- Photo, alexruthmann
The United States Library of Congress’s National Jukebox project makes American recordings from the days before microphones available for streaming online. This is a fantastic resource for recordings—classical, jazz, and more—from the turn of the 20th century until the mid-1920’s.
These recordings are not in the public domain, like you might think; Sony, the owner of the recordings, has given the Library of Congress special permission to stream them.
Naturally, I’ve been searching the National Jukebox for woodwind players, and here are a few of my favorite discoveries. Some of the gems include oddities like the Heckelphone and bass saxophone, and there are a few woodwind doublers in there, too. Take note of how woodwind playing, like recording technology, has changed over the past century!
To kick things off, here’s a nice tour of the woodwind section of the Victor Orchestra in 1912:
Flutists
- Clement Barone (of the Detroit Symphony and the Houston Symphony)
- John Lemmoné (musician and manager for Nellie Melba)
- Darius Lyons (of the Sousa band)
- George Schweinfest (early studio musician)
Oboists
- William Adams (see also his English horn listing)
- Alfred Doucet (of the Philadelphia Orchestra)
- Ross Gorman (of the Paul Whiteman band; a woodwind doubler, heard here playing some jazz Heckelphone! See also his clarinet and saxophone listings.)
Clarinetists
- Matthew Amaturo (of the Edgar Benson band; see also his saxophone listing)
- Louis H. Christie (of the Sousa Band)
- Ross Gorman (of the Paul Whiteman band; see also his oboe and saxophone listings)
- A. C. Mignella (of the Three Vagrants)
- Nathaniel Shilkret (of the New York Philharmonic, New York Orchestra, and Metropolitan Opera, but mostly playing lighter fare here)
- Larry Shields (of the Original Dixieland Jass Band)
- Leon Witkowski (polka band leader)
A bassoonist
- William Gruner (of the Philadelphia Orchestra; )
Saxophonists
- Matthew Amaturo, soprano and alto (of the Edgar Benson band; see also his clarinet listing)
- Hale Byers, alto and tenor (of the Paul Whiteman band)
- William Foeste, bass (of the Edgar Benson band)
- Ross Gorman, alto and bass (of the Paul Whiteman band; see also his oboe and clarinet listings)
- Chuck Moll, alto and bass (of the Henry Halstead band)
- Thomas Thatcher, tenor (of the Edgar Benson band)
- Rudy Wiedoeft, C-melody (popular saxophone solo artist)
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