Table of Contents

FOREWORD BY BENNY CARTER 
PREFACE 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
INTRODUCTION 

1 KID ORY AND THE REVIVAL ERA 
Kid Ory 
Kid Ory’s Legendary 
Nordskog/Sunshine Recordings
Papa Mutt Carey 
Buster Wilson 
Andrew Blakeney 
Ram Hall 
Dink Johnson 
Bud Scott 
Joe Darensbourg 
Ed “Montudie” Garland 
Teddy Buckner 

2 A PERSONAL VIEW OF THE MUSIC 
Lieutenant Jim Europe’s Hellfighters—The 369th Infantry Jazz Band 
“I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”
The First Recorded Hit of the Jazz Age 
The World Premiere of “Rhapsody in Blue” 
“Relaxin’ at the Touro”—Memories of Muggsy Spanier 
Spud Murphy 
A Memorable Jack Teagarden Record Date 
The Duke Ellington Sacred Music Concert—New Orleans, 1970
Dick Hyman’s Historic Direct-to-CD Recording Session

3 A PERSONAL VIEW OF THE MUSICIANS 
Benny Carter 
James P. Johnson 
Brun Campbell and Scott Joplin 
Rex Stewart’s Memories of Jelly Roll Morton
Anita Gonzales and the Untold Story of Jelly Roll Morton’s Last Years
Johnny Guarnieri 
I’m Just Wild about Eubie—Memories of Eubie Blake 
Jess Stacy 
Milt Hinton 
Spiegle Willcox 
Eddie Miller 
Morty Corb 
Barney Bigard 
Wild Bill Davison 
Rosy McHargue 
Artie Shaw
Andy Razaf 
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Coot Grant and Sox Wilson 
The World’s Greatest Jazz Band 

4 THE INFLUENCE OF NEW ORLEANS
MUSICIANS ON CLASSIC JAZZ 
The Jazz Journey—From Lulu White’s Mahogany Hall to Carnegie Hall 
Papa Celestin and the Voodoo Queen 
Danny Barker—The Jazz Troubadour 
Lorenzo Tio, Jr., and the Clarinetists of the Crescent City 
Willie James Humphrey, Jr. 
George Lewis 
Alton Purnell 
Bill Russell 

5 THE GREAT LOUIS ARMSTRONG 
Louis Armstrong’s Underrated Recordings during the Big-Band Era 
“Ambassador Satch” on the World Stage 
A Sentimental Journey—Louis’ Funeral 

6 JAZZ ON THE WEST COAST 
Los Angeles in the Swing Era 
The Palomar Ballroom Fire 
The Firehouse Five and the Good Time Jazz Record Company 
The Yerba Buena Jazz Band and the Jazz Man Label 
Benny Strickler 
Turk Murphy’s Final Triumph 
I Remember Bob Scobey 
Dave Dexter, Jr. 
The Poor Angel Hot Jazz Society 
Dick Cary’s Tuesday Night Band 

7 UNSUNG HEROES 
Pete Daily 
Stew Pletcher 
Sammy Lee 
Pud Brown 
Bob McCracken 
Pat Gogerty 
Rick Fay 

8 THE SEVEN-YEAR CHALLENGE TO COMPLETE THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG STATUE 
A Fund Is Created in Old New Orleans 
“For the Love of Louis,” by Ned Brundage 
Bing Crosby to the Rescue 
July 4, 1976 
EPILOGUE 
INDEX 

About the Author

Floyd Levin has been published in many magazines, including Down Beat, Jazz Journal International,and American Rag. He has received several awards for his work, most recently the Leonard Feather Communicator Award given annually by the Los Angeles Jazz Society. He was voted Number One Jazz Journalist in a recent readers' poll in the Mississippi Rag.

Reviews

"Levin is an engaging writer and met personally and wrote frequently about the musical legends who shaped jazz in America before and shortly after World War II. The collection is anecdotally rich.... Very worthwhile."-Booklist; "Offers good essays on lesser-known artists."-Library Journal; "Delightful and fascinating. Dozens of rare pictures (many by Levin) fill out this volume, which is obviously a labor of love and fine reading."-San Francisco Chronicle; "[A] fine addition to any collection on jazz."-Charlotte Observer; "I've known Floyd and his wife Lucille for more than fifty years. Floyd's book is a colorful, intimate account of his lifelong love affair with jazz. I'm especially facinated when he writes about his personal encounters with some of the jazz legends of the Century. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about jazz - its present, its past, and his evolution."-Milt Hinton