Chicago Jazz Clubs and Recordings (1915–1935)

1. Chicago’s South Side cabarets expand dance culture

   Jan 1, 1915Labels: South Side, Dance halls

   • Kenney PDF

2. ODJB Chicago fame fed the 1917 recording boom

   Feb 26, 1917Labels: Original Dixieland, Record industry

   • ODJB
   • Livery Stable

3. Dreamland Café promoted early “jazz” bands

   Oct 1, 1917Labels: Dreamland Caf, Billy Bottom

   • National Trust
   • Kenney PDF

4. Sunset Café opened as an integrated “black-and-tan” club

   Aug 3, 1921Labels: Sunset Caf, Bronzeville

   • Sunset Cafe
   • Sunset Cafe

5. King Oliver began Lincoln Gardens residency

   Jun 17, 1922Labels: King Oliver, Lincoln Gardens

   • Lincoln Gardens
   • King Oliver

6. New Orleans Rhythm Kings recorded after Friar’s Inn success

   Aug 1, 1922Labels: New Orleans, Friar s

   • NPS Jazz
   • NORK

7. Gennett recorded King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band

   Apr 6, 1923Labels: King Oliver, Gennett Records

   • Purdue
   • NYPL

8. OKeh launched major Chicago field-recording trips

   Jun 22, 1923Labels: OKeh Records, Field recordings

   • DAHR OKeh

9. Chicago’s early electrical recording experiments began

   Jan 1, 1924Labels: Orlando R, Autograph Records

   • Autograph

10. Armstrong’s Hot Five began Chicago studio sessions

    Nov 12, 1925Labels: Louis Armstrong, Hot Five

    • Hot Five
    • Hot Five Seven

11. “Heebie Jeebies” popularized scat singing on record

    Feb 26, 1926Labels: Heebie Jeebies, Louis Armstrong

    • Heebie Jeebies
    • Hot Five

12. Lincoln Gardens bombing ended a key early-jazz hub

    Jun 1, 1927Labels: Lincoln Gardens, Gang violence

    • Lincoln Gardens

13. Savoy Ballroom opened, reshaping South Side dance business

    Nov 23, 1927Labels: Savoy Ballroom, South Side

    • Savoy Chicago

14. Armstrong’s “West End Blues” set a new recorded-jazz standard

    Jun 28, 1928Labels: West End, Louis Armstrong

    • West End Blues
    • Hot Five Seven

15. Earl Hines opened at Grand Terrace Café

    Dec 28, 1928Labels: Earl Hines, Grand Terrace

    • Earl Hines
    • Kenney PDF

16. Grand Terrace radio broadcasts amplified Chicago jazz nationally

    Jan 1, 1931Labels: Grand Terrace, Radio broadcasts

    • Kenney PDF
    • Sunset Cafe

17. Record sales pressures reshaped Chicago club lineups

    Jun 1, 1932Labels: Clubs, Dance orchestras

    • Kenney PDF

18. Early Chicago club-and-recording era gave way to swing

    Jan 1, 1935Labels: Swing transition, Chicago system

    • NPS Jazz
    • Okeh