Copenhagen is a jazz standard composed in 1924 by bandleader Charlie Davis and first recorded in that year by the Wolverine Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke in a foxtrot tempo. The title refers to Copenhagen tobacco, favored by Davis's bass player. Lyrics were added by Walter Melrose to the tune, which is a blues in B-flat.
On April 5, 1924, Davis's jazz band began an engagement at the Ohio Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana, and performed the song "Copenhagen." That evening, members of The Wolverines, including cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, heard the performance and asked Davis to be allowed to perform the tune in their own engagement. [1] Davis agreed. The Wolverines subsequently worked out their own arrangement in the course of engagements at Indiana University and elsewhere over the following weeks.
The Wolverines recorded it at Gennett Studios in Richmond, Indiana on May 6, 1924. The single was released by Gennett Records as 5453-B and also by Claxtonola Records as 40336-B as by the Jazz Harmonizers. [2] The A side was "Oh Baby", recorded at the same session. "Copenhagen" was published in the same year (in the Wolverines' arrangement) by the Melrose Bros. Music Company of Chicago, Illinois. At least nine other recordings of the song were released in 1924 alone. The Wolverines' recording features a brief cornet solo by Beiderbecke. Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra recorded "Copenhagen" on October 30, 1924, five months after the Beiderbecke version. [3] The recording by Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, arranged by Don Redman, features a solo by Louis Armstrong.
The personnel on the session were: Bix Beiderbecke (c); Jimmy Hartwell (cl); George Johnson (ts); Dick Voynow (p); Bob Gillette (bj/g); Min Leibrook (tu); and Vic Moore (dm).
The solos and the number of bars are indicated: Jimmy Hartwell (12) – George Johnson (12) – Bix Beiderbecke (6+8) – Jimmy Hartwell (2) – Min Leibrook (4+4) – Bob Gillette, g (2).
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer.
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. He was one of the most prolific and influential jazz musicians in the late 1920s and early 1930s, appearing on over 4,000 recordings. In 1959, a biopic was made of his life and career, The Five Pennies, starring Danny Kaye.
Gennett Records was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, Silvertone, and Challenge records under contract. The firm also pressed, under contract, records for record labels such as Autograph, Rainbow, Hitch, Our Song, and Vaughn. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoagy Carmichael. Its roster also included Jelly Roll Morton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Gene Autry.
Barnett, Kyle (2020). Record cultures: the transformation of the U.S. recording industry. Ann Arbor, [Michigan]: University of Michigan Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-472-12431-2.
John Jean Goldkette was a jazz pianist and bandleader.
The Victor Recording Orchestra was a jazz band led by Jean Goldkette. It was known for its innovative arrangements and strong rhythm.
Orie Frank Trumbauer was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He also played alto saxophone, bassoon, clarinet and several other instruments.
The Austin High School Gang was the name given to a group of young, white musicians from the West Side of Chicago, who all attended Austin High School during the early 1920s. They rose to prominence as pioneers of the Chicago Style in the 1920s, which was modeled on a hurried version of New Orleans Jazz.
"Mississippi Mud" is a 1927 song written by Harry Barris, first sung by Bing Crosby as a member of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023.
The Wolverines were an American jazz band. They were one of the most successful territory bands of the American Midwest in the 1920s.
"Riverboat Shuffle" is a popular song composed by Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Mills, and Dick Voynow. Lyrics were later added by Carmichael and Mitchell Parish.
"Tin Roof Blues" is a jazz composition by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings first recorded in 1923. It was written by band members Paul Mares, Ben Pollack, Mel Stitzel, George Brunies and Leon Roppolo. The tune has become a jazz standard and is one of the most recorded and often played New Orleans jazz compositions.
This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 1924.
"I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)" is a song written by Jimmy Dorsey and Paul Madeira (sometimes credited as Paul Mertz) first published in 1941. It has become a jazz and pop standard.
Davenport Blues is a 1925 jazz composition written and recorded by Bix Beiderbecke and released as a Gennett 78. The song has become a jazz and pop standard.
"Sensation Rag" or "Sensation" is a 1918 jazz instrumental by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. It is one of the earliest jazz recordings. It is not related to Joseph Lamb's 1908 "Sensation Rag", which is a ragtime piano piece.
Clarinet Marmalade, later Clarinet Marmalade Blues, is a 1918 dixieland jazz standard composed by Larry Shields and Henry Ragas of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. It is played in the key of F major. It was recorded by Fletcher Henderson in 1926 and Frankie Trumbauer in 1927.
"Singin' the Blues" is a 1920 jazz composition by J. Russel Robinson, Con Conrad, Sam M. Lewis, and Joe Young. It was recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1920 as an instrumental and released as a Victor 78 as part of a medley with "Margie". The song was released with lyrics by vocalist Aileen Stanley in 1920 on Victor. In 1927, Frank Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, and Eddie Lang recorded and released the song as an Okeh 78. The Trumbauer recording is considered a jazz and pop standard, greatly contributing to Frank Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke's reputation and influence. It is not related to the 1956 pop song "Singing the Blues" first recorded and released by Marty Robbins in 1956.
Oh Baby is a 1923 song by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva. On December 21, 1923 it was recorded by Frank Crummit, vocal and ukulele, accompanied by Phil Ohman on piano, in New York, for the Victor label. That same December it was recorded by Billy Jones for the Banner label. Again for the Banner label it was recorded by the Lucky Strike Dance Orchestra in February 1924. It was recorded by the Wolverine Orchestra on May 6, 1924 in Richmond, Indiana for the Gennett Label. The Wolverine Orchestra was made up of Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, pianist Dick Voynow, trombonist Al Gandee, tenor saxophonist George Johnson, clarinetist Jimmy Hartwell, banjoist Bob Gillette, tuba player Min Leibrook, and drummer Vic Moore. Three days later, again in the Gennett studio, it was recorded by Bailey's Lucky Seven. It was recorded by Nathan Glantz and His Orchestra in March 1924 for the Emerson label.
Fidgety Feet is a Dixieland jazz standard, first recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in June 1918. The more acclaimed version is the 1924 recording by The Wolverines, with Bix Beiderbecke. It is not to be confused with the George Gershwin song of the same name that appears in the 1926 musical Oh, Kay!.