St. Louis was not finished as a music city when the ragtime years ended. Because of its location as a main stop for the steamboats traveling on the Mississippi River, it was important as an entertainment and tourist city, particularly through the 1920s. Of the bands coming up the river from New Orleans, pianist Fate Marables was one of the most impressive. Before these musicians settled in Chicago, Marables' group featured such top players as cornetists Louis Armstrong and Tommy Ladnier, clarinetist Johnny Dodds, bassists Pops Foster and (in the 1930s) Jimmy Blanton, and drummers Baby Dodds and Zutty Singleton. The influx of musicians in the early 1920s made St. Louis one of the more important Midwestern cities for jazz, although the lack of local record companies led to insufficient documentation of local bands and the dominance of Chicago and Kansas City overshadowed St. Louis role. In the 1920s the most significant jazz groups were led by trumpeters Charlie Creath, who led the Jazz-O-Maniacs, and Dewey Jackson, who headed the Peacock Orchestra. Creaths band recorded just a dozen selections from 1924 to 1927 for the Okeh label, when the company took a mobile recording unit on field trips, while Jackson just led one four-song session. Other recording groups included the Arcadia Peacock Orchestra of St. Louis (presented in this video) and the unrelated Arcadian Serenaders, with either Sterling Bose or Wingy Manone on cornets; the latter played music similar to that of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. This excellent record was made in 1925. Personnel included: Jack Ford, violin and director; Porter Brown, banjo; Al Carsella, accordion; Marty Gardner, drums; Chick Harvey, bass brass and vocals; Bud Hassler, clarinet and alto saxophone; Marty Livingston, vocals; Bob Pope, trumpet; Tommy Moore, trombone; Bill Schmidt, clarinet and alto saxophone; Jules Schneider, clarinet and tenor saxophone, as well as Eddie Ward, piano.
