"The Stampede," written and recorded by Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra...(More)

"The Stampede," written and recorded by Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra in 1926. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better example of Roaring Twenties hot jazz than this superb recording by the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, regarded at the time as the top hot jazz band in America. Newcomer Rex Stewart takes the opening trumpet break, followed by solos from Coleman Hawkins and Joe Smith. A tight reed ensemble precedes a final hot break by Stewart. The band isn't "swinging" just yet, but there is no denying the abundant energy and flair displayed by the Henderson band on this tune. The record player is an Orthophonic Victrola model VE4-4X, or "Granada". The "E" in the model number indicates that the Victrola is fitted with a synchronous A/C motor instead of a wind-up motor. The machine has a full "orthophonic" playback system (for electrically-recorded records) including the special orthophonic sound box with a duralumin diaphragm and a folded exponential horn inside of the cabinet. Although the gigantic Credenza Victrola produced deeper bass, the Granada had the most accurate overall frequency response of all the acoustic Orthophonic Victrolas. The serial number indicates that this machine was probably manufactured in 1926. I shoot my video with a Sony Digital 8 format camera. For audio, I use a Shure SM-57 microphone on a stand placed about 4 feet in front of the Victrola horn. I use "soft tone" needles to keep from overloading the microphone. The mic is plugged directly into the video camera. The videos are edited with Windows Movie Maker. I use Sound Forge 9 to clean up the audio, but don't worry -- you're hearing the record exactly as the Victrola plays it! For more great music, videos, and trivia from this era, please visit my website, http://www.virtualvictrola.com.(Less)