26th February 1917: Original Dixieland 'Jass' Band makes first commercially released jazz recording

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Following the abolition of slavery, the popularity of traditionally black genres of music such as blues and, later, ragtime grew in the South. By the 1910s New Orleans had developed a unique variation spearheaded by Creole and African-American musicians, such as Jelly Roll Morton, who played in the city’s bars and brothels.

Nevertheless, white musicians from New Orleans also began to refine their sound in bands led by pioneers such as Papa Jack Laine. In 1916 another drummer and bandleader, Johnny Stein, was invited to put together a band to play at Schiller’s Cafe in Chicago. Stein’s Dixie Jass Band proved to be a huge success, and the other members later broke away to form the Original Dixieland Jass Band.

This band took up a residency at Reisenweber’s Restaurant in New York City and on 31 January 1917 they made unused test recordings for the Columbia Graphophone Company. However, a few weeks later on 26 February they recorded “Livery Stable Blues” and “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Recorded live through a huge pick-up horn, the musicians were positioned at various points around the room in an attempt to balance the volume of the instruments.

The resulting record was released in May, and went on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies. While there continues to be some debate about how far the Original Dixieland Jass Band can truly claim to have recorded the first jazz record, there is no doubt that their release was responsible for kick-starting the jazz craze that swept across the United States.