Johnny Dodds & His Orchestra - Decca 18094 (1940)

Here we have what appears to be Johnny Dodds' last recordings for he was to pass away just 2 months later at only 48 years old.

One can only imagine the whole Dixieland Revival with a healthy and relatively young Johnny Dodds partaking in it.

Johnny Dodds cl / Natty Dominique c / Preston Jackson tb / Richard M. Jones p / Lonnie Johnson g / John Lindsay sb / Baby Dodds d.

Recorded in Chicago on June 5, 1940.

Cab Calloway & His Orchestra - Brunswick 80016 (Originally 1930 & 1931)

Here are a couple of sides reissued by Brunswick. Wish I could have come across the whole set but this was the only one that turned up in the stack.

St. Louis Blues - Cab Calloway v, dir / R.Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, Reuben Reeves t / De Priest Wheeler (& Harry White?) tb / William Thornton Blue cl, as / Andrew Brown bcl, ts / Walter Thomas as, ts, bar, f / Earres Prince p / Morris White bj / Jimmy Smith bb, sb / Leroy Maxey d.

Recorded in New York on July 24, 1930.

Bugle Call Rag - Cab Calloway v, dir / Edwin Swayzee, Lammar Wright, Reuben Reeves t / De Priest Wheeler, Harry White tb / Arville Harris, William Thornton Blue cl, as / Andrew Brown bcl, ts / Walter Thomas as, ts, bar, f / Benny Payne p / Morris White bj / Jimmy Smith bb, sb / Leroy Maxey d.

Recorded in New York on September 23, 1931.

Coon-Sanders Orchestra - Victor 20785 (1927)

Joe Sanders p, v  and Carlton Coon d, v, dir / Bob Pope, Joe Richolson t / Rex Downing tb / Harold Thiell, John Thiell cl, as / Floyd Estep cl, ts / Russ Stout bj / Elmer Krebbs bb.

Recorded in Chicago on June 25, 1927.

Johnny Dodds Hot Six - Bluebird 10240 (Originally 1929)

Maybe someone can shed some light on these sides for me.

What I thought were re-issues are actually first runs of unissued takes from a decade earlier?

Natty Dominique c / Honore Dutrey tb / Johnny Dodds cl / Lil Armstrong p / Bill Johnson sb / Baby Dodds d.

Recorded in Chicago on February 7, 1929.

Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra - Victor 20-1639 (1945)

Here's The Twentieth Century Gabriel & His Orchestra's first tracks out of the gates after the infamous recording ban.

Erskine Hawkins, Bobby Johnson, Chuck Jones, Sammy Lowe, Bill Moore t / Donald Cole, Dave James, Norman Green, Ed Sims tb / Bobby Smith, Jimmy Mitchelle as / Aaron Maxwell, Julian Dash ts / Haywood Henry bar / Ace (Asa A.) Harris p, v / Leroy Kirkland g / Lee Stanfield b / Kelly Martin d.

Recorded in New York on January 10, 1945.

Boswell Sisters - Brunswick 80012 (Originally 1931)

Starting to find these reissues everywhere I look.

Nice lineup here.

I also noted that Tim Brymn, a North Carolinian, was a co-composer of Shout, Sister, Shout!

Manny Klein t / Tommy Dorsey tb / Jimmy Dorsey cl, as / Arthur Schutt p / Eddie Lang g / Joe Venuti vn / Joe Tarto sb / Stan King d.

Originally recorded in New York on April 23, 1931.

Ziggy Elman & His Orchestra - Bluebird 10741 (1939)

Starting out years ago as a Big Band collector, I became a little bit familiar with the sidemen in some of the most popular groups. I always liked finding 78s by some of these sidemen as leaders of their own groups but maybe weren't as well known or had relatively small output compared to their earlier sidemen days.

Here's one from Harry Finkelman...better known as Ziggy Elman...who is mostly known for his trumpet playing in the Benny Goodman Orchestra and even more so for his composition And The Angels Sing...which became a #1 hit for Benny Goodman in 1939.

Ziggy Elman t / Toots Mondello, Noni Bernardi as / Jerry Jerome, Arthur Rollini ts / Milt Raskin p / Ben heller g / Artie Bernstein sb / Nick Fatool d.

Recorded in New York on November 27 (B) & December 26, 1939 (A).

Jimmie Gunn & His Orchestra - Bluebird 6469 (1936)

Here's another North Carolina territory band based out of Charlotte.

These sides were recorded in the Southern Radio Corporation's 2nd floor warehouse in Charlotte on June 18, 1936.

One discography has the personnel listed as:

Jimmie Gunn p, dir / 'Slats' tb / Skeets Tolbert as / Otis Hicks ts / g / Harry Prather b / d / David Pugh, Sam Jennings v.

Another has:

Jimmie Gunn dir / Dave Pugh t, v / Charles Daniels, Herman Franklin t / John Orange tb / Robert Griffin, James Berry as / Otis Hicks ts / William Shavers p / Alton Harrington  g / Sam Hinton bb / Harry Prather sh / Raymond Mason d / Sam Jennings v.

Wonder why the wide range of disparity.

Locke Brothers Rhythm Orchestra - Bluebird 6297 (1936)

Being a fan and a newly focused collector of North Carolina themed 78s, I readily and recently accepted a record trade...my first and only to date.

Besides a Charlotte based territory band 78 led by Jimmie Gunn, I also procured this Locke Brothers Rhythm Orchestra Bluebird...which was recorded in Charlotte on February 15, 1936.

Unfortunately, whether through discographical publications or the internet, there seems to be no information whatsoever on this band.

The Washingtonians / Seven Little Polar Bears - Cameo 8188 (1928)

Duke Ellington p, a, dir / Bubber Miley, Louis Metcalf t / Joe Nanton tb / Otto Hardwick ss, as, bar, bsx / Harry Carney cl, as, bar / Barney Bigard cl, ts / Fred Guy bj / Wellman Braud sb / Sonny Greer d.

Recorded in New York in March, 1928.

A Harry Reser unit.