Breaking News from the 30's Jazz World

We got a little breaking news from the jazz world Friday on air. Breaking news for jazz junkies, that is!

Loren Schoenberg of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem joined us to discuss the newly uncovered “Savory Collection” – 1,000 aluminum and acetate discs of radio recordings from the late 1930’s into the 40’s, made on the flip side of discarded 12- to 16-inch discs. The story of their acquisition, which you can hear about in our show, became overnight jazz legend. Michael Cogswell, long-time director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, says it’s like discovering “a new Beethoven sonata.”

As Schoenberg works with engineer Doug Pomeroy to digitize the recordings, they are discovering collaborations within jazz that they never knew about. On our show Friday, Schoenberg broke the news that they’ve discovered an historically important track featuring Fats Waller, Eddie Condon, Zutty Singleton, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, and Jack Teagarden.

"We have just found a new jam session in pristine sound...," Schoenberg told On Point host Tom Ashbrook. "This was one that wasn't known to exist, and one that we thought we had [only] in a very scratched up version."

And there's more to come! Keep up with the updates at www.jazzmuseuminharlem.org.