When Jack Teagarden (1905-64) arrived in New York in 1927, he created a bit of a sensation in the jazz world. Sounding years ahead of the usual percussive style, his trombone playing had the fluency of a trumpeter while balancing his very impressive self-taught technique with a bluesy style. He was soon in great demand, working with Ben Pollack and Red Nichols among others.
The music on Upbeat’s Rare And Obscure Recordings, all of which was recorded in 1930, falls into the “among others” category. With the beginning of the Depression and the popularity of radio, many of the top white jazz artists during the segregated times were enlisted to work in anonymous radio and studio orchestras. The lucrative work, while often dull, allowed the more technically skilled players a way to make it through the dark Depression years.
On this CD, Teagarden is heard playing dance music with orchestras led by Ben Selvin, Sam Lanin, and, in one case (the relatively lively “Accordion Joe”), Cornell. While there are a few other jazz artists (some unidentified) in these orchestras including trumpeters Bob Effros and Manny Klein, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Adrian Rollini, Rube Bloom, Arthur Schutt, Carl Kress, and Dick McDonough, their playing is largely confined to written-out ensembles and very brief solos.
The singers include Smith Ballew, Paul Smith, Artie Dunn, Irving Kaufman, Scrappy La
