Jazz travelled north from New Orleans, first to New York, then Chicago, and most recordings were concentrated on those northern cities. However, some companies sent their scouts out and about to find and record lesser-known outfits, which now go under the generic title of territory bands. Timeless has produced a number of CDs to highlight the various areas involved, and this gathers together no fewer than eight, which recorded in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio between 1924 and 1930.
Clarinettist Jimmy Joy first recorded in 1923 for the Los Angeles based Golden label. A little over a year later Dallas (where he was working at the St. Anthony's Hotel) was the venue for a session for Okeh, which produced the three tunes heard here, two of which have become jazz standards.
Violinist Lloyd Finlay recorded three sessions for Victor in Houston on consecutive days in March 1925 with unknown personnel, but for pianist Seger Ellis, later to make a name for himself as a crooner. The band is a somewhat rough-and-ready outfit, particularly in the tune "Ride 'em Cowboy" which presumably was aimed specifically at the local market. On the final day Finlay was succeeded in the studio by Fatty Martin's Orchestra for the only two numbers they ever recorded.
The OKeh recording van returned to Dallas in October 1925, and recorded two numbers by Irene Taylor, of which one can be heard here, accompanied by pianist Jack Gardner's Orchestra. She went on to sing with Paul Whiteman, and to marry Seger Ellis. Gardner went on to work with both Wingy Manone and Harry James. That same day or very soon after another obscure band, Randolph McCurtain's College Ramblers cut two or three sides for Okeh, and one can be heard here.
The first coloured outfit, Troy Floyd & his Plaza Hotel Band, recorded two sessions for Okeh in San Antonio in March 1928 and June 1929. Both produced an extended blues exercise, each of which was issued on both sides of the original 78. The first also produced "Wabash Blues" which was never issued on 78, and it's worth noting that the great Herschel Evans (who later graced the Count Basie band) was present on the second date. The other coloured group, Leroy's Dallas Band, was led by cornetist Leroy Williams who assembled it for the session, and recorded two numbers for Columbia in December 1928.
The last four numbers were recorded by Fred Gardner's Texas University Troubadours in San Antonio in June 1930, and are quite exceptional, particularly if these were campus students. The cornetist was Tom Howell, who later worked with Sunny Clapp and his Band o' Sunshine, another Texas band which is also worth seeking out.
The compilation was remastered by John R T Davies, but the age and rarity of some of the originals means allowance must be made for some residual extraneous noise. The end result is more than worth the effort. It's accompanied by Brian Rust's illustrated liner note and a full discography.