Redhotjazz.com was a crown jewel of the early internet. Starting in the mid ’90s it made the offline discographies and biographies of early jazz available to the online public. It also hosted thousands of audio files donated by people who were digitizing their 78 RPM record collections, making many obscure recordings available for the first time. This all started long before Youtube and even before Wikipedia was much more than an idea.
We are duplicating the content of the Red Hot Jazz Archive from a snapshot saved in Archive.org’s Wayback Machine. Keeping with both the original intent and mission of Redhotjazz.org everything will be publicly available outside of our paywall. For ease of use we are improving each entry to meet the norms of the phone friendly modern internet.
The downloadable music files are mostly MP3s but some are in the ancient Real Audio (.ra) format. Rather than opening a new tab so you can stream or download them the Real Audio files will immediately download when you click them. Don’t be frightened. You don’t need Real Audio player to play them but they won’t work on Windows Media Player. We recommend the free and open source VLC player.
For more information read: About the Archive
The Seven Brown Babies was a pseudonym for the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. They recorded four sides four sides in October 1923 that were all released on
Fletcher Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) led the most commercially successful of the African-American Jazz bands of the 1920s. The smooth sound
Art Hickman and his Orchestra started out at the St. Francis Hotel (335 Powell Street) in San Francisco in 1913. In those early years of Jazz
San Francisco bandleader Art Hickman was enjoying considerable success in New York with his Art Hickman Orchestra in 1921 when he was offered an engagement in
Other recordings by this band were released under the name of Herb Wiedoeft’s Cinderella Roof Orchestra and Herb Wiedoeft’s and his Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location
When Herb Wiedoeft died in a automobile accident in 1928 the Herb Wiedoeft Orchestra became know as the Jessie Stafford Orchestra when Jessie Stafford the band’s trombonist
Other recordings by this band were released under the name of Herb Wiedoeft’s Cinderella Roof Orchestra and Herb Wiedoeft’s Famous Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Ella
Herb Wiedoeft (22 November 1886 – 12 May 1928) was the brother of saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft and a pioneering Los Angeles Jazz band leader. The
This is a later group featuring Ernest Borbee of the Borbee’s Jazz Orchestra that recorded in 1917. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Down Among
Led by pianist Ernest Borbee, this was among the earliest recording ensembles characterized as a “jass” group, the third after an Original Dixieland Jass Band disc
These records by Wilbur Sweatman were made only about a month after the Original Dixieland Jass Band made what is generally considered to be the first Jazz record on
This group was also known as The Carnival Three. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Creole Lullaby (Peephole Blues) (Omer Simeon / James P. Johnson) 2-22-1945 New
Thanks to Bob Palmer and Owen Miller for their help with this page. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Ballin’ The Jack (Chris Smith /
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Blues Galore Vocal Chorus by O’Neil Spencer (Richard M. Jones) 1-21-1938 Chicago, Illinois Decca 7413 B Brunswick 03205-A Melancholy
The Johnny Dodds’ Black Bottom Stompers sessions of April of 1927 are very similar to the classic Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven sessions of the same year.
Junie Cobb could play many instruments, but was best on reed instruments and piano. He began as pianist in Johnny Dunn’s Band as a teenager , then
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Easy Come Easy Go Blues (Roy Bergere) 5-28-1927 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion 1100 47th Street Stomp (1) (Jimmy Blythe) 9-16-1926
Thanks to Owen Miller for his help with this page. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Banjoreno (Clifford Hayes) 12-10-1926 Chicago, Illinois Victor 21473-A Boodle-Am
Taking their name from a show written by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, a small group led by Don Redman recorded in the late ’20s as the
The October 3rd session was released under the name of Deppe’s Serenaders. The November 6th session was released just under Lois Deppe’s name. Both sessions
George E. Lee led this popular band that was headquartered in Kansas City during the 1920s and early 1930s. Of the Kansas City bands only
Julia Lee (October 31, 1902 – December 8, 1958) re-recorded Won’t You Come Over To My House and released it as “Come On Over to My House
Unfortunately, this was the only record that Fate Marable made, and our only opportunity to hear what this important band really sounded like. Fate Marable conducted bands on the Strekfus
Fate Marable (December 2, 1890 – January 16, 1947) is a very important figure in the early history of Jazz. The bands he led on
