[Dixielandjazz] Song snippet requests

[Jim O'Briant]

Bill Sharp asked for info on tunes, including:

> 1919 Rag

Maybe something along these lines?

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The source of this tune has been a mystery for years. The story goes that when New Orleans jazz bands found a new tune they liked, they'd learn it, but they didn't want other bands copying their repertoire. They wanted tunes that were exclusively theirs, so they would give it a new title to make it harder for other bands to figure out what it was and copy them.

This was apparently how "1919 Rag" came by its title. Everyone knew that it was a march of some sort, that some band had found and then re-named, but nobody could find the original source. One guess was that it was based on Karl King's march, "Rifle Rangers," but an examination of the score showed only a passing similarity. Another theory was that the source was a French or Belgian march, but nobody could come up with a copy of it, or even the title or the name of the original composer. 

Until last year!

Marty Eggers of Oakland, CA, a great ragtime pianist and trad jazz bass & tuba player, was looking through an online archive of old marching and concert band music. He thought that if the source of "1919 Rag" wasn't "Rifle Rangers" march, then it might be some other piece with "R - R" in the title. He came across something called "Rough Riders" march and two-step by H. A. Fischler. It was published in Pennsylvania in 1914, and it's virtually identical to "1919 Rag." The mystery was solved!

And here's what it sounds like......

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Of course, feel free to edit this (if you find any of it useful in any way).

Jim O'Briant
Gilroy, CA
Tuba & Leader, The Zinfandel Stompers