Starr Piano Showroom, Richmond, IN cir.1896. Photo Courtesy Starr Gennett Foundation.
Jelly Roll Morton. Photo Courtesy Duncan Scheidt Collection.
It was a muggy summer day, July 17, 1923, when Jelly Roll Morton and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings embarked on what is widely considered to be the first interracial recording session in jazz history. With Morton sitting in with the band on piano, they waxed 36 takes.
New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Photo Courtesy Duncan Scheidt Collection.
Fred Wiggins, manager of the Starr Piano showroom in Chicago, discovers the New Orleans Rhythm Kings playing in a basement cabaret.
"Sugar Foot Stomp" sheet music. Courtesy Duncan Scheidt Collection.
Gennett Records 1926 Catalogue. Image courtesy Duncan Scheidt Collection.