Yet another new kind of article today for Drums In The Twenties - a travelogue of sorts. In the last week of April of 2022, I and my colleagues in Alex Mendham's Orchestra were lucky enough to undertake the gig of a lifetime – a week-long residency playing in the grand ballroom of the Queen … Continue reading Library #9: Vintage Drum Adventures In The Land Of Jazz, May 2022
Percussion
Heroes #19: Johnny Wells, 1899-1965
“There were a lot of terrific drummers in Chicago in those days, [like] Johnny Wells…” - Sid Catlett KEY RECORDINGS:With JIMMIE NOONE's APEX CLUB ORCHESTRA, 1928-9With ALEX HILL, 1929 The 1920s drumming Hero we'll be meeting today is yet another musician who rarely seems to merit a mention in what we might call the 'mainstream' … Continue reading Heroes #19: Johnny Wells, 1899-1965
Heroes #17: Jimmy Bertrand, 1900-1960
“The leading black show drummer in 1920s Chicago” – James Lincoln Collier KEY RECORDINGS:With ERSKINE TATE'S VENDOME ORCHESTRA, 1923-26JIMMY BERTRAND'S WASHBOARD WIZARDS, 1926-28With PICKETT-PARHAM APOLLO SYNCOPATORS, 1926With JUNIE C.COBB (E.C. Cobb & His Corn Eaters / State St. Stompers / Kansas City Stompers etc.) The overwhelming majority of the Heroes we’ve met so far in … Continue reading Heroes #17: Jimmy Bertrand, 1900-1960
Instruments #6: K. Zildjian heavy Turkish Cymbal, early 1920s
So far in this portion of the site we’ve looked at drums from the 1920s quite a lot, most recently in our two-part examination of the evolution of the most important part of the kit – the snare drum - during the decade. To redress the balance, this article will be the first of a … Continue reading Instruments #6: K. Zildjian heavy Turkish Cymbal, early 1920s
Instruments #5: The Windsor Dual-Tension Snare Drum, late 1920s
We’ve already had a look at the 'Snapper' type of snare drum commonly used during the early years of the decade – in many ways a relic of the 1910s. Today we’ll see how the instrument evolved throughout the 1920s to become something more recognisable to modern drummers. The main snare drum I use when … Continue reading Instruments #5: The Windsor Dual-Tension Snare Drum, late 1920s
Instruments #4: The ‘Bock-A-Da-Bock’ or Hand Cymbal, 1927-9
About two decades ago, as a curious teenaged jazz drummer, like many listeners keen to explore the earlier forms of the music I first alighted on Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven records. I started there partly because I already knew some of Louis’s later work, and because I’d read about these early records’ … Continue reading Instruments #4: The ‘Bock-A-Da-Bock’ or Hand Cymbal, 1927-9
Instruments #3: The ‘Snapper’-style Snare Drum, early 1920s
Before I start today’s article, an admission. When I was first planning ‘Drums In The Twenties’, one concern was that I didn’t want it to become solely an outlet for thinly-disguised bragging about vintage drum gear – something by which the internet is already well served. Speaking honestly, I don’t really have that much interest … Continue reading Instruments #3: The ‘Snapper’-style Snare Drum, early 1920s
Timeline
See also: GLOSSARY, BIBLIOGRAPHY
Heroes #10: Joseph ‘Kaiser’ Marshall, 1899-1948
“One of the great drummers of the early days of jazz” – Leonard Feather KEY RECORDINGS: With LUCILLE HEGAMIN, 1920-22 With FLETCHER HENDERSON & HIS ORCHESTRA, 1923-29 With McKINNEY’S COTTON PICKERS, 1929 With LOUIS ARMSTRONG, 1929 A select number of individuals in jazz history were awarded honorific ‘noble’ nicknames by their peers; some of these … Continue reading Heroes #10: Joseph ‘Kaiser’ Marshall, 1899-1948
Heroes #9: Chauncey Morehouse, 1902-1980
"The drummer[’s] success depends entirely on his own originality" – Chauncey Morehouse KEY RECORDINGS: With THE GEORGIANS, 1922-24 With JEAN GOLDKETTE & HIS ORCHESTRA, 1926-27 With FRANKIE TRUMBAUER & HIS ORCHESTRA, 1927 With BIX BEIDERBECKE & HIS GANG, 1927 In jazz, as in many art forms, certain historical figures occasionally acquire a mythical status, as … Continue reading Heroes #9: Chauncey Morehouse, 1902-1980
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