Charlie Johnson’s Harlem Hot Jazz of the 1920s, remastered by The Digital Gramophone Company for its 2025 release in Europe and the UK, transports listeners back to the vibrant energy of Harlem’s jazz scene during the late 1920s.
Led by pianist Charlie “Fess” Johnson, this collection of eight tracks captures the fiery essence of his Paradise Orchestra, which held court at Small’s Paradise nightclub from 1925 to 1935, a key venue in Harlem’s cultural explosion. Featuring rising stars like trumpeter Jabbo Smith, trombonist Jimmy Harrison, and a young Benny Carter on alto sax, the album showcases the band’s tight ensembles and scorching solos, blending the raw, polyphonic drive of New Orleans jazz with the emerging big band sound of the era. Tracks like “Walk That Thing” and “Charleston Is the Best Dance After All” highlight their competitive edge, rivaling contemporaries like Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington, despite Johnson’s lack of managerial savvy.
This release offers a rare glimpse into a lesser-remembered but pivotal band that helped shape the sound of 1920s Harlem jazz.