Today -100: June 9, 2019: WE WUZ ROBBED

Whether it is part of the anti-American propaganda now more or less prevalent in the French press or an isolated attack is not clear, but Le Matin this morning declares that the credit of inventing the jazz band does not belong to the United States, but to France.

The jazz band idea, it says, originated in Paris in the time of the Directory, whe people went to ball concerts.

"In those days as well as now," it continues, "people did not know what to do to amuse themselves; so they made a noice. Those who had great taste for noise went on to the concerts of the Cat Orchestra."...

The Original Dixieland Jass Band [Eds.: the name was changed to "Jazz" by mid-1917], from New Orleans, went to Chicago to perform Dixieland jazz, a sound that no one there had heard previously. At the time, ragtime was the dominant style and Dixieland was something completely new.

People in New York also wanted to hear Dixieland music. The band was invited to do a gig at the restaurant Reisenweber, which was a trendy location with a nightclub in Manhattan. The band performed there in January 1917.

Shortly afterwards, the record label Columbia came knocking at their door to record them. But the label found the material too hot, too innovative, so the recordings weren't released.

Another label, Victor, then jumped in and recorded two tracks, "Dixieland Jass Band One-Step" for the A side and "Livery Stable Blues" for the B side, on February 26, 1917. It was a big hit, pressed as a 78 rpm record single and sold for 75 cents. It was a remarkable event for the music market and the history of jazz -- as well as a tremendous commercial success.