Fletcher Henderson - The Chronological Classics: Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1921-1923 (1923)

"Say It While Dancing" by Henderson's Dance Orchestra


Louis Armstrong briefly moved to New York in between his first move to Chicago with King Oliver and his move back to Chicago to establish his Hot Five band.  He moved to New York to join, as a star player, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.  Before Armstrong joined and even earlier, Fletcher Henderson and his bands were a free-flowing studio unit that recorded dance tunes for Black Swan Records.  Henderson also worked arranging and playing piano for many a Blues singer of his era and on some of that genre's most important recordings.  His earliest recordings as a bandleader have been collected in The Chronological Classics: Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1921-1923.

Here is the discography surrounding Fletcher Henderson's debut recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1921-1923

"Chime Blues" by Fletcher Henderson


"Gulf Coast Blues" by Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra


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Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five - The Chronological Classics: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five 1925-1926 (1926)

"Heebie Jeebies" by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five


King Oliver and Kid Ory's New Orleans Jazz band recruited the best musicians in town.  One of those recruits was cornetist Louis Armstrong.  When King Oliver went North to Chicago, Louis followed.  After several years of honing his craft and moving around, Louis Armstrong formed his Hot Five (that included Kid Ory on trombone and Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano) and held his first recording sessions as a band leader.  As usual, The Chronological Classics: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five 1925-1926 collects these earliest recordings.

Here is the discography surrounding Louis Armstrong's debut recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five 1925-1926

"Lonesome Blues" by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five


"Muskrat Ramble" by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five


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Kid Ory - The Chronological Classics: Kid Ory 1922-1945 (1945)

"Society Blues" by Ory's Sunshine Orchestra


King Oliver came from New Orleans where Jazz (in a style eventually known as Dixieland) formed and fermented the medium and the musicians that invented it.  King Oliver and trombonist Kid Ory co-led the heppest and most talented band of the 1910s.  When they parted ways, Ory moved first to Los Angeles where he was the first black musician from New Orleans to record a jazz side on the West Coast, and then to Chicago where he played in a number of the eras most important bands.  His career was sidelined by the Depression until Dixieland had a popular revival in the 1940s allowing Ory to resume his career leading his Creole Jazz Band.  The Chronological Classics: Kid Ory 1922-1945 compilation album bridges the two eras.

Here is the discography surrounding Kid Ory's first recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Kid Ory 1922-1945

"Creole Song" by Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band


"Oh! Didn't He Ramble" by Kid Ory


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King Oliver - The Chronological Classics: King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band 1923 (1923)

"Alligator Hop" by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band


Alberta Hunter perfected her craft of the Blues as a club singer and got her break in the 20s singing with cornetist King Oliver and his band.  The Chronological Classics released a compilation of King Oliver's earliest recordings as The Chronological Classics: King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band 1923.

Here is the discography surrounding King Oliver's debut recordings:

The Chronological Classics: King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band 1923

"London (Cafe) Blues" by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band


"Sobbin' Blues" by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band


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Alberta Hunter - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 1 1921-1923 (1923)

"Down Hearted Blues" by Alberta Hunter

Besides Mamie Smith, Perry Bradford also worked with Blues singer Alberta Hunter.  Document Records collected Alberta Hunter's earliest recordings in their Complete Recorded Works in Chonological Order Volume 1 1921-1923.

Here is the discography surrounding Alberta Hunter's debut recordings:

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 1 1921-1923

"Jazzin' Baby Blues" by Alberta Hunter


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Perry Bradford - Perry Bradford & the Blues Singers in Chronological Order 1923-1927 (1927)

"Lucy Long" by Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools


If you were a blues singer in the early twenties, you likely worked with Perry Bradford.  He wrote songs, arranged music, and lead the band that backed you up on recordings (often playing piano).  Besides the fact that Willie "The Lion" Smith often played in bands with Perry Bradford, the connection between them includes a dispute between the two about which one of them played the piano for Mamie Smith on her landmark "Crazy Blues" recording, a song Bradford also wrote.

The collection of Perry Bradford's contributions to Blues and Jazz is largely incomplete because his work was mostly in the background.  A few compilations exist that feature Bradford bands, like his Jazz Phools or "His Gang," and an accompanying solo blues singer that was sometimes Perry Bradford himself (like in two of the songs embedded here).  The compilation album featured for this slide whistle stop is Document Records's Perry Bradford & the Blues Singers in Chronological Order 1923-1927.  Bradford would transition his career into managing and publishing until, due to a hard hit taken from the Depression, he fell out of the industry and slowly into obscurity.

Here is Perry Bradford's discography:

Perry Bradford & the Blues Singers in Chronological Order 1923-1927
A Panorama 1923-1927

"Hoola Boola Dance" by Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools


"Kansas City Blues" by Perry Bradford and His Gang


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Willie "The Lion" Smith - The Chronological Classics: Willie "The Lion" Smith 1925-1937 (1937)

"Breeze (Blow My Baby Back to Me)" by Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs


Mamie Smith was the first African-American to record a blues song.  The accompaniment on those first blues recordings was the stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith (still no relation... none of the Smiths are related).  After starting his career as a session musician and rent party professional, The Lion, after a while, grew to be a successful band leader.  His first recordings are collected on The Chronological Classics: Willie "The Lion" Smith 1925-1937.

Here is the discography surrounding Willie "The Lion" Smith's debut recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Willie "The Lion" Smith 1925-1937

"Finger Buster" by Willie "The Lion" Smith


"There's Gonna Be the Devil to Pay" by Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs


"The Old Stamping Ground" by Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs


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