the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy

Series produced by Guy Rathbun

Caption: Joe "King" Oliver
Joe "King" Oliver 

A weekly program of Music and Stories for "The Jazz Age."

Across the spectrum of pop and jazz from the late teens to the early 1930s, this weekly series from the Club McKenzie invites you the share in the talents and tales of the musicians and performers that created an unforgettable era.


626 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Madame Tussaud’s Dance Orchestra
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum is famous, with exhibits around the world. In the early 1930s, a restaurant and small dance floor provided an ideal set...

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  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
The Rhythmakers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Billy Banks
Under the leadership of guitarist Jack Bland, The Rhythmakers constituted one of the more exciting bands of the 1930s boasting a lineup that includ...

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  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Joe Robichaux & his New Orleans Boys
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Joe Robichaux
On the one had, you can say that pianist and arranger Joe Robichaux was a New Orleans musician, on the other, his unique sound set him apart from h...

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  • Added: Oct 24, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
With Strings: Jazz Guitar Pioneers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Eddie Lang
Eddie Lang, more than any other jazz guitarist, brought the rhythm guitar into the limelight as a solo instrument. Granted, he couldn't have comple...

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  • Added: Oct 20, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Duke’s Domain part 2
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Duke Ellington
In the 1920s, Ellington performed in nightclubs as the bandleader of a sextet, a group that in time grew to a 10-piece ensemble. The nucleus of thi...

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  • Added: Oct 12, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Duke's Domain part 1
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington called his music "American Music" rather than jazz, and described those who impressed him as "beyond category. "He is widely conside...

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  • Added: Oct 07, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Bing's Business
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Bing Crosby
Today’s image of Bing Crosby is that is was a Crooner, possibly one of the finest in American popular music, however, he was much more than that. P...

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  • Added: Oct 01, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
The Expatriate - Sam Wooding
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Sam Wooding Band
Once you hear the music of Sam Wooding and his Chocolate Dandies you, too, will be curious why his work is not as familiar to connoisseurs of early...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Sep 23, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
The Folly of Fats part 2
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
Here’s another look at the extraordinary talents of Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller, with more humorous stories from behind the scenes.

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  • Added: Sep 13, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
The Folly of Fats part 1
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fats Waller
Thomas Wright ‘Fats’ Waller is one of the few who can be called a legend during his lifetime, even though it was all too short: 39 years. Here he ...

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  • Added: Sep 08, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Johnny Dodds Tribute part 2
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Johnny Dodds
A tribute to New Orleans clarinetist Johnny Dodds continues.

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  • Added: Aug 25, 2013
  • Length: 58:56
  • Purchases: 1
Johnny Dodds Tribute part 1
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Johnny Dodds
Johnny Dodds was one of the greatest clarinetist of the 1920's. Although both Jimmy Noone and Sidney Bechet had better technique, Dodds had a very ...

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  • Added: Aug 23, 2013
  • Length: 58:56
  • Purchases: 1
All the King's Men
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Jimmy Dorsey
In the latter 1920s, bandleader Paul Whiteman began incorporating jazz elements into his band. In doing so, he hired quite a number of hot jazz art...

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  • Added: Aug 20, 2013
  • Length: 58:56
  • Purchases: 1
The King part 2
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Paul Whiteman
Part 2 in this 3-part series finds Paul Whiteman working on bringing jazz to a white audience. He does so by incorporating artists -- steeped in th...

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  • Added: Aug 08, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
The King - part 1
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Paul Whiteman
It’s truly a misnomer to call him “The King of Jazz,” although he did manage to surround himself with a number of very talented jazz musicians. Mor...

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  • Added: Aug 05, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Lonnie's League
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Lonnie Johnson
Pioneering blues and jazz guitarist Lonnie Johnson began playing professionally in New Orleans in 1917. He toured Europe with Marion Cook’s Souther...

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  • Added: Jul 26, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
Jazz in Britain
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fred Elizalde
When the Original Dixieland Jazz Band visited Great Britain in 1919, the invasion was on. America’s music infiltrated the hearts and minds of young...

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  • Added: Jul 22, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
C-Melody - part 2
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Frankie Trumbauer
Few musicians can claim the accolades given to Frankie Trumbauer during the 1920s and 1930s. Unfortunately, he’s largely overlooked today; his infl...

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  • Added: Jul 15, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
C-Melody
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Frankie Trumbauer
Reed artist Frankie Trumbauer contributions to early jazz have been overshadowed by the role he played in Bix Beiderbecke's career.

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  • Added: Jul 09, 2013
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Hidden Harlem
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Harlem dancers
A six square mile area of New York City became the hotspot for jazz in the late 1920s. Duke Ellington called it, “The world’s most glamorous atmos...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jul 02, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1

Playlists That Feature This Series: