The Original Tuxedo Orchestra in 1947

Part of the slow pace at which I post to this blog can be explained by my quest to pick interesting, worthwhile records to spotlight. These days, a large majority of the music that has been recorded in the past can be found online. So as I consider records from my collection to post here, I ask myself several questions: Is this music worth posting, musically or historically? Have these records been reissued in a readily available digital format? Is this music already on the web? Are my records in such good condition that my transfer might be better than what's already out there?

This post features some records that aren't rarer-than-rare. They have been reissued here and there, and they have been posted on the web before. But the reissues are nearly as obscure as the original 78 issues. And my records are indeed in nice shape, indeed, although one side ("Marie Laveau") was mastered at a noticeably lower level than the others, and so has a little more surface noise. (Could the "1A" take number indicate a dubbing, rather than a pressing from the original master?) The bottom line is that this is extremely enjoyable music.

The Original Tuxedo Orchestra (later often called The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band) is the longest continuously existing ensemble in the history of jazz. Oscar "Papa" Celestin formed the band for an engagement at the Tuxedo Dance Hall on North Franklin Street in New Orleans in 1910, and kept the Tuxedo name through the years. Celestin led the band until his death in 1954, and after 111 years of gigs, the band is still a fixture in New Orleans - and only on its fifth bandleader!

Here's an obscure session from one-third of the way into the band's career (so far). Celestin was beginning the last phase of his career, during which he became one of the most beloved figures in the New Orleans entertainment world - popular among tourists and locals alike. Under his leadership during this period, the Tuxedo played crowd-pleasing music, but retained an appealingly rough-and-ready quality that helped give the band a certain authenticity. Several of the band members, like Paul Barnes and Richard Alexis, are holdovers from earlier versions of the Tuxedo Orchestra, and appear on their recordings from the 1920s. The presence of jazz pioneer Alphonse Picou on clarinet is a very interesting bonus.  

These 1947 recordings were recorded at Cosimo Matassa's famed J & M Studio in New Orleans for De Luxe, a New Jersey label specializing in R & B. When De Luxe folded, these masters were issued on Regal, De Luxe's successor. I've presented them as issued on the Regal 78s; the master numbers reveal the original recording order, as well as the takes used. The label of "My Josephine" credits Celestin as composer, but it's widely known that saxophonist Paul Barnes wrote the tune, and this side represents Barnes' most prominent showing of the date. I only hear Sam Lee's tenor saxophone on "Marie Laveau" and "Maryland, My Maryland," so I'm not sure he actually plays on the other sides. The only processing I used is some very light noise reduction.

J & M Studio, North Rampart Street, New Orleans

October 26, 1947

Oscar "Papa" Celestin - trumpet; vocal on "My Josephine" and "Marie Laveau"
Bill Mathews - trombone
Alphonse Picou - clarinet
Paul Barnes - alto saxophone
Sam Lee - tenor saxophone
Mercedes Fields - piano
Harrison Verret - guitar
Richard Alexis - bass; vocal on "Hey La Bas"
Christopher "Black Happy" Goldston - drums

Regal 1200:

Hey La Bas (500-1)

My Josephine (502-4)

Regal 1201:

Marie Laveau (501-1A)

Maryland, My Maryland (503-2)