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.


644 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Connie's Inn, Harlem
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Thomas "Fats" Waller, Credit: CBS Studio
The nightlife that blossomed in Chicago and New York in the teens and ‘20s are the thread that laced together audience and music. In earlier years,...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 25, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Literature and Art
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Winold Reiss
“It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire,” Those words come from F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 18, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
An Influencial Foursome
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Joe "King" Oliver
It was a lengthy journey from obscurity to international popularity. No one will say it was easy. But, with steadfast perseverance and endless cre...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 11, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
European Dance Bands
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Bert Ambrose
As traditional jazz evolved through the 1920s, audiences in Europe began gravitating toward larger dance bands. Live performances at dance halls an...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 04, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
On the Continent
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Hot Club of France
Between 1917 and the early ’30s there is a transformative era for jazz in Europe. While the music gets a foothold in America, it quickly spreads ac...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 28, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blame Jazz
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: James P. Johnson
Jazz had to deal with a number of hurdles, in the 1920s, before it was eventually accepted by the American public. Even then, it was very limited a...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 21, 2024
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
Boosting Morale
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fess Williams
In the decade of the1920s, jazz evolves into the heartbeat of America. The music is the catapult into a new era around the world. Looking back, it ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 15, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Trailblazing Women
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Lovie Austin
The 1920s was a important time in the earliest years of jazz, as musicians began migrating to points north of New Orleans. Any time there’s a discu...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 07, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Pied Pipers of the Big Apple
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Barney Bigard
It may feel like an overstatement to say, but it’s true, that the 1920s was a pivotal decade for jazz, and that’s especially true for New York City...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 01, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Pied Pipers of Chicago
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Frank Teschemacher
The 1920s were a exciting time for jazz in Chicago. While all jazz musicians played crucial roles in shaping a style that took on the name of the c...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 22, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Pied Pipers of New Orleans
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Omer Simeon
The story of early jazz clarinetists is a fascinating journey through the evolution of jazz. Not only did it play a crucial role in shaping the dis...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 16, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
When Jazz Was Immoral
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Lil Armstrong
the 1920s the watchful eye of a moralist group of private citizens known as the Chicago Vigilance Committee delivered an urgent message to the pub...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 09, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
An Age of Contradictions
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
The 1920s propelled America into the 20th Century, marked by a stark division between the 'haves' and 'have-nots.' It was during this era that jazz...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 02, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
NYC Style (or a Tale of Two Cities)
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Chick Webb
As jazz moved from Chicago to the Northeast an innovative presence was heard. Still embedded in the roots of New Orleans, New York added an element...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 26, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Motor City Breakdown
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Graystone playbill c.1929
Detroit played a significant role in the development and popularization of jazz during the 1920s. The city's vibrant music scene and cultural envir...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 19, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Melody & Rhythm
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Johnny Dedroit's Band, Credit: c. 1926
In jazz of the 1920s, melody is defined by improvisation and the blue notes. Rhythm is characterized by syncopation and provided a dynamic foundati...

Bought by KCCU Radio, KCBX, and KWAX


  • Added: Jan 12, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
The Three Tenors
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
This is not about opera. Instead, it’s the early history of three pioneering saxophonists 1920s and ‘30s that had a major impact on the future of j...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 04, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
New Year's Eve in the Windy City
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Earl Hines
During the first half of the 1920s, Chicago took center stage in the world of jazz. This era proved to be a highly innovative time for young musici...

Bought by RadioStPete Florida, WDCB, and KCBX


  • Added: Dec 25, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
A Jazzy Christmas
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: British Biscuit Tin c.1920
Jazz and Christmas were not really considered well suited in the early 1920s. Eventually, as jazz became more popular, a perfect partnership evolve...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 19, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Blues I Love to Sing
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Victoria Spivey
The 1920s was a time when traditional gender roles were deeply ingrained in society. Women were expected to conform to certain standards of behavio...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 13, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1

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