[78-L] VJM article: British Jazz Albums of the 1930s and 1940s

[Philip Fukuda]

While cleaning, I ran across an old  VJM article that I tore out of a back issue. The article, "British Jazz Albums of the 1930s and 1940s" by Trevor Tolley, basically says that the 1936 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Album was not the first jazz album. There were several British jazz albums predate the Bix (plus a few other early albums are listed):

1932: Connoisseurs Album of Rhythm Music (HMV) - with records by Duke Ellington, Joe Venuti, MBRB, The Washboard Serenaders, Paul Howard and others.

1933: Duke Ellington Album (HMV) - 6 records. This cover is the only one pictured in the article. It's got the HMV logo at the top, "His Master's Voice" Duke Ellington Album in the center and a caricature of a drummer at the bottom.

1933? (actually, prob. 1932): Blackbirds of 1928 (Eng. Brunswick, though the author doesn't mention the American Brunswick version)

1935: A Short Survey of Modern Rhythm (Eng. Bruns.) - sides by Johnny Dodds, Fletcher Henderson, Eddie Condon

March 1936: Classic Swing Album (?) (Eng. Bruns.) - 6 by King Oliver and 6 by The Wolverines (dubs from Gennett)

April 1936: Classic Swing Album (?) (Eng. Bruns.) - Sioux City Six, Friars Society O, NORK, Husk O'Hare (dubs from Gennett)

1936: Elizalde Album (Eng. Bruns.) 

1937: Twenty-one Years of Swing Music (Eng. Bruns.) - Henderson, Ellington, Lill's Hot Shots, Hoagy Carmichael, Barbecue Joe

1937: Twenty-one Years of Swing Music (volume 2) (Eng. Bruns.)

Swing Music Conversations (Eng. Bruns.) 12", unknown if this was issued singly, or as an album

Bob Crosby Showcase (Br. Decca) - 3 volumes, no date given

1937 or 8: Bessie Smith Album (Parlophone)

1936: The British Artists Rhythm Style Series (Parlophone)

late 30s: Symposium of Swing (HMV) - 12"

Philip