Some of the music I write about in this space each Friday pushes well beyond what the average person might consider jazz, and there are times when I wouldn’t even try to make the argument myself. But jazz and its influence—via the practice of improvisation—has radiated widely, so that all kinds of sounds could theoretically boast some type of connection. When jazz first emerged in a century ago, the term often had nothing to do with improvisation but instead signified hot dance music, first in New Orleans and then in cities like Chicago and New York. Happy, a terrific new two-CD set from the good folks at Archeophone Records in Champaign, collects 37 tracks made in 1920 by the Isham Jones Rainbo Orchestra, a Chicago dance band that didn’t play jazz but drank from its tap. The music feels of its time, for sure, and there’s very little improvisation, but the voicings shaped by the group’s leader, arranger, and saxophonist clearly reflect the jazz craze. These guys were absorbing the sounds of the great King Oliver, who moved to town from the Crescent City in 1919, but they were serving their white social-dance audience first and foremost, and didn’t allow improvisation or asides from interrupting their responsibility to strutting couples.
Today’s playlist:
