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Jazzbo Jenkins

Ollie Powers'
Harmony Syncopators

Alex Calamese , Eddie Vincent, Glover Compton, Horace Demer , Jimmie Noone, John Basley , Ollie Powers , Tommy Ladnier , William Moore

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This recording was made in Chicago during September of 1923 featuring Alex Calamese and Tommy Ladnier cornets, Eddie Vincent trombone, Jimmie Noone clarinet & alto sax, Horace Demer alto sax, Glover Compton piano, John Basley banjo, William Moore sousaphone, and Ollie Powers director, drums, & vocals.

-To Flip The Record Over Click Here

*"Jazzbo Jenkins" was composed by Shelton Brooks.

At this 1923 session recorded for Paramount, Ollie Powers' assembly seem to be trying to emulate the sound of the "King Oliver Band" a group that was extremely popular in Chicago at the time. Relying on the advice of one "Jazzbo Jenkins" the Ollie Powers band set out to produce blues based jazz that is guaranteed to make "birds start dancing in their cage, old folks forget their age", and even "a preacher forget his little bible".

Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1890, Ollie Powers (whose real name was Powell) could accurately be referred to as being "part cabaret drummer, part jazzman". He was playing in Chicago as early as 1914 with a combo called the "Panama Trio" followed with a stint in a duo as the percussionist for pianist and songwriter Shelton Brooks a short time later.

In 1926 Ollie Powers began gigging at the Apex Club with the band of clarinetist Jimmie Noone. This engagement lasted right up until three weeks before the drummer's untimely April 14th 1928 death from diabetes.