[Dixielandjazz] JC Johnson (was Bixing)

[Bill Haesler]

 Marek Boym wrote:
> I guess we'll never know for sure, though.  Perhaps it doesn't really matter all that much - the main thing is the music.  Such things are more important with more prolifically recorded bands, which recorded the same tunes several times for several labels, and have been issued and reissued countless times under various names.  Here, if one wishes to avoid duplication, knowing the exact personnels and dates may be of great importance.

Dear Marek,
You are probably right in this instance.
However, in attempting to solve the puzzle for this set of recordings discographers discovered the cornet player Walter Bennett.
(Try and find his 1931 recordings with calypso singer Wilmoth Houdini.)
Unfortunately, too many jazz people do not understand the value of discography, so tend to ridicule those of us who do.
Without it and the discographal pioneers there would probably be no jazz revival.
Most recording companies did not bother to keep details of the bands they recorded in the 20s and 30s, so it was up to these researchers to put the jigsaw together, learning and inventing skills to do so.
I got hooked on discography in the 1940s and have not been able to let it go. 
Once started however, we believe that it needs to be as complete as possible. That is our on-going task.
What's the point in listening to a record, if you do not know who it is?
By using research and our ears we attempt to narrow down who played which instrument on what, when and where.
Information that most jazz lovers now take for granted.
Kind regards,
Bill.