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.


594 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Teagarden's Transition
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Jack Teagarden
With the onset of the great depression at the close of 1929, trombonist Jack Teagarden had a choice: find another profession, or become a part of t...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 26, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Where's Tennessee?
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Tennessee Tooters
It’s not unusual for musicians to name their bands after locations they’ve never been. That’s true today, and it worked well in the past.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 21, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Flappers & Suffragettes
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Suffragette
As The Jazz Age roared to like in the 1920s so did the suffragette movement. In 1918 women were granted voting rights, and they took that to mean i...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 13, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Russell's Crew
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: J.C. Higginbotham
Pianist and bandleader Luis Russell happened to have one of the best bands in the Big Apple by the latter 1920s.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 06, 2019
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Washboard Rhythm Kings
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Washboard Rhythm Kings record
They were unlike any other jazz group in the 1930s. Over the 6-years of their existence, their personnel changed every time they were in studio. Pl...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 29, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Seldom Heard Fats
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Thomas "Fats" Waller
One of the most flamboyant, enigmatic, larger than life personalities in early jazz is Thomas “Fats” Waller: a primary exponent of Stride piano.

Bought by KMUW and KCBX


  • Added: Jan 22, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
California Brand
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Paul Howard's Quality Serenaders 78
When the subject of 1920s jazz is brought up, the Golden State is seldom mentioned, yet the music arrived in California the same year it reached Ne...

Bought by KCBX and KCBX


  • Added: Jan 16, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Benny & the Gang
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Benny Goodman
One of the best orchestra leaders and talented clarinetist is how Benny Goodman is remembered.

Bought by KCBX, KCBX, and KALW


  • Added: Jan 09, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
Music is My Mistress
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
At the end of his illustrious 50-year career in music, Duke Ellington wrote his biography. It’s a behind the scenes plethora of information about h...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 02, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Best of the Year 1928
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: New Year's Eve Party
This program is a New Year’s celebration of jazz in 1928.

Bought by KALW and KCBX


  • Added: Dec 25, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Tympani Rarities
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Vic Berton
Experimentation and inventiveness found common ground in early jazz. That was especially true in the world of percussion.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 13, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Island Jazz
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Sam Ku West
Music from the Hawaiian Islands is distinct. Their steel and slack string guitars set them apart from everyone else.

Bought by KUGS Bellingham, Wash. and KCBX


  • Added: Dec 06, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
They Were Then
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Sonny Clay & his Band
Songs that were popular among the musicians, may not have been big sellers. Consequently, there are a bunch of songs that are completely forgotten,...

Bought by KMUN and KCBX


  • Added: Nov 29, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Sweet Tones of the Clarinet
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Frank Teschmacher
There were dozens of early jazz clarinetist, a few of whom stood out as true pioneers. Those are the artists with rhythm, fluidity, expression and ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 21, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Uptown NYC
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Connie's Inn & Tree of Hope
Driving north from New York City to Harlem in the 1920s was quite a challenge. Even though only about 10 miles separated the two cities, the numbe...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 15, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Fifty Years of IAJRC
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: IAJRC Volume II
Fifty years ago the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors began publishing the Journal devoted to early jazz.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 08, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Setting the Stage
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fletcher Henderson
The Big Bands were in full swing by the mid-1930s, but the name least remembered is the leader who provided the inspiration: Fletcher Henderson. He...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 01, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Pops Influence
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Paul Whiteman
With today’s hindsight, bandleader Paul Whiteman has been both criticized and praised for his influence in early jazz. Yet, he was the first to hav...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 25, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
52nd Street
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
Also known as Swing Street, or among musicians of the 1920s and ‘30s … The Street.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 18, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Runnin' Wild
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
This program is devoted to those pioneering jazz violinists of the 1920s and ‘30s.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 11, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1

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