the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy

Series produced by Guy Rathbun

Caption: Joe "King" Oliver
Joe "King" Oliver 

A weekly program of Music and Stories for "The Jazz Age."

Across the spectrum of pop and jazz from the late teens to the early 1930s, this weekly series from the Club McKenzie invites you the share in the talents and tales of the musicians and performers that created an unforgettable era.


623 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Duke's Domain part 1
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and described those who impressed him as "beyond category. "He is widely conside...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 07, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Duke’s Domain part 2
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Duke Ellington
In the 1920s, Ellington performed in nightclubs as the bandleader of a sextet, a group that in time grew to a 10-piece ensemble. The nucleus of thi...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 12, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
With Strings: Jazz Guitar Pioneers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Eddie Lang
Eddie Lang, more than any other jazz guitarist, brought the rhythm guitar into the limelight as a solo instrument. Granted, he couldn't have comple...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 20, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Joe Robichaux & his New Orleans Boys
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Joe Robichaux
On the one had, you can say that pianist and arranger Joe Robichaux was a New Orleans musician, on the other, his unique sound set him apart from h...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 24, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
The Rhythmakers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Billy Banks
Under the leadership of guitarist Jack Bland, The Rhythmakers constituted one of the more exciting bands of the 1930s boasting a lineup that includ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Madame Tussaud’s Dance Orchestra
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum is famous, with exhibits around the world. In the early 1930s, a restaurant and small dance floor provided an ideal set...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Uptown-Downtown
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Apollo Club
Featuring those top-notch musicians and band leaders who were successful in New York City and Harlem in 1933.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 13, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Sizzlin' Strings - Hot Violins
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Eddie South
This program is devoted to the pioneers of jazz violin including Stephane Grappelli, Eddie South, Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith, Clifford Hayes, and many...

Bought by KMUW, WNCU, and KCBX


  • Added: Nov 20, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 3
Georgia Stomps
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
It’s an understatement to say that Georgia was not known as a mecca for early jazz; nevertheless, there are several quality musicians from the Atla...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 02, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Jimmy Blythe - The Enigma
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Alley Rat by Jimmy Blythe
Pianist and composer James Louis Blythe is lost in obscurity today, but during his all too brief career, he was considered among the very best. Bly...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 05, 2013
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Benny Before Big Band
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Benny Goodman
This program is devoted to Benny Goodman’s earliest years in the recording business. His inventive style is heard with the Ben Pollack Orchestra, H...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 12, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
The Origins of RCA-Victor
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Victor ODJB 78 RPM
The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was one of the first major record labels, and arguably the best. They became a revolutionary force in the mu...

Bought by Radio New Zealand and KCBX


  • Added: Dec 18, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 2
The Professor
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fess Wiliams
Stanley “Fess” Williams earned his nickname from his six years teaching music. Although he taught early elements of jazz, you can believe he also i...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 25, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Big T
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Jack Teagarden
Very few musicians had the artful phrasing that Weldon Leo “Jack” Teagarden had. Whether he was playing trombone, or singing, he seemed to adopt so...

Bought by KMUW and KCBX


  • Added: Jan 02, 2014
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 2
Mamie Smith
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Mamie Smith
She billed herself as “The Queen of the Blues.” But, technically, she wasn’t a blues singer.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 12, 2014
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Gems of Gennett
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Gennett Records label
The Starr Piano Company opened the doors to their new recording studio in Richmond, Indiana in 1916. The first few years they waxed the standard fa...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 16, 2014
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Belgian Jazz
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Charles Remue's New Stompers
When you think of America’s original art form – jazz – the last place you’ll probably think of is Belgium. Yet, they too were swept up in the craze...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 26, 2014
  • Length: 58:56
  • Purchases: 1
The Dixie Stompers: Fletcher Henderson
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fletcher Henderson
The Dixie Stompers were formed for one purpose: to record for a less expensive label for those who couldn’t afford to buy the 75-cent discs.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 31, 2014
  • Length: 58:56
  • Purchases: 1
Hot Club: Reinhardt & Grappelli
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Reinhardt & Grappelli
You could not find two more opposite musicians forming a partnership: Stephane Grappelli and Django Rienhardt. In the early ‘30s they created the h...

Bought by KMUW and KCBX


  • Added: Feb 07, 2014
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 2
Rarities
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Three Jazz Wizards
Here is a sampling of some of the bands of the 1920s; most didn’t make it beyond their geographical boarders. By no means does that lesson their ta...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 15, 2014
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1

Playlists That Feature This Series: