The Big Band Era

At the turn of the 20th century in New Orleans, Ragtime was transitioning into the early jazz.

In 1917 the first recordings of the Original Dixieland Jass Band were released. White musicians played the tunes and arrangements of black musicians, that’s what their gig was. Their records sold over a million copies and introduced jazz to all of America and the world. The general record buying public was completely unaware that this style of music was not that new. The music that would become known as Jazz had been played in New Orleans and other parts of the South for many years by bands lead by musicians such as Buddy Bolden, Frankie Dusen, Jack Laine, etc. Before 1918 the style was referred to with many different spellings such as 'jass', 'jas' and even 'jasz.'

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