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.


604 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Joined at the Boot - Italy that is.
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Joe and Eddie
Giuseppe Venuti and Salvatore Massaro, best known as Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang in jazz circles, started a trend that had a large impact on the 1920...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 21, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
On the Trail of Bunny
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Bunny Berigan
With his talent, he could have written his own ticket. Instead, Roland “Bunny” Berigan had a very wayward life full of bad decisions and numerous m...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 14, 2022
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Songbirds
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Ma Rainey
Featuring those pioneering women of the 1920s who put voice to jazz, from Ma Rainey to Mae West.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 07, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
Louisiana Piano
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Clarence Williams
Two very different styles, but both learned their craft in New Orleans. Clarence Williams preferred the jug and washboard style, while Luis Russell...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media and KCBX


  • Added: Mar 31, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Cabell & Martha
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: The Calloway's
Six years separated their birthdays. Cabell was the youngest. He entered show business five years after his older sister Martha. Cabell and Martha....

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 25, 2022
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Hawk or Bean
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Coleman Hawkins
"The man for whom Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone." That is how Coleman Hawkins was introduced at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival. This program i...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 17, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
Muggsy, Wingy & Red
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Muggsy Spanier
With those names around Chicago in the 1920s, you'd think you were goinmg to hear from members of the mob. This program, features three of the best...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Mar 04, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Head Arrangement
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Paul Howard's Quality Serenaders
The Head Arrangement. Music that isn’t formally arranged is often referred to as a head arrangement. Usually the leader of the group informally ass...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 25, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Bandleader
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Henry 'Red' Allen, Credit: Spotify
In the earliest days of full orchestra jazz, there was no cookie cutter template Each bandleader used their creative juices to set apart their band...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 17, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Messin' Around
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: 1920s Chicago, Credit: Getty
In the 1920s, Chicago became the jazz capital of the world. During that time, there were More than 70 nightclubs, ballrooms, and theatre halls part...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 10, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Collaboration
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines
This features one of the most creative and traditional jazz changes in musical history: Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Feb 04, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Nichols to Pennies
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Red Nichols
Cornetist Red Nichols was the most prolific recording artist of the latter 1920s. If there was a song, he would record it. Although he became a ver...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 27, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Stardust
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Hoagland Carmichael
One of the more prolific and versatile composers of the 20th century Hoagland “Hoagy” Carmichael is heard in a verity of settings. From his earlies...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 20, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
On the Edge of Jazz
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Ted Lewis
We think of the 1920s music as the formation of Traditional jazz, however, there are other factors that are frequently overlooked. The introduction...

Bought by Red River Radio Network (E. Texas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi) and KCBX


  • Added: Jan 14, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Ellington Style
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was one of America's finest and most prolific 20th Century composers and bandleaders Besides his lengthy career at ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jan 06, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Christmas Eve 1920s
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: 1920s Christmas
Jazz with popular Christmas songs and trivia.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 23, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
K.C. & the Southwest
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Alphonso Trent Orchestra
Although jazz had roots in the southwest, their talents were ignored for years. All of the focus was on New Orleans. And later, Chicago and New Yor...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 17, 2021
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
From Trad to Swing
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey
New Orleans traditional jazz developed swing in its earliest years. Bandleaders wanted to attract ballroom dancers and higher popularity. Why not. ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 09, 2021
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Tough Guys & High Society
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Confiscated
Jazz was present long before the Volstead Act that came into effect in January 1919. You’d think the federal law restricting liquor would have ver...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Dec 03, 2021
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Fess, Fats & Fletch
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fess Williams
Two of these early jazz musicians were among the shrewdest businessmen in music. The middleman of this unusual trio unsold his worth, and even gave...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 19, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1

Playlists That Feature This Series: