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1924 in jazz
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February 2021
1924
Wolverine orchestra 1924.jpg The Wolverines with Bix Beiderbecke at Doyle's Academy of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1924 1920s 1920s 1923 1925
1924 jazz
This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 1924.
Musicians born that year included the drummer Max Roach and singers Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. In 1924, Leopold Stokowski, the British orchestral conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, observed that jazz had "come to stay."Lopes Paul Douglas The Rise of a Jazz Art World https://books.google.com/books?id=hQfOJRe6lysC&pg=PA82 2002 Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-00039-0 82
Jazz scene
In 1924 the improvised solo had become an integral part of most jazz performanceshttps://books.google.com/books?id=g3NweXtHo7wC&pg=PA131 Cook, Nicholas Pople, Anthony The Cambridge history of twentieth-century music Cambridge University Press 2004 131 978-0-521-66256-7
Jazz was becoming increasingly popular in New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago and New York City and 1924 was something of a benchmark of jazz being seen as a serious musical form.https://books.google.com/books?id=qNOciojh-80C&pg=PA114 Ewen, David Men of popular music Ayer Publishing 1972 114 978-0-8369-7263-4 American Popular Music: The nineteenth century and Tin Pan Alley Scheurer, Timothy E. Popular Press 1989 147 978-0-87972-466-5 https://archive.org/details/americanpopularm0000unse/page/147 John Alden Carpenter insisted that jazz was now 'our contemporary popular music',https://books.google.com/books?id=KYl1_KVoSY0C&pg=PA111 Cooke, Mervyn Horn, David The Cambridge companion to jazz Cambridge Companions to Music Cambridge University Press 2003 111 978-0-521-66388-5 and Irving Berlin made a statement that jazz was the "rhythmic beat of our everyday lives" and the music's "swiftness is interpretive of our verve and speed". Leopold Stokowski, the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1924, publicly embraced jazz as a musical art form and praised jazz musicians.African American jazz and rap: social and philosophical examinations of Black expressive behavior Conyers, James L. McFarland 2001 978-0-7864-0828-3 registration https://archive.org/details/africanamericanj00jame In 1924, George Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue, widely regarded as one of the finest compositions of the 20th century,https://books.google.com/books?id=t3AEWtKgklsC&pg=PA34 Studwell, William Emmett The popular song reader: a sampler of well-known twentieth century-songs Routledge 34 1994 978-1-56024-369-4 saying he conceived it "as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America–of our vast melting pot, of our incomparable national pep, our blues, our metropolitan madness."http://www.abbeville.com/jazz/055.asp An Experiment in Modern Music abbeville.com 4 December 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110430034100/http://www.abbeville.com/jazz/055.asp 30 April 2011 dead
left Bechet.gif 110 Louis Armstrong restored.jpg 200 Left: Sidney Bechet. Right: Louis Armstrong.
Black jazz entrepreneur and producer Clarence Williams recorded groups in New Orleans, among them Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong. Williams moved from New Orleans to Chicago and opened a record store. In Chicago, Earl Hines formed a group and incidentally inhabited the neighboring apartment to Armstrong while he was in Chicago.http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz1924.htm History of Jazz Time Line: 1924 All About Jazz 2 December 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110415042151/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz1924.htm 15 April 2011 dead Also in Chicago, trumpeter Tommy Ladnier begins playing in King Oliver's band. Bechet moved to New England with Ellington during the summer of 1924, playing dances.
While in 1924 in jazz, ensembles in the Kansas City area began play a style with a four even beat ground beat as opposed to a New Orleans two beat ground beat behind a 4/4 melody, European jazz included a fox trot by the Swiss composer Frank Martin for the Marionette Theatre in Paris.Slonimsky Nicolas Yourke Electra Nicolas Slonimsky: Early articles for the Boston evening transcript https://books.google.com/books?id=6Exa2oNv7lsC&pg=PA53 2003 Psychology Press 978-0-415-96865-2 53
Charlie Parker grew up in Kansas City listening to this style of jazz. In 1924, Django Reinhardt became a guitarist and began playing the clubs of Paris. Noted Classic Blues singer Bessie Smith began to achieve major fame.
Events
5 February: Louis Armstrong marries pianist and composer Lil Hardin.
12 February: Paul Whiteman brings jazz to the concert stage, at Aeolian Hall in New York City. The concert includes such jazz tunes as Livery Stable Blues, and was the premier of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.Ward, Geoffrey C., "Jazz: a history of America's music." Knopf, 2000. pp. 99–100. 978-0-679-44551-7 According to jazz historian Marshall Stearns, "Paul Whiteman made jazz semi-respectable in 1924."Shaw, p. 43
18 February: A 20-year-old Bix Beiderbecke (cornet), Min Lelbrook (tuba), Jimmy Hartwell (clarinet), George Johnson (tenor sax), Bob Gilette (banjo), Vic Moore (drums), Dick Voynow (piano) and Al Gandee (trombone) form The Wolverines and make their first recording at the Gennett studios in Richmond, Indiana with "Fidgety Feet".
June: Armstrong quits the Oliver band upon the request of his wife much to his dismay and is later rejected by Sammy Stewart because he "wasn't dicty enough".
July: Meyer Davis was reportedly offered a hundred dollars to come up with a new name for "jazz". Concern over the name disappeared by the end of 1924 and did not resurface until 1949 when Down Beat Magazine ran a $1000 contest in the searching for a new name, remarking that the name "jazz" had lost all significance.https://books.google.com/books?id=z5SFqRWrtkMC&pg=PA26 O'Meally Robert G. The jazz cadence of American culture Columbia University Press 1998 26 978-0-231-10449-4
30 September: Louis Armstrong, having left King Oliver's band in Chicago to be replaced by Lee Collins, arrives in New York City.The world of jazz trumpet: a comprehensive history & practical philosophy Barnhart Scotty Hal Leonard Corporation 2005 188 978-0-634-09527-6
October: Armstrong joins Fletcher Henderson's band in New York City upon his wife's insistence. They begin performing at the Roseland Ballroom on 51st street and Broadway in Manhattan. His new style of jazz playing greatly influences the style of other New York musicians such as Coleman Hawkins and Duke Ellington.Ward, Geoffrey C., "Jazz: a history of America's music." Knopf, 2000. Page 112, 115. 978-0-679-44551-7 Ellington and his Washingtonians perform at the Hollywood Club on 49th street and Broadway, whilst Bix Beiderbecke and the Wolverines, renamed Personality Kids perform at the Cinderella Ballroom on 41st street and Broadway. Hoagy Carmichael is much impressed by Beiderbecke and the Wolverines and later states, "I could feel my hands trying to shake and getting cold when I saw Bix getting out his horn. Just four notes...But he didn't blow them; he hit 'em like a mallet hits a chime..."
5 December – A 17-year-old Jimmy McPartland replaces Beiderbecke in the Wolverines (Personality Kids) band and violinist Dave Harmon joins.https://books.google.com/books?id=EdKGpTw4ZwIC&pg=PA133 Max Harrison Charles Fox Eric Thacker The Essential Jazz Records: Ragtime to swing Continuum International Publishing Group 2000 133 978-0-7201-1708-0 Bix reportedly quietly sat in the back of the club during the audition, later revealing himself with the compliment, "I like ya, kid. Ya sound like me, but you don't copy me." They became friends and roomed together while Bix gave McPartland pointers. At that time, Bix picked out a cornet for McPartland that he then played throughout his career.
Standards
List of 1920s jazz standards
Standards published that year included "Everybody Loves My Baby" and Jelly Roll Morton's "King Porter Stomp".
"When My Sugar Walks Down the Street", a sweet jazz song written in 1924 by Gene Austin, Jimmy McHugh and Irving Mills. Victor Talking Machine (later known as RCA Victor) recorded the song in January 1925. Victor A&R executive Nathaniel Shilkret selected Aileen Stanley, a well-known Victor artist, and Austin, then unknown, as the recording artists, accompanied by Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra.Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Niel Shell and Barbara Shilkret, Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005, pp. 73–74. 978-0-8108-5128-3https://archive.org/details/shreveportsounds00lorn registration When My Sugar Walks Down the Street. Lornell, Kip Laird, Tracey E.W. Shreveport sounds in black and white University Press of Mississippi 2008 242 978-1-934110-42-3 The recording was very popular and launched Austin's career. Austin estimated his lifetime sales at 80 million records. It was recorded by the Wolverines late in 1924, Duke Ellington, and numerous other artists.
Criticism
Both Europe and the US had critics of jazz in 1924. While the songwriter and music business executive Arnold Shaw wrote in 1989 that "1924 was a 'hot' year in jazz...",Shaw, p. 150 a columnist for The New York Times wrote in 1924 that "Jazz is to real music exactly what most of the 'new poetry,' so-called, is to real poetry. Both are without the structure and form essential to music and poetry alike, and both are the products, not of innovators, but of incompetents."Whitworth Michael H. Modernism https://books.google.com/books?id=v6cwDNs6RRsC&pg=PA161 2007 Wiley-Blackwell 978-0-631-23077-9 161 The American composer and critic, Virgil Thomson, wrote in 1924 that jazz rhythm shakes but doesn't flow; it lacks a climax; and it "never gets anywhere emotionally".Thomson Virgil Kostelanetz Richard Virgil Thomson: a reader : selected writings, 1924–1984 https://books.google.com/books?id=R6aFuR24I-IC&pg=PA138 2002 Psychology Press 978-0-415-93795-5 138 Jazz in 1924 was just "popular syncopated music" according to the Austrian composer Hugo Riesenfeld.Wyatt Robert Johnson John Andrew The George Gershwin reader https://books.google.com/books?id=VAASy2Z3aZ4C&pg=PA124 2004 Oxford University Press US 978-0-19-513019-5 124
Deaths
Unknown date
Black Benny, New Orleans–based bass drummer (born 1890).
thumb|upright|Max Roach in Holland, around 1979
thumb|upright|Rita Reys at Hotel De Watergeus, Noorden (The Netherlands) in 2004
Births
January
5 – Shotaro Moriyasu, Japanese pianist (died 1955).
10 – Max Roach, American drummer and composer (died 2007).
22 – J. J. Johnson, American trombonist (died 2001).
24 – Joe Albany, American pianist (died 1988).
26
Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (died 2014).
Bob Bain, American guitarist (died 2018).
February
2
Dinah Kaye, Scottish singer (died 2011).
Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist (died 1982).
6 – Sammy Nestico, American composer and arranger of big band music (died 2021).
7 – Ray Crawford, American guitarist (died 1997).
15 – Jiří Šlitr, Czech songwriter, pianist, and singer (died 1969).
March
13 – Dick Katz, American pianist (died 2009).
16 – Beryl Davis, English singer (died 2011).
18 – Vojislav Simic, Serbian musician, conductor and composer (died 2025).
26 – Brew Moore, American tenor saxophonist (died 1973).
27 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (died 1990).
April
3 – Jacky June, Belgian saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader (died 2012).
6
Charlie Rouse, American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist (died 1988).
Jimmy Roberts, American tenor singer (died 1999).
12 – Dick Marx, American pianist (died 1997).
14 – Shorty Rogers, American trumpet and flugelhorn player (died 1994).
16
Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (died 1994).
Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist and singer (died 1976).
17 – Chuck Higgins, American saxophonist (died 1999).
20 – Orlando DiGirolamo, American accordionist and pianist (died 1998).
23 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer (died 2007).
26 – Teddy Edwards, American saxophonist (died 2003).
28 – Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (died 2009).
May
6 – Denny Wright, English guitarist (died 1992).
10 – Teddy Riley, American trumpeter (died 1992).
11 – Oscar Valdambrini, Italian jazz trumpeter (died 1996).
14 – Coco Schumann, German guitarist (died 2018).http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/swing-legende-jazz-gitarrist-coco-schumann-ist-tot-1.3845251 Jazz-Gitarrist Coco Schumann ist tot de Süddeutsche Zeitung 2018-01-29 2018-04-10
25 – Marshall Allen, American saxophonist.
30 – Armando Peraza, American percussionist (died 2014).
June
1
Hal McKusick, American alto saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist (died 2012).
Herbie Lovelle, American drummer (died 2009).
6 – Gil Cuppini, Italian drummer and bandleader (died 1996).
16 – Lucky Thompson, American saxophonist (died 2005).
18
Jimmy Cheatham, American trombonist (died 2007).
Mat Mathews, Dutch accordionist (died 2009).
20 – Chet Atkins, American guitarist (died 2001).
24 – Jacques Pelzer, Belgian alto saxophonist and flautist (died 1994).http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J350200?rskey=QSkIZT&result=112 Jacques Pelzer OxfordIndex.oup.com 2018-04-01 July 2026 InternetArchiveBot
July
1 – Ruth Olay, American singer (died 2021).
6 – Louie Bellson, American drummer (died 2009).
10 – Major Holley, American upright bassist (died 1990).
19 – Al Haig, American pianist (died 1982).
22 – Bill Perkins, American saxophonist and flutist (died 2003).
28 – Corky Corcoran, American tenor saxophonist (died 1979).
August
4 – Tom Talbert, American pianist (died 2005).
20 – Joya Sherrill, American singer (died 2010).
26
Dick Buckley, American radio presenter (died 2010).
Frances Wayne, American singer (died 1978).
29 – Dinah Washington, American singer and pianist (died 1963).
30 – Kenny Dorham, American trumpeter and singer (died 1972).
September
1 – Stewart "Dirk" Fischer, American composer (died 2013).
10 – Putte Wickman, Swedish clarinetist (died 2006).
20 – Jackie Paris, American singer and guitarist (died 2004).
22 – Ray Wetzel, American trumpeter (died 1951).
26 – Lammar Wright, Jr., American trumpeter (died 1983).
27 – Bud Powell, American pianist (died 1966).
October
1 – Roger Williams, American pianist (died 2011).http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-williamsroger-20111009-story.html Roger Williams dies at 87; 'Autumn Leaves' pop pianist found commercial success Valerie J. Nelson Los Angeles Times 2011-10-09 2016-11-07
7 – Marty Flax, American saxophonist (died 1972).
13 – Terry Gibbs, American vibraphonist and band leader.
19 – Pete Chilver, British guitarist and hotelier (died 2008).
22 – Jesse Drakes, American trumpet player (died 2010).
25 – Earl Palmer, American drummer (died 2008).
27
Gary Chester, American drummer (died 1987).
George Wallington, American pianist and composer (died 1993).
November
2 – Rudy Van Gelder, American recording engineer (died 2016).https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/arts/music/rudy-van-gelder-audio-engineer-who-helped-define-sound-of-jazz-on-record-dies-at-91.html?_r=0 Rudy Van Gelder, Audio Engineer Who Helped Define Sound of Jazz on Record, Dies at 91 Keepnews Peter The New York Times 2016-08-25 2016-11-06
6
Bruno Canfora, Italian composer, conductor, and music arranger (died 2017).
Dick Cathcart, American trumpeter (died 1993).
12 – Sam Jones, American upright bassist and cellist (died 1981).
25 – Paul Desmond, American saxophonist and composer (died 1977).
December
11 – Nunzio Rotondo, Italian trumpeter and bandleader (died 2009).
20 – Arne Domnérus, Swedish saxophonist and clarinetist (died 2008).
21 – Rita Reys, Dutch singer (died 2013).
24 – Pupo De Luca, Italian actor and musician (died 2006).
31 – Wilbur Harden, American trumpeter (died 1969).
References
Bibliography
Visions of Jazz: The First Century Giddins Gary Gary Giddins 2000 Oxford University Press US 978-0-19-513241-0 registration https://archive.org/details/visionsofjazzfir0000gidd
Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song Jasen David A. 2003 Taylor & Francis 978-0-415-93877-8
Ragtime: An Encyclopedia, Discography, and Sheetography Jasen David A. 2007 CRC Press 978-0-415-97862-0
Louis Armstrong: The Life, Music, and Screen Career https://archive.org/details/louisarmstrongli0000noll registration Nollen Scott Allen 2004 McFarland 978-0-7864-1857-2
Texan Jazz https://archive.org/details/texanjazz0000olip registration Oliphant Dave 1996 University of Texas Press 978-0-292-76045-5
The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945 Schuller Gunther 1991 Oxford University Press US 978-0-19-507140-5
Shaw Arnold The jazz age: popular music in the 1920s https://books.google.com/books?id=MECLMrzcC9kC&pg=PA150 1989 Oxford University Press US 978-0-19-506082-9
Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael Sudhalter Richard M. Dick Sudhalter 2003 Oxford University Press US 978-0-19-516898-3
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Jazz, 1924 In
Category:Jazz by year