POC Jazz

[AlyssaSawyer]

I'm trying to find Jazz records from the twenties that aren't Paul Whiteman or other generic white bands. All of the black records I find in stores are racist ass minstrel and comedy. Do they exist?

[JerryVan]

Jazz from the late 20's and early 30's is no mystery. Look for...

Louis Armstrong
Bix Beiderbecke
Johnny Dodds
Frank Trumbauer
King Oliver
Clarence Williams
Jelly-Roll Morton


... and many more.

If you want earlier 20's, look for Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

However, if you're just looking for records in shops, you're not likely to stumble across the "good stuff". Burn up a little bit of time on YouTube, listening to bands that you like. Armed with that, go to eBay and search for those records/bands. You could also go about it the other way around. Finding interesting records on eBay, then sampling them on YouTube. That's not the cheapest way to go, but good, Jazz records aren't very cheap anyway. Still, there's "good stuff" at somewhat reasonable prices. The popular stuff, that most collectors already have, is relatively cheap. (The really rare stuff, that brings big money, was sometimes rare because it wasn't really very good to begin with. Just my opinion there.) Buy only from sellers that regularly sell 78rpm records. It's a better chance of receiving records that haven't been broken in shipping.

[AlyssaSawyer]

Thanks!

[paradroid1793]

A lot of well-known musicians of the time and ones that later had their work recognized had recordings made of them but not in large number.

The race record business, as it was called, was still emerging in the 1920s. King Oliver & Pinetop Smith are well-known both in their day and now, but their original record are expensive.

If you do not care about the record being "an original pressing" or "first pressing", the British Rhythm Society & Hot Jazz Club of America out of Brooklyn N.Y reissued a lot of rare jazz from the 20s, still on 78.