JOHNNY BAYERSDORFER

While his name makes him sound more like someone who would lead a German Oktoberfest "oompah" band, Johnny Bayersdorffer was a New Orleans jazz brass player who worked in a variety of popular local bands during the '20s and then bounced around between several other large American cities, most notably Chicago. Bayersdorffer formed his own bands beginning in high school, possibly afraid that he would be unable to find a bandleader willing to try and announce his name on-stage. Jazzola Ltd. Band and Johnny Bayersdorffer & His Jazzola Novelty Orchestra were some of snappy names for his combos in the early '20s, sidemen including Nappy Lamare and Tom Brown. Bayersdorfer and trombonist/bassist Brown co-wrote the tune "I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Ridin' Now?" one of a handful of recordings made by Bayersdorfer's groups but not to be confused with the more popular, if equally lost, "I Wonder Where My read more...