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
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Happy Hour Blues (1) (Lloyd Scott / Don Frye) 1-10-1927 New York, New York Victor unissued Happy Hour Blues (2) (Lloyd
Victor V-38117 was released under the name of Cecil Scott and his Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Bright Boy Blues (Cecil Scott / Don
Reedman Cecil Scott (November 22, 1905 – January 5, 1964) and his older brother Lloyd (born 8-21-1902), who played drums, came out of the relatively
See: Boyd Senter and his Senterpedes and Boyd Senter (1898-1982) Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Eniale Blues (Jack Russell) 3-20-1928 New York, New York Okeh
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Beale Street Blues (W.C. Handy) 10-29-1929 New York, New York Okeh 40836 Copenhagen Stomp (Charlie Davis) 11-25-1929 New York,
In the autumn of 1965, I had the great pleasure of hearing by letter from the man who in the late 1920s was billed as
For recordings prior to 1939 see: Abe Lyman’s California Ambassador Hotel Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company A Garden In Granada 4-28-1938 New York,
For recordings prior to 1939 see: Abe Lyman’s California Ambassador Hotel Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company A Beautiful Lady In Blue Vocal chorus
Drummer Abe Lyman led this popular orchestra that played at the Ambassador Hotel which was located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The items listed are variously
Frankie Trumbauer‘s (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) accomplishments as a Jazz musician have been overshadowed by the role he played in Bix Beiderbecke’s career.
Drummer Abe Lyman, born Abraham Simon in Chicago (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957), led an orchestra that was successful at the Ambassador Hotel
Clarinetist Pee Wee Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969) is one of those unique players that comes along only once in a lifetime.
Nick La Rocca (April 11, 1889 – February 22, 1961) claimed to have invented Jazz and often complained that African-American musicians have been given too
Alcide Nuņez (March 17, 1884 – September 2, 1934) was an early White New Orleans jazz clarinetist. He played with Papa Jack Laine’s Reliance Brass Band,
Like most early Jazz musicians from New Orleans Ray Lopez got his start playing in street parades. Around 1906 he was playing in Papa Jack Laine’s Reliance
Jesse Stone and his Blue Serenaders were active from about 1920 to 1928 in Kansas City and the Southwest. Coleman Hawkins got his professional start with Stone’s
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Aint’cha Got Music? (Andy Razaf / J.C. Johnson) 7-21-1933 New York, New York Banner 32840 Dark Clouds (Boretz /
Coleman Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969) was the first great saxophonist of Jazz. As a child he was a gifted musician. In
Lee Morse was a popular singer of the 1920s and early 1930s. She is best remembered today for the backing bands that were assembled for her
Lee Morse (November 30, 1897 – December 16, 1954) was a very popular recording artist, songwriter and actress of the 1920s and early 1930s. She
Lee Morse was a very unique singer. The song “What Do I Care What) Somebody Said?” is a good example of her style. Her improvised vocalease
The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra began recording in 1928, but didn’t become a real band until 1934. The 1934 band featured both Glenn Miller and Bob
Tommy Dorsey (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was Jimmy’s younger brother and the more temperamental of the two. He was generally blamed for the
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Everybody Mess Aroun’ (Perry Bradford) 8-6-1926 New York, New York Harmony 231-H Velvet Tone 1231-V Georgia Grind (Spencer Williams)
