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In the 1920s, the top African-American band in Buffalo, NY was the Blue Ribbon Syncopators. They recorded in their hometown for Okeh Records in 1925, and two years later travelled as an augmented unit to the second biggest city in their home state, New York, to record electrically for Columbia Records. They were friends with the Yankee Six (aka the Buffalodians) and a young Harold Arlen (composer of “Get Happy” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) even “M C’d” for them a few times according to the papers – substantiated by the fact that they recorded his composition “My Gal, My Pal” for Okeh. Their sound was similar to Curtis Mosby’s Blue Blowers from LA, but also had a distinctive Great Lakes toughness. Their banjoist, Gil Roberts later had a career with Josephine Baker.  — by Colin Hancock

A special thanks to James Gallup for his help with the recordings on this page.

discography

TitleRecording DateRecording LocationCompany
Blues In A Minor
(Harry Tate)
3-1925Buffalo, New YorkOkeh
40349-A
Blue Ribbon Blues
(Harold Diemer)
4-29-1925New York, New YorkColumbia
14235-D
Memphis Sprawler
(Joe Tarto)
4-29-1925New York, New YorkColumbia
14215-D
My Gal, My Pal
(H. Arluck / H. Cheiffetz)
3-1925Buffalo, New YorkOkeh
40349-B
Scratch
(Harold Diemer)
4-29-1925New York, New YorkColumbia
14215-D
Whale Dip
(Harold Diemer)
4-29-1925New York, New YorkColumbia
14235-D

ArtistInstrument
George WestPiano
Willard BrownTenor Saxophone
Ted ColonTrumpet
Hurley DiemerDrums
Ted DiemerAlto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone
Gilbert RobertsBanjo
Harry TateTrumpet
Seymour ToddBass Brass, String Bass

 

The site supplying most of the MP3 files to the Red Hot Jazz Archive pages on Syncopatedtimes.com is down and many links no longer work. You may find the original Redhotjazz.com and download all of the original RealMedia .ra music files on the WayBackMachine at Archive.org. 

https://web.archive.org/www.redhotjazz.com