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Birth of the Big Bands 1923 - 1936)

By Russell Perry | Jazz at 100
January 15, 2019
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In the last hour, we listened to the pioneering jazz orchestra of Duke Ellington. Large jazz ensembles, such as Ellington's, soon to be known as "Big Bands," evolved through the 1920s with significant innovations led by bandleaders Fletcher Henderson, Benny Carter, Jimmie Lunceford and Don Redman, and arrangers Carter, Redman, Edgar Sampson and Sy Oliver. By the mid-1930s Big Bands dominated popular music.

Playlist

Host Intro 0:00
Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra "Dicty Blues" from Study in Frustration -The Fletcher Henderson Story (Columbia) 3:02
Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra "Henderson Stomp" from Classic Jazz: Vol. 086, Fletcher Henderson (1925-26) (The Encyclopedia of Jazz) 5:39
Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra "Tozo" from Classic Jazz: Vol. 087, Fletcher Henderson (1927) (The Encyclopedia of Jazz) 8:28
Host speaks 11:22
Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra "Wrappin' It Up (The Lindy Glide)" from The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (Smithsonian) 13:00
Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra "Blue Lou" from The Norton Jazz Recordings (Norton) 15:37
Host speaks 18:42
Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra "Keep A Song In Your Soul" from Classic Jazz: Vol. 088, Fletcher Henderson (1928- 31) (The Encyclopedia of Jazz) 21:02
Benny Carter and his Orchestra "Symphony In Riffs" from Benny Carter: 1933 -1936 (Classics) 24:20
Benny Carter and his Orchestra "Lonesome Nights" from Benny Carter: 1933 -1936 (Classics) 27:24
Benny Carter and his Orchestra "Devil's Holiday" from Benny Carter: 1933 -1936 (Classics) 30:56
Host speaks 34:03
Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra "Organ Grinder's Swing" from The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (Smithsonian) 36:48
Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra "For Dancers Only" from Big Band: Vol. 027, Jimmie Lunceford (1937-39) (The Encyclopedia of Jazz) 39:26
Host speaks 42:06
Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra "'Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)" from The Norton Jazz Recordings (Norton) 43:04
Host speaks 46:07
McKinney's Cotton Pickers "I Found A New Baby" from Put It There (Frog) 46:40
Don Redman and His Orchestra "Chant of the Weed" from Shakin' The Africann (Hep Records) 49:57
Don Redman and His Orchestra "How'm I Doin' ? (Hey-Hey)" from Shakin' The Africann (Hep Records) 53:26
Host speaks 56:36

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About Benny Carter

Instrument: Saxophone, alto

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