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Celebrating Richmond Indiana's Gennett Label, Where Satch, Jelly Roll and Bix Made History

The Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra. Trombonist and composer Brent Wallarab stands in the front row at the very left. On his immediate right is his co-leader, trumpeter Mark Buselli.
Mark Sheldon
/
Submitted
The Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra. Trombonist and composer Brent Wallarab stands in the front row at the very left. On his immediate right is his co-leader, trumpeter Mark Buselli.

In 1917, a pair of brothers who worked for the Starr piano company in Richmond, Indiana founded a record label called Gennett records. They recorded all kinds of music, from proto-country artists like Vernon Dalhart and Ernest Stoneman to Guy Lombardo and Gene Autry. Starting in the early 1920’s, Gennett recorded some of the greatest names in jazz. Artists like King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Jelly Roll Morton, and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings all made their way to the rural Southeast Indiana community to make commercial recordings.

This amazing legacy inspired Brent Wallarab (a trombonist and co-leader of the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra) to compose an expansive suite for big band. The recording of that music, called The Gennett Suite, is being released this week on Patois records.

In this segment, Wallarab goes into detail about the Gennett records story and how Richmond, Indiana came to play an essential role in the development of jazz. There are short excerpts of some of the historic recordings as well as some of the music from the new suite. You can find more information on the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra here.

Peter Solomon is WESM's Music Director and host of Morning Jazz Unlimited, weekdays from 9 am to noon on WESM. He joined Delmarva Public Media in August 2021 after 22 years as a jazz host for an NPR affiliate in Richmond, Virginia.