Customer Reviews

Complete Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1917-1936)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB)carry the distinction of being the First Jazz band to record in early 1917;I Had most of these sides on vinyl import Lp and the digital restoration on this set is superb,-what may present a slight problem for inexperienced ears are the whiplash tempos the ODJB employed in their 1917-1918 recordings (Jazz was thought to be a 'Novelty' at the time - chalk up another one for A & R folks); my only quibble is that The ODJB's 1919-1920 records for UK Columbia could not appear here (due no doubt to label conflicts) nor the bands superb 1917 Aeolian cylinders;but this is a minor quibble at the most.Anyone with any habit of even saying the word "Jazz" cannot bypass this critical body of music,and kudos are due to Amazon for making this tremendous collection easily available to all.Thanks!

This is one of the best compilation sets available on the ODJB. The band has an incredible history and was ground breaking. Jimmy LaRocca, the son of the original leader has a band under the same name that performs worldwide today with two new recordings that are available.

To compare the ODJB to Armstrong (who adored this band and Nick LaRocca)and others who didn't record for six or more years after the ODJB first recorded is unfair. The ODJB can hold their own and they made history & set up the foundation for recorded jass/jazz.

The history of recorded American jazz starts right HERE. No matter what else can be added, it is undeniable that the Original Dixieland Jass Band's March, 1917 "Livery Stable Blues" was THE very first ever-issued jazz A-side. Ability, style and performance notwithstanding, these guys were the pioneers, and the infinite variety of mechanically or electrically reproduced jazz, when traced back far enough, is all indebted in some way to this small group of men.

The album is called: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND. OK, so the songlist's far from definitive-- certain labels go without any representation here. For that matter, this is only one of many types of jazz-- although Dixieland, in contrast to most others, has its origins in American antiquity. Again, a "first" of sorts.

If you like traditional New Orleans music, you'll enjoy this album. And if all-time "firsts" is your pleasure, then tracks one and two here represent a HUGE first-- you should be quite pleased. However, if full-range sound is your thing, be forewarned to look elsewhere. The several acoustically recorded sides here are about as low-fi as it gets.

Thus, sound quality on this set varies from OK to "OH MY!" The clarinet on the earliest sides tends to go through your head like a nail, while the pianist flails away and can hardly be heard. But, to quibble with these limitations would be akin to grousing that Neil Armstrong's historic "small" step on the moon should have been broadcast in "living color." Liner notes are in French and English and include personnel and studio dates.

TOTAL RUNNING TIMES --
DISC ONE -- 53:50
DISC TWO -- 52:25

Since this was the 1st jass band to record these, side are historic and fun, especially the livery stable blues, and jazz me blues. This music is not as good as it would become with Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, and Jelly Roll Morton, however it is still historic and essential music for Dixieland fans. For a great new Dixieland band try The Wooden Nickel Jass Band which plays many Dixieland jazz festival today, they have a great vocalist Brady McKay check them out at wnjb.com

The publisher's review is very accurate: this group was the 1st to record Dixieland music, initially at a time that non-white musicians had no access to recording studios. It is a talented group and reasonably quality recordings.

If you like this music, you will probably also like The Complete Good Time Jazz Recordings.

Ahh, the ODJB. The cornerstone of recorded jazz, and still controversial a century after they first recorded.

When I first heard them, in 1967, they thrilled me with their unbridled energy and pulsating rhythm. But the LP I had also included six tracks recorded in 1936, and these were the ones that I liked the most. Larry Shields' clarinet took real solos, not just weaving around the comet lead, and Nick LaRocca's comet was more varied in what it played, even inserting Bix-like upward rips in the final chorus of "Tiger Rag." Nothing this good was evident on the 1917-1918 recordings. On those, the band just played peppy ragtime with no variation to speak of. The discs were exciting on first listening, but then fairly monotonous on rehearing.

The problem with the ODJB being the first jazz band on records was not that they were white, but that they simply weren't good soloists. Since no one in New York had even HEARD jazz at the time they debuted, they went crazy over them. Had players like Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo, Gus Mueller or Emmet Hardy, who were also white, come to New York at that time, I am sure the ODJB would have been considered a peppy novelty dance band and nothing else, for that is in essence what they were. When the ODJB returned from England in 1921, they were forced to use a saxophone and play in a more commercial style, not just because of the influence of Art Hickman and Paul Whiteman, but because by that time people were getting used to the much hotter styles of Mamie Smith and her Jazz Hounds and pianist James P. Johnson.

But I still love those 1936 sides; to me, they represent the best that this band had to offer.

Mr.Broomer and his "painful irony" aside, the truth is some of the greatest innovators and purveyors of early jazz were European Americans...nothing wrong with realizing that fact unless you are a typical knee-jerk liberal with a dearth of historical facts and integrity who feels that only blacks created American music. Such folks are obviously doing self-therapy on their own deep-rooted psychiatric condition, probably "self-loathing" for being of European decent. Pappa Jack Laine was around long before Buddy Bolden or King Oliver, and Nick LaRocca and company made jazz hits long before many of the black jazz greats were old enough to pick up their instruments. Leon Roppolo, for instance, is considered by both black and white jazz critics as the father of jazz clarinet improvisation. Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti were the fathers of jazz guitar and violin, respectively. No, Mr. Broomer, there is nothing sad about the historical fact that whites contributed just as much, if not more, to the American Jazz experience as have black Americans. If you'd prefer, like Mr. Burns, to remain politically correct instead of historically correct, that is your problem. Don't denigrate Mr. LaRocca and company simply because they were white. Last I heard being caucasian is still not considered a crime or a sin, although give it a bit more time and I'm sure the vacuous liberals will succeed in making it so. My, my, what a racist mentality you have, Mr. Bloomer... I mean, Broomer! Let's see: had Nick La Rocca been an African American homosexual who spoke Chinese and crossed-dressed regularly, I'm sure you'd regail him as a jazz icon. Alas, poor Mr. LaRocca was merely one of those rotten heterosexual Europeans who was proud of his heritage. Poor, misguided soul.

People spend so much time giving ODJB credit for being the first "jazz band" to see a recording studio. Thats only because they had access to it. Someone said it's unfair to compare this group to greats such as Louis Armstrong, if thats true than it is unfair to give the Dixieland band credit for being the first band to record when other black artist didn't have that oppurtunity. The cd is good for what it's worth, but is definately over rated.