At The Jass Band Ball Aeolian Vocalion ODJB 1917

At the Jazz Band Ball ODJB Victor 18457 1918

"At the Jazz Band Ball" is a 1917 jazz instrumental recorded by the

Original Dixieland Jazz Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the m ...

. The instrumental is one of the earliest and most recorded jazz compositions. It is a jazz classic and a standard of the genre. The instrumental was recorded by

Larry Shields Lawrence James Shields (September 13, 1893 – November 21, 1953) was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist. He was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background Shields was born i ...

Tony Sbarbaro Antonio Sparbaro, known professionally as Tony Sbarbaro or Tony Spargo (June 27, 1897 – October 30, 1969) was an American jazz drummer associated with Dixieland, New Orleans jazz. He was the Original Dixieland Jazz Band drummer for over 50 yea ...

Henry Ragas Henry Walter Ragas (November 2, 1890 – February 18, 1919) was a jazz pianist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background He played piano with the Original Dixieland Jass Ba ...

Nick LaRocca Dominic James "Nick" LaRocca (April 11, 1889 – February 22, 1961), was an American early jazz cornetist and trumpeter and the leader of the Original Dixieland Jass Band, who is credited by some as being "the father of modern jazz". He is th ...

, and Eddie Edwards, the members of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. It was composed by Nick LaRocca and Larry Shields, and first recorded as "At the Jass Band Ball" by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on September 3, 1917, in New York and released as an Aeolian Vocalion single, A1205. The instrumental was rerecorded on March 19, 1918, and was released as a Victor 78 single, Victor 18457, Matrix #B-21583/1, with "Ostrich Walk" as the flip side. A third version was recorded on April 16, 1919, in London, England and released as a 78 single as Columbia 735 with "Barnyard Blues" as the flip side. Lyricist

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

added lyrics to the original 1917 ODJB instrumental in 1950.

Other recordings

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke ( ; March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical a ...

and His Gang recorded it in 1927.

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was a versatile American jazz musician who played swing music, Dixieland jazz and mood music, now called easy listening, on trumpet, cornet, and guitar. He played Swing with the bands ...

and His Orchestra in 1938.

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swi ...

and His Ragtime Band and

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sc ...

and His Famous Chicagoans recorded in 1940. Spanier's recording was RCA Bluebird B-10518-A. In 1959, The

Dukes of Dixieland The Dukes of Dixieland is an American, New Orleans "Dixieland"-style revival band, originally formed in 1948 by brothers Frank Assunto, trumpet; Fred Assunto, trombone; and their father Papa Jac Assunto, trombone and banjo. Their first records ...

released an album entitled ''At the Jazz Band Ball'' featuring an instrumental version of the song as the opening track.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded the song in 1960 for their album ''

Bing & Satchmo ''Bing & Satchmo'' is a 1960 studio album by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong that was arranged and conducted by Billy May. The album was recorded for Crosby's label, Project Records, and released by MGM. Crosby and Armstrong worked together many ...

''.

Pete Fountain Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr. (July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016), known professionally as Pete Fountain, was an American jazz clarinetist. Early life and education LaFontaine was born to Pierre, Sr. and Madeline, in a small Creole cottage-style fr ...

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

, George Barnes and his Octet,

Phil Napoleon Phil Napoleon (born Filippo Napoli; September 2, 1901 – October 1, 1990) was an early jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Boston, Massachusetts. Ron Wynn observed that Napoleon "was a competent, though unimaginative trumpeter whose greatest ...

's Emperor's of Jazz,

Nappy Lamare Joseph Hilton "Nappy" Lamare (June 14, 1905 – May 8, 1988) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist. Music career Lamare was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He got his nickname from his friend, Eddie Miller, becau ...

, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen,

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

and his Chicago Jazz,

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. He also owned a self-named night club in New York City. Early ...

Art Hodes Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist. Biography Hodes was born in Nikolaev, in the Russian Empire (now Myk ...

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

Joe Venutti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...

, the Sons of Bix, Nick LaRocca and His Dixieland Jazz Band,

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, Trombone, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of Music of New Orle ...

, the Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra, and

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath also served for 51 year ...

are other recordings.At the Jazz Band Ball: Second Hand Song.
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Sources

*Stewart, Jack. "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band's Place in the Development of Jazz." New Orleans International Music Colloquium, 2005. *Lange, Horst H. Wie der Jazz begann: 1916-1923, von der "Original Dixieland Jazz Band" bis zu King Olivers "Creole Jazz Band". Berlin: Colloquium Verlag, 1991. *Brunn, H.O. The Story of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960. Reprinted by Da Capo Press, 1977.

References

External links

"At the Jazz Band Ball" on the Library of Congress National Jukebox.At the Jazz Band Ball: Second Hand Songs.Original Dixieland Jazz Band recordings online. archive.org.
{{Authority control Songs about jazz Songs about parties 1917 compositions Original Dixieland Jass Band songs Jazz compositions Jazz instrumentals 1910s jazz standards