Dan Levinson has spent the better part of his music career reproducing early jazz. At times, he's been disconcerted by racial politics that have attempted to sully the reputation of white jazz musicians in the early 1900s. What keeps bringing him back to those early recordings, though, is the energy of the music.
"Jazz was dance music in those days," he said. "People danced fox trots, two-steps and waltzes to the music." Levinson's Roof Garden Jass Band will perform at the Bickford Theatre in Morris Township Monday.
The concert will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first jazz recording, performed by the Original Dixieland Jass Band for the Victor Talking Machine Co. on Feb. 26, 1917, in New York City.
The lineup includes clarinetist Levinson, cornetist Jon-Erik Kellso, trombonist Randy Reinhart, pianist Jeff Barnhart and drummer Kevin Dorn. The quintet also will perform music by the Frisco Jass Band, The Louisiana Five and The Original Memphis Five from the early 1900s. Special guest Peter Sbarbaro will talk about his grandfather Tony, the drummer in the Original Dixieland Jass Band.
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