10" 78-rpm recording of "Moten’s Swing", a fox trot by Buster Moten and Bennie Moten, performed by Bennie Moten and his Orchestra. Members include Count Basie, piano; Oran "Hot Lips” Page, trumpet; Walter Page, bass; Eddie Durham, guitar. Matrix and catalog number: B-10259-A.
10" 78-rpm recording of "Toby", a fox trot by Buster Moten and Eddie Barefield, performed by Bennie Moten and his Orchestra. Members include Count Basie, piano; Oran "Hot Lips” Page, trumpet; Walter Page, bass; Eddie Durham, guitar. Matrix and catalog number: B-10259-B.
10" 78-rpm recording of "South (Sur)", a fox trot by Bennie Moten and Thamon Hayes, performed by Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. Matrix number: 42935; Catalog number: 24893-A.
Photograph of Bennie Moten's Orchestra posed outside. Pictured left to right: are Jimmy Rushing, Jack Washington, Woodie Walder, Count Basie, Leroy Berry, Bus Moten, Eddie Durham, Willie McWashington, Vernon Page, Thamon Hayes, Harlan Leonard, Ed Lewis, Booker Washington, Bennie Moten.
10" 78-rpm recording of "South", an instrumental fox trot by Bennie Moten and Thamon Hayes, performed by Oran "Hot Lips" Page And His Band. Members include Don Stovall, Don Byas, Eddie Barefield, saxophones and clarinet; Oran "Hot Lips" Page, trumpet; Pete Johnson, piano; John Collins, guitar; Abe Bolar, bass; A. G. Godley, drums. Matrix number: 68335A; Catalog number: 18124 A.
10" 78-rpm recording of "Moten's Swing", an instrumental fox trot by Buster Moten and Bennie Moten, performed by Eddie Durham And His Band. Members include Buster Smith, Willard Brown, Lem C. Johnson, saxophones; Joe Keyes, trumpet; Conrad Frederick, piano; Eddie Durham, guitar; Averill Pollard, bass; Arthur Herbert, drums. Matrix number: 68337A; Catalog number: 18126 A.
10" 78-rpm recording of "She's No Trouble (Ella No Molesta)", a fox trot by Thamon Hayes, performed by Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. Matrix number: 42934; Catalog number: 24893-B.
Kansas City jazz, a hard-swinging, blues-based musical style that flourished in the 1920s and '30s, is arguably this city's greatest contribution to the uniquely American art form of jazz. Of the countless musicians and bandleaders who played at nightclubs, ballrooms, social clubs, and all-night jam sessions in the 18th & Vine district during that golden era, none embodied Kansas City jazz more than Bennie Moten.
Full-length portrait photograph of jazz trumpet player Lammar Wright Sr. (1907-1973) in a tuxedo. Wright played in Bennie Moten's band starting in 1923 before relocating to New York City in 1927.
Jackson County Court documents regarding the Decree of Incorporation of the Negro Musicians Association. Documents include the statement that the purpose is to "unite ... the musical profession for the better protection of its members," "to serve the public in furnishing music on all occasionans where it may be required," as well as listing members including Count Basie, Bennie Moten, and Leroy Berry.
Panoramic photograph of the bands of the Musicians Protective Union Local 627, assembled for the annual Battle of the Bands at Paseo Hall, followed by a parade to the Musicians Association Building at 1823 Highland Avenue, where this picture was taken. The eight contestant bands pictured are Bennie Moten and George Lee's orchestras, Elmer Payne's Music Masters, Paul Banks's Rhythm Aces, Andy Kirk's 12 Clouds of Joy, Jap Allen's Troubadours, Julius Banks's Red Devils, and Bill Little and His Little Bills.
