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Jazz Information
Jazz publication From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jazz Information was an American non-commercial weekly jazz publication founded as a record collector's sheet in 1939 by Eugene Williams (1918–1948), Ralph Gleason, Ralph de Toledano, and Jean Rayburn (maiden name; 1918–2009), who married Ralph Gleason in 1940.
History
The first issue, dated September 8, 1939, was a four-page newsletter that was mimeographed late one night in the back room of the Commodore Music Shop in Manhattan at 46 West 52nd Street.[1] In July 1940, Jazz Information, went from a newsletter to a little magazine format, hip pocket in size with modest typesetting. George Hoefer, Jr. (1909–1967), began the "Safety Valve" column on collecting, collectors, and how collectors annoyed musicians.[2] The publication ran sporadically until November 1941.[3][4][5][6]
Editorial bent
Stephen W Smith, editor of the Hot Record Society Rag, leaned towards what then was progressive jazz. Eugene Williams, through Jazz Information, leaned towards a New Orleans revivalists bent.[7][8]
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Record label
Jazz Information was a record label distributed by Commodore Records that produced recordings of Bunk Johnson in 1942.[9] Bill Russell, while gathering material for Jazzmen in 1938, discovered long forgotten New Orleans trumpeter Bunk Johnson on a farm in New Iberia, Louisiana. In 1942, Russell helped get Johnson a new set of teeth and a new trumpet. And, with Eugene Williams, editor if Jazz Information in New York; and Dave Stuart (né David Ashford Stuart; 1910–1984), owner of the Jazz Man Record Shop in Hollywood, traveled to New Orleans and made the first recordings of Bunk Johnson.[10]
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Selected articles
- "Zue Robertson: King of the Trombone" (Zue Robertson), by William Russell 1 (1940): 3
- "Omer Simeon" (Omer Simeon), by Herman Rosenberg & Eugene Williams, Vol. 2, No. 1, July 26, 1940, pps. 8–9
- "William Russell" (Bill Russell), by Ed Nylund, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 9, 1940, pps. 15–16 (earliest known published biography of William Russell)
- "Ma Rainey Discography," (Ma Rainey), by William C. Love, Vol. 2, September 6, 1940, pps. 9–14 (discography) (Love was founder of the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors)
- "Jimmie Noone" (Jimmie Noone), by Wesley Miles Neff (1913–1996) of Chicago, Vol 2, October 4, 1940, pps. 6–9, 45
- "Cow Cow Davenport" (Charles Edward Davenport), by Donald Haynes, Vol. 2, October 25, 1940, pps. 8–10
- "Barney Bigard" (Barney Bigard), by George Hoefer, Jr. (1909–1967), Vol. 2, November 8, 1940, pps. 7–13 (extensive article plus discography; Hoefer later was associate editor of Jazz & Pop)
- "Little Mitch" (George Mitchell), by Wesley Miles Neff (1913–1996), Vol. 2, No. 16, November 1941, pps. 31–32
- "A History of Jazz Information" (transcript), by Eugene Williams, Vol. 2, November 1941, pps. 93–101[6]
- New Orleans Clarinet series
- "New Orleans Clarinets: 2 – Edmond Hall" (Edmond Hall), by Herman Rosenberg & Eugene Williams, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 9, 1940
- "New Orleans Clarinets: 7 – Sidney Bechet" (Sidney Bechet), by Mary Evelyn Karoley (née Mary Frances Mellon; 1908–1993), Vol. 2, No. 8, December 6, 1940
- Possible related articles
- Jazzways, George Sigmund Rosenthal (1922–1967) & Frank Zachary (né Frank Zaharija; 1914–2015) (eds.) (© 21 January 1946; Jazzways, Cincinnati) (more than 100 photos by Skippy Adelman, Bernice Abbott, and Sargent John Marsh; 1916–2003)
- Cincinnati: Jazzways (1946); OCLC 10396118, 367353290, 839356128, 979896906
- New York: Greenberg (1946, 1947); OCLC 3501413, 21397381, 611017552
- London: Musicians Press Ltd. (1947); OCLC 654341520, 28753218, 795465371, 774482619
- (Greenberg, Publisher, founded in 1924 by Jacob Walter Greenberg; 1894–1974; & David Benjamin Greenberg; 1892–1968; sold to Chilton Book Company in 1958)
- Contributors
- Vol. 1
- "Report From Abroad," by Albert McCarthy
- "Jazz begins," by Rudi Blesh
- "Three Horns, Four Rhythm," by Dale Curran
- "Going Down State Street," by Frederic Ramsey, Jr.
- "Portrait of a Jazzman," Art Hodes
- "Benny Goodman," by Alexander King
- "Swing," by Frank Stacy, p. 49
- "Lionel Hampton, by Peter Fischer
- "New Orleans Today," by Eugene Williams & Julius "Skippy" Adelman (photographer) (note: Adelman, who later gave up photography, is still considered among the finest jazz photographers)
- "Discollecting," by Frederic Ramsey, Jr.
- Vol. 2
- "Jazz begins," by Rudi Blesh
- "Old Photographs"
- "Going Down State Street," by Frederic Ramsey, Jr.
- "Condon Mob"
- "Hot Royalty"
- "Benny Goodman," by Alexander King
- "Lionel Hampton, by Peter Fischer
- "Swing," by Frank Stacy (Stacy was, in the early 1940s, the New York editor for Down Beat)
- "New Orleans Today," by Eugene Williams & Julius "Skippy" Adelman (born around 1924) (photographer) (note: Adelman, who later gave up photography, is still considered among the finest jazz photographers)[11] Philadelphia jazz journalist Nels Nelson wrote in 1985 that Adelman was among the greatest jazz photographers in the world.[12][a] In 1990, Nelson wrote that renowned jazz photographer "[Bill] Gottlieb ranks second only to the elusive Skippy Adelman in his capacity for capturing the moment."[13]
- "Discollecting," by Frederic Ramsey, Jr.
- "Collector's Items"
- "One for the Money"
- "Two for the Show"
- "Concerto for Woody"
- "Portrait of a Jazzman," by Art Hodes (Hodes launched The Jazz Record in February 1943, which ran for 60 issues that ended November 1947)
- "Three Brass, Four Rhythm," by Dale Curran, p. 24
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Selected discography
- Artists re-issued by Jazz Information
- Freddie Keppard (Paramount)
- Ollie Powers (Claxtonola)
- Leola B. Wilson (Paramount)
- Trixie Smith (Paramount)
- Red Onion Jazz Babies (Gennett)
- Bunk Johnson (Purist)[b]
- Bunny Berigan (unissued, Vocalion, Columbia)
- Frank Froeba (unissued, Vocalion)
- Don Albert (Vocalion)
- Boots and His Buddies[c] (Bluebird)
- Carolina Cotton Pickers[d] (Vocalion)
- Ernie Fields (Vocalion)
- Louis Armstrong (Storyville)
- Joe Newman (Metronome)
- Gerry Mulligan (Ingo)[e]
- Artists produced by Jazz Information
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Personnel
Magazine staff
- 1939–1941: Eugene Williams, publisher, graduated from Columbia College in 1939[f][14]
- 1939–1940: Ralph Gleason, associate editor, co-founded Rolling Stone in 1967
- Ralph de Toledano
- Herman Rosenberg
- George Hoefer (né Elmer George Hoefer, Jr.; 1909–1967) – born in Laramie, raised in Chapel Hill with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from UNC Chapel Hill – Hoefer went on to become a prolific jazz historian. From 1959 to 1961, he was the New York editor for Down Beat for which he had a column, "The Hot Box."
Magazine tag line
- "The weekly magazine," September 19, 1939, to June 14, 1940
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Library access
Re-publications
Online transcriptions, current and archived
- Vol. 1, Nos. 2–10. September 19, 1939, to November 14, 1939. 26 May 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Blog of Benedict Eastaugh and Chris Sternal-Johnson at WordPress.
- Archived via Wayback Machine[6]
- Vol. 1, No. 2. September 19, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 3. September 26, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 4. October 3, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 5. October 10, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 6. October 17, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 7. October 24, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 8. October 31, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 9. November 7, 1939. Archived from the original on March 12, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 10. November 14, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 11. November 24, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 12. December 1, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 13. December 8, 1939. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 14. December 15, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 15. December 22, 1939. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 16. December 29, 1939. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 17. January 5, 1940. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 18. January 12, 1940. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 19. January 26, 1940. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 20. February 2, 1940. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 21. February 9, 1940. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 22. February 16, 1940. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005.(transcript incorrectly identifies this as Vol. 21)
- Vol. 1, No. 23. February 23, 1940. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 24. March 1, 1940. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
- Vol. 1, No. 25. March 8, 1940. Archived from the original on February 16, 2005.(transcript incorrectly identifies this as January 12, 1939, Vol. I, No. 21)
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Bibliography
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