The Austin High School Gang, a group of teenagers in Chicago attending Austin High School in the 1920’s, became smitten with the jazz of the day and, along with some of their friends, proceeded to form a band, from whose ranks several eventually reached national and later international acclaim: Frank Teschemacher,Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman among them. They were inspired by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and also drew from Bix Beiderbecke and the Wolverines as well as King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band.
This band and its recordings motivated Dick Hyman, who was artistic director of the “Jazz in July” series for the Manhattan Y, to plan a concert he titled “Chicago Jazz” to be in the style of the Austin High School Gang. Two bands were scheduled for the concert on July 30, 1992, one to be unscripted but in the spirit of the Chicago band and led by Kenny Davern, the other to play transcriptions of the Chicagoans’ recordings by Dick Hyman and led by him.
