The Jazz Me Blues - The Wolverine Orchestra w/ Bix Beiderbecke ~ 1924

Описание: The Wolverine Orchestra, or The Wolverines as they were also commonly known as, formed in late 1923 for a gig at the Stockton Club just south of Hamilton, Ohio. It was made up mostly of transplanted Chicago musicians and was mainly led by Dudley Mecum, the pianist of the group, who, according to rumor, gave the group its name around the fact that they played the Jelly Roll Morton tune "Wolverine Blues" so much. Bix Beiderbecke would join the group toward the end of the year. Dudley would leave at the end of the year and would be replaced by Dick Voynow. The Stockton Club would end up closing after New Years due to a large brawl that broke out, so the group headed to Cincinnati for a three month gig at Doyle's Dance Studio, quickly becoming one of the city's most popular attractions. They reportedly got so popular that the owner locked their instruments up to prevent them from skipping town.

In February 1924, the group headed to Gennett Records for their first recording session, marking the first recording Beiderbecke ever played on. The group would record multiple times in 1924, splitting their time between the Richmond, Indiana and New York studios.

The group eventually broke away from Doyle's and they headed toward a gig in Bloomington, Indiana only to find it was cancelled. Bandleader Bernie Cummins began booking shows for them around Ohio and Indiana and they became very popular amongst colleges around the area. By September 1924, they were booked at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Their engagement got cut short in November causing Beiderbecke to go join Jean Goldkette with Jimmy McPartland replacing him. That December, they headed south for a gig in Palm Beach, Florida.

After 1925, things get a little hazy since most of the groups popularity was around Beiderbecke. Voynow sold the rights to the group's name to a promoter named Husk O'Hare who took full advantage of the groups lingering popularity, creating multiple bands all using the Wolverines name. These would all be disbanded by 1931 and Al Gande, the group's trombonist created the "New Wolverines Orchestra" in 1936. Sadly he would die in a car crash in 1946, leaving many bands to claim the Wolverines name for themselves through the years.

Today's song, "The Jazz Me Blues", comes from their first recording session on February 18, 1924. The song was originally written by Tom Delaney. At least in part, the group consisted of Min Leibrook (brass bass), Bix Beiderbecke (cornet), Bob Gillette (banjo), Al Grande (trombone), Jimmy Hartwell (clarinet, alto sax), Vic Moore (drums), George Johnson (tenor sax), Dick Voynow (piano). Today's transfer comes from a repressing released on the British Brunswick label around 1940.

Obviously so much more has been written about the Wolverine Orchestra, and I highly recommend checking out the Syncopated Times article about them.