Investigating Jazz Recordings of the Harlem Era and their Musicians

The personnels listed on this site do not necessarily represent the unanimous opinion of the persons quoted as co- authors. Dissenting opinions will be indicated whenever possible.


THE AUTHOR

The author is male, born in 1944, happily married, and is an architect by profession.
From the age of fourteen he started to collect and listen to jazz records, beginning with Chris Barber, but soon changing over to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and everything else in classic jazz. He never did intend to collect 78 records for financial reasons.From the same age he started to play the trombone as an amateur, but in later years switched over to drums due to health problems. Unfortunately he never attempted to play the piano. For twenty years he was a member of several jazz groups in classic jazz style in the German Rhineland. He now lives in the south of Germany, where he formed his own amateur big band in early Harlem jazz style – KB´s Jungle Band – in the Nuernberg region. In all these years he had the pleasure of being able to perform publicly with a lot of jazz musicians of much higher reputation: Kenny Davern, Wild Bill Davison, Johnny Mince, Ralph Sutton, Dick Wellstood, and a couple of others. In semi-retirement he started to accomplish his years-long dreams to contribute to the research of classic jazz recordings. He is a contributor to the Dutch discographical magazine NAMES & NUMBERS, to the English FROG BLUES & JAZZ ANNUAL, and hopefully other publications in the future.  Moreover he has just started to present jazz broadcasts over regional German RADIO 8.


THE GROUP

Michael Rader
was born in Solingen, incidentally also KB's home town, in 1946. He was trained as a sociologist and worked in technology assessment, doing work for the German and European Parliaments, among other clients. He is married and has two adult children, settled in Karlsruhe "the northern gateway to the Black Forest". Before that, he spent long periods in Gosport (UK) and Hamburg. He came into touch with jazz at school in Hamburg, but beyond a failed attempt at becoming an autodidact clarinettist, only actively played music in a percussion band at junior school in the UK. In the past, Michael participated in various internet discussion groups on old jazz, but since retirement in 2011, he has started publishing articles in such publications as the Frog Blues and Jazz Annual. He is interested in the environment in which jazz emerged and developed and thus has a strong interest in the popular music of the early 20th century and in Caribbean music emerging at roughly the same time as jazz.

Jörg Kuhfuss
was born on 9 March 1957 in Uelzen on Lueneburg Heath and has been living in the Bonn area of Northrhine-Westfalia since 1967. His love for music, especially jazz, was fuelled at a very early age by his father's records. He has been collecting recordings since 1971, at first LPs and singles, but very soon also 78s. Although he initially favoured modern jazz, after buying his first Louis Armstrong LP, he soon switched his taste in direction of older jazz styles. During a year's exchange visit as a student in Oklahoma, USA, he learned to play trumpet. Following high school graduation (Abitur), he studied maths in Bonn. He has been a professional musician since 1990, first as the tuba player with Rod Mason's Hot Five, later as the founder and leader of his own jazzband “Papa Tom's Jazz GmbH” and the Oklahoma Washboard Stompers. He also works as a sideman, among others for Lutzemann's Jatz-Kapelle.

Dave Brown
born London 1949 resident Berlin. First contact with jazz the UK Trad Boom but quick to move on to the real thing from age 12. Thus, so far, a 54 year obsession. Even more manqué than that clarinettist. Claims status no more than that of informed layman. A qualified art and film  historian who seeks to bring to jazz research the same rigourous academic standards as for any other art. Catholic jazz tastes, particular specialities, New Orleans and Cool Jazz and interest in all forms between. Regards the History Of Jazz as a multi-cultural continuum and rejects jazz sectarianism. But also rejects jazz eclecticism and any form of fusion.