Biography
During the 1920s the Arcadian Ballroom emerged as a leading attraction in St. Louis, so that any ensemble completing an extended run there quickly acquired a lasting association with the hall. The actual sound of those ensembles, however, hinged on a range of circumstances.
One group whose identity remained especially bound to the venue was the Arcadian Serenaders. Their background bears this out: the musicians had performed as the Original Crescent City Jazzers before obtaining the engagement farther upriver. Unlike several other acts tied to the ballroom, they were white players from New Orleans, and some future notables, Wingy Manone among them, made their first recordings while belonging to the unit.
OKeh began documenting their work in late 1925. The selection “Angry” became a standard, its title perhaps mirroring the response many artists had after studying the label’s contractual terms. By comparison, “Bobbed Hair Bobbie (Bobbie Be Mine)” reveals the band’s lighter manner. The personnel delivering lively versions of pieces such as “Fidgety Feet” included cornetist Sterling Bose, banjoist Slim Hall, and reed player Cliff Holman, an accomplished early studio musician. Multiple reissue anthologies offer improved transfers of these early recordings and thereby give listeners access to other ensembles that also worked the ballroom, among them the Arcadia Peacock Orchestra and Johnny de Droit & His New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.
One group whose identity remained especially bound to the venue was the Arcadian Serenaders. Their background bears this out: the musicians had performed as the Original Crescent City Jazzers before obtaining the engagement farther upriver. Unlike several other acts tied to the ballroom, they were white players from New Orleans, and some future notables, Wingy Manone among them, made their first recordings while belonging to the unit.
OKeh began documenting their work in late 1925. The selection “Angry” became a standard, its title perhaps mirroring the response many artists had after studying the label’s contractual terms. By comparison, “Bobbed Hair Bobbie (Bobbie Be Mine)” reveals the band’s lighter manner. The personnel delivering lively versions of pieces such as “Fidgety Feet” included cornetist Sterling Bose, banjoist Slim Hall, and reed player Cliff Holman, an accomplished early studio musician. Multiple reissue anthologies offer improved transfers of these early recordings and thereby give listeners access to other ensembles that also worked the ballroom, among them the Arcadia Peacock Orchestra and Johnny de Droit & His New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.
Albums
Singles
