Interracial Jazz Recording (#30) Bill Bojangles Robinson w. The Dorsey Bros. and Co.

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, dancer of reknown, appears on several early 1930's records with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Don Redman. Here he sings, scats and tap dances with a group of all-star white musicians. No solos, per se, but they all trade phrases and there's a fierce accelerando, leading to a lazy coda

Bill Robinson

Tommy Dorsey

There were other tap dancing jazz records, although the most well known is probably the set recorded by Fred Astaire (also a good piano player) in 1952 with Oscar Peterson.

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (vcl,tap dancer) acc by Manny Klein (tp) Tommy Dorsey (tb,ldr) Jimmy Dorsey (cl) Arthur Schutt (b) Eddie Lang (g) Joe Tarto (tu) Stan King (d) New York, May 27, 1931.

• Just a crazy song (bbr,band vcl)- Br 6134, MCA (Jap)VIM-4634/35, 3519/20, MCA 3520, Br 7705;
• Keep a song in your soul (br vcl)- Br 6134, 7705, Columbia 30183, Rivermont BSW1165 [CD]

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”