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
From the Grand Terrace: Earl Hines
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Earl Hines
In the late 1920s Chicago was the broadcast center of America. And, the name Earl Hines became synonymous with jazz. He was the pianist and bandlea...

Bought by KMUW and KCBX


  • Added: May 01, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Pied Pipers of Chicago
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Omer Simeon
This program features three musicians, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone and Omer Simeon. All three cut their teeth in New Orleans musical circles, and the...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 25, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
A Turning Point
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
Both Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong entered the professional music scene in the early 1920s. Both favored traditional jazz with its roots in New O...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 18, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Banjo Ikey
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: My Four Reasons 78 RPM
Multi instrumentalist Isaac Robinson became well known in the 1920s. His talents and virtuosity placed him in high demand from musicians like Jelly...

Bought by KVNF and KCBX


  • Added: Apr 09, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Melodiously Half Way: Frankie Trumbauer
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Frankie Trambauer
In size and tone, the C-melody Saxophone is half way between its cousins -- tenor and alto. Once you’ve heard it in the creative hands of Frankie T...

Bought by KVNF and KCBX


  • Added: Apr 04, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
A Paramount Pianist: Chicago's South Side
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: James Blythe
Chicago musician Jimmy Blythe was well respected by his peers. He had a feel for jazz very few could equal. By the time he was 22, he had cut sever...

Bought by KVNF and KCBX


  • Added: Mar 27, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Corn on the Cobb: Chicago's South Side
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Junie Cobb
This program is the epitome of early jazz heard in the Windy City’s South Side featuring multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader Junie Cobb.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 20, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Jabbo & Reuben
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Jabbo Smith
Two overlooked musicians in the 1920s … Jabbo Smith and Reuben Reeves … cornet and trumpet.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 13, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Puddle Jumpers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: 1927 Auto in mud
In the 1920s, it was a major task for a band, without a lot of money, to tour the country and line up a recording studio date. If they travel by au...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 07, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
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

Playlists That Feature This Series: