Yerkes Blue Bird Orchestra - a find

[Torjazzer]

It appears that the L-door machine I picked up last week is the machine that keeps on giving (pics to come when I recover from this bronchitis)
Amongst the records that came with it is a "His Masters Voice" Canadian Berliner pressing of "Dance-O-Mania". Redhotjazz.com says that this and another record are the first jazz recordings made in Canada. Does anyone know of this record and is it particularly rare? BTW, "Blue Bird" is the actual spelling on the record.

[Torjazzer]

A little dirty but here it is.

[Lenoirstreetguy]

Harry Yerkes was an American leader who played xylophone and drums. He was recorded obviously when doing an appearance in Montreal, which was THE spot in those days. The Blue Bird was ...I think... a dance hall or cabaret. I don't know if it was the venue of the same name that had a horribly lethal fire 40 years ago. But back to the record, it seems to turn up with a fair degree of regularity. It was recorded in 1920 and appeared for the first time in the November 1920 list of HMV . According to Litchfield's The Canadian Jazz Discography some of the players are Earl Oliver, cornet, possibly Ross Gorman sax with George Hamilton Green on drums . I don't know where Litchfield got his info. The recording ledgers from Berliner were all destroyed in the late 60's. I wrote RCA Victor in Montreal in the 70's and got the bitter news at that time.

Jim

[Torjazzer]

Harry Yerkes was an American leader who played xylophone and drums. He was recorded obviously when doing an appearance in Montreal, which was THE spot in those days. The Blue Bird was ...I think... a dance hall or cabaret. I don't know if it was the venue of the same name that had a horribly lethal fire 40 years ago. But back to the record, it seems to turn up with a fair degree of regularity. It was recorded in 1920 and appeared for the first time in the November 1920 list of HMV . According to Litchfield's The Canadian Jazz Discography some of the players are Earl Oliver, cornet, possibly Ross Gorman sax with George Hamilton Green on drums . I don't know where Litchfield got his info. The recording ledgers from Berliner were all destroyed in the late 60's. I wrote RCA Victor in Montreal in the 70's and got the bitter news at that time.

Jim

Thanks, Jim. That's a lot more info than I was able to find. This is a hot little jazz record and sounds great.