Way Down Yonder In New Orleans - Roger Wolfe Kahn & His Orchestra

Roger Wolf Kahn had many well known jazz musicians of the 1920's in his Orchestra, including Jack Teagarden, The Dorsey's etc, here they are in a jazzy version of Way Down Yonder In New Orleans. Roger Wolfe Kahn (October 19, 1907 -- July 12, 1962) was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, and bandleader ("Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra"). Roger Wolff Kahn (Wolff was his middle name's original spelling) was born in Morristown, New Jersey into a wealthy German Jewish banking family. His father was Otto Hermann Kahn, a famous banker and patron of the arts. Otto and Roger Kahn were the first father and son to appear separately on the cover of Time magazine: Otto in November 1925 and Roger in September 1927, aged 19. Kahn is said to have learned to play 18 musical instruments before starting to lead his own orchestra in 1923, aged only 16. In 1925, Kahn appeared in a short film made in Lee De Forest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Kahn hired famous jazz musicians of the day to play in his band, especially during recording sessions, for example Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Artie Shaw, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, and Gene Krupa. Recordings were made for: Victor 1925-1929, Brunswick 1929-1930, Columbia in 1932. Kahn always had fun leading and conducting his orchestra. Reportedly, when the band was playing especially well he used to throw himself onto the floor and wave his legs in the air. However, in the mid-1930s, he lost interest in his orchestra and disbanded it ...

View Count: 0 Date: December 26, 2011