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 Charleston, South Carolina (Cecil Mack / James P. Johnson) 2-1924 New York, New York Paramount 12278 Day Break Blues (Original
“Harry Wills, The Champion” is an very interesting protest song about an African American boxer who was active in the 1910s and 1920s. The undefeated
At age twelve Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 – October 17, 1984) ran away from her hometown of Memphis to go to Chicago to become
Red Onion Jazz Babies sessions were organized by Clarence Williams and featured Lil Hardin-Armstrong who had come east to be near her husband Louis who had just joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra the
These Plantation Orchestra sides were made in London by the Pike Davies Orchestra which was an African-American jazz band that supported Florence Mills and Edith Wilson in
Wilbur C. Sweatman was one of the first African-Americans to record Jazz. His first Jazz recordings were made less than two months after The Original Dixieland Jazz
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Battleship Kate (Ada Rives / Wilbur Sweatman) 10-10-1924 New York, New York Edison 51438-L 9781-B It Makes No Difference Now
This is Wilbur Sweatman’s final recording session. Wilbur Sweatman’s continued to perform live up until the 1950s in the New York area. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Battleship
There is speculation that this was Duke Ellington’s debut recording with some assortment of the following suggested musicians: Eugene “Bud” Aiken (cnt), Leslie (Leonard ?)
The Southland Six was a pseudonym for The Original Memphis Five. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Blue Eyed Blues 5-1922 New York, New York
Jazzbo’s Carolina Serenaders was a pseudonym for The Original Memphis Five. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Achin’ Hearted Blues (Clarence Williams) 10-1922 New York,
Bailey’s Lucky Seven was a series of Gennett recording sessions organized by bandleader Sam Lanin. The musicians on the records were often the Original Memphis Five with
None of the musicians in Ladd’s Black Aces were Black even though Gennett records advertised them as such, going so far as to show a
Before Jimmy Durante (February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) became one of the most famous and lovable entertainers of the Twentieth Century, he was
It has been suggested that this band might be Jimmy Durante’s New Orleans Jazz Band. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Loose Feet (Williams) 12-1922 New York,
This band was organized by drummer Johnny Stein after Stein’s Dixie Jass Band broke up and became the Original Dixieland Jass Band. It is interesting to note that
This band was organized by drummer Johnny Stein after Stein’s Dixie Jass Band broke up and became the Original Dixieland Jass Band. It is interesting to note that
Although it will probably never be completely confirmed, the Whiteway Jazz Band is thought to be Jimmy Durante’s band which recorded under the names of the Original New
These are the first recordings made by W.C. Handy. He was forty-three years old at the time that these records were made in 1917. Handy
The cylinders listed below were reputably made for the Metropolitan Music Store in Minneapolis and were possibly issued by the store in limited quantities, but
Jasper Taylor (January 1, 1894-November 7, 1964) was an early Jazz percussionist. He left his home Texas as a teenager in 1912 playing drums with
This is a somewhat obscure, yet excellent record. Vaudeville performer Julia Davis’ vocals are quite good on these two songs and Johnny Dodds and R.Q. Dickerson
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company It Must Be The Blues (Tiny Parham) 1-1927 Chicago, Illinois Paramount 12409 Stomp Time Blues (Tiny Parham) 1-1927 Chicago,
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Down Home In Kentucky 12-6-1929 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion 1472 You Got To Wet It 12-6-1929 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion 1472
