The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street

On Feb. 11, 1940, a new weekly radio program made its debut. Called The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, it was a satire of classical music broadcasts where the announcer could often be stuffy, excessively high-brow, and a little too intellectual for his own good. Hosted by Gene Hamilton (who was renamed Dr. Gino Hamilton), the show had all of the musicians being introduced as either Professor, Dr. or Maestro. The program mixed together humorous commentary and occasional comedy acts with excellent music. Trumpeter Henry “Hot Lips” Levine led a Dixieland octet that was sometimes introduced as a Dixieland Philharmonic Orchestra. Reed wizard and arranger-composer Paul Laval wrote for a 10-piece woodwind ensemble that employed everything from piccolo to contrabassoon and ranged from a jazz version of “Peter and the Wolf” to swinging the classics pieces and even a polka. Most shows had a guest star, often from the jazz world, who generally played two numbers. The 1940 season also featured a vocal on two on most shows by the program’s biggest discovery, Dinah Shore. The first season, which had guest appearances by the likes of Jelly Roll Morton (his final recording), Benny Carter, Bobby Hackett, Leadbelly, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, W.C. Handy, Sidney Bechet, and Jack Teagarden, was probably the best year for the show. Gene Hamilton’s announcin