The Original Dixieland Jass Band - alias Original Dixieland Jazz Band (as from 1918), alias ODJB - is a American Quintette trained white musicians carried out by the Cornet tist Nick Rocca. It is the first formation has to record, in 1917, a disc of Jazz.

History

Originating in the New-Orleans, Nick Rocca and other former musicians of the " Dad Jack Laine' S Reliance Arm Band " settle with Chicago in 1916. There, he play during one season under the name of the " Stein' S Dixie Jass Band " (of the name of the beater of the group at the time Johnny Outha Stein… replaced little time afterwards by Tony Sbarbaro). They leave then for New York where they find engagements thanks to the recommendations of the singer and actor Al Jolson. They start to be success, even if the played syncopated music is not that a rather poor caricature of that played by large the jazzmen black of the time. The visual aspect (slide of the trombone guided with the foot…) and picturesque gimmicks (noises of horns, imitations of noises of animals…) indeed often pass before the musical quality. Besides the musicians are defined themselves as untuneful harmonists playing peppery melodies . In January 1917, the group records for the label Columbia but, the recording not being conclusive, the titles are not published and the " matrices" destroyed.

The February 26th 1917, the Original Dixieland Jass Band enters the history of the jazz while recording for the label " Victor Talking Machine Company " what is regarded as the first disc of jazz: one 78 turns " Stable Livery Blues" and " Dixie Jass Band One Step". This disc, which however presents a rather poor jazz, is an enormous success. It is the beginning of a transitory glory for the ODJB, become Original Dixieland Jazz Band, which records for Aeolian, Columbia (20 titles including one new " tube" : " Sudan "), Victor and Okeh. The ODJB plays, during several months, in England (March 1919 - July 1930). In 1925, Nick Rocca, following a serious nervous breakdown, dissolves the orchestra.

In 1936, four " survivants" quintet are found to record some titles for the Victor label under the name of Orignial Dixieland Five. Success is not with go. One second attempt to make reappear the group fails in 1940. A ODJB without Rocca records some titles for the label Bluebird: it will be a commercial failure. In the Forties, some other discs will be recorded by formations bearing the name of the ODJB (but from which only the beater Tony Sbarbaro is resulting from the formation of origin): V-Disc S and some faces for Commodore Records (1945 and 1946).

Autoproclamés unduly " creators of the jazz" (" The Creators off Jazz"), the musicians of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band were not large jazzmen. The ODJB did not survive besides when, with beginning of the year 20, of " truths jazzmen" started to be recorded. It is necessary to admit with the ODJB the merit to have made known the jazz, therefore to open the door of the studios to more interesting musicians and to have waked up vocations in young instrumentalists of the Twenties (Bix Beiderbecke, for example, always admitted being initially inspired by Nick Rocca).

Note: personnel of the ODJB at the time of the recording " historique" from 1917 is: Nick Rocca (horn), Larry Shields (clarinet), Eddie Edwards (trombone), Henry Ragas (piano) and Tony Sbarbaro (battery).