Original Terrace Gardens Jazz Band advertising postcard

The Terrace Gardens – “Iowa’s Wonder Restaurant” (and speakeasy?) – was located in the basement of the Kahl Building in Davenport, Iowa. Apparently, the Terrace Gardens worked their bands hard, as evidenced by the postcard's caption indicating that the band will be "Appearing Daily from 6. P.M. to 1 A. M."

Sources:

Ad, The Davenport Democrat and Leader, 15 Mar 1922, 5.

Wundram, Bill. “A Hidden Treasure is Peeled of a Wall,” The Quad City Times, 22 May 2007.

4 Dec 2016

Shaw's Orchestra

Bruce Dailey also kindly shared this image made from an advertising postcard. It shows Shaw's Orchestra. The message on the back of the card states, "Shaw's Orchestra Will accept Dance and Concert engagements any time, any place. Write for terms to Will Shaw, Aledo, Ill. Care of Shaw Music Co." The Aledo, Illinois address has been crossed out, however, and a new address for La Jolla, California has been written in. And while the band pictured in the photo is clearly a 1920s-era band, the postcard is postmarked Aug 27, 1956. One can only assume that Will Shaw relocated from Aledo to La Jolla and was still using his old advertising cards 30 years later!

On the face of the postcard, someone has written "Will" above the trombonist. The other musicians are unidentified, although Dailey believes that the pianist in the photograph is his grandfather, Earl W. Peters. This is quite possible since Aledo, Illnois is just 30 miles south of Davenport, Iowa. A particularly nice feature of this image is that so many of the drummers traps are visible, which include bass drum, snare drum, suspended cymbal, bells, wood block, castanets, cow bells, tambourine, china tom, triangle, bird whistle, and train[?] whistle.

4 Dec 2016

Original Terrace Gardens Jazz Band photograph

Handwritten caption on the back of the photograph:

“1921 – Terrace Gardens, Davenport, Iowa.

Earl Bruckman – Drums, Elmer Blankenfeld – Clarinet & Sax, Andy Anderson Sax, Bill Bieberback on Trumpet, Daddy [Earl W. Peters] on Piano. Charlie Vioin Deceased.”

This image was shared by Bruce Dailey, grandson of the pianist Earl W. Peters. The reference to “Bill Bieberback on Trumpet” is not a mistaken reference to Bix Beiderbecke. There was in fact a trumpeter named Bill Bieberbeck who, along with his brother Ernie who played trombone, was an active performer in Davenport’s dance halls and excursion boats. In a letter accompanying this photo, however, Dailey notes that his mother’s remembered Bix Beiderbecke occasionally coming to their home for rehearsals with her dad when she was a little girl.

Sources:

Dailey, Bruce. Personal correspondence.

Haim, Albert. “Re: Bix on SS Capitol in 1921?”, The Bixography Discussion Group [on-line forum], 14 May 2013.

4 Dec 2016