Orleans jazz band in instrumentation, consisting of trumpet, clarinet, and trombone backed by a rhythm section. -
Fletcher Henderson's group and Coleman Hawkins
Bandleader Fletcher Henderson's group records with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. -
Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra
Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra was organized by Erskine Tate who was an American jazz violinist and a bandleader. He was an early figure in the Chicago Jazz scene and played with his band, Vendome Orchestra at the Vendome Theater. The band played during silent films and amongst its members were Louis Armstrong, Freddie Keppard and Ed Atkins. -
Duke Ellington Band and Dancers
Duke Ellington and dancers at the Cotton Club. Ellington led a jazz band at the club from 1927 to 1930. -
Paul Whiteman's band
Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke joins Paul Whiteman's band. -
Benny Goodman
Clarinetist Benny Goodman makes his first recordings. -
Body and Soul
Trumpeter Louis Armstrong records Body and Soul. -
Cab Calloway
Bandleader Cab Calloway becomes a regular at the Cotton Club.
