THE HALFWAY HOUSE ORCHESTRA

Biography

The Halfway House Orchestra was the resident house band at the Halfway House, a popular roadhouse and supper club located midway between New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, which flourished from 1914 to 1930. Led by cornetist Albert 'Abbie' Brunies from New Orleans' renowned Brunies music family, the band performed as a white dance ensemble capable of hot jazz phrasing despite their polished tones and straightforward arrangements. Brunies directed the group from 1919 to 1928, during which they recorded 22 sides across eight sessions between 1925 and 1928 for Okeh and Columbia labels in New Orleans.[1][2][5]

The orchestra's career peaked in the mid-1920s with a rotating lineup featuring strong jazz musicians, starting with a 1925 Okeh session including clarinetist Leon Roppolo, reedsman Charlie Cordella, and others, producing raw, polyphonic tracks like 'Pussy Cat Rag.' Subsequent Columbia sessions refined their sound, adding brass bass and showcasing Brunies' Keppard-like cornet on tunes such as 'Snookum' and 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart,' discovered when a scout heard their 4/4 stomp version. By 1927-1928, Sidney Arodin took over clarinet duties, bringing mature, confident solos reminiscent of later Artie Shaw on final recordings like 'Just Pretending.'[1][2]

Known for balanced, sonorous dance music with driving rhythm sections, the Halfway House Orchestra prioritized live performance over recording, with some 1927 sides rejected by Columbia but later bootlegged and reissued on Jazz Oracle BDW 8001. Their legacy endures as a document of 1920s New Orleans jazz, highlighting transitional players like Roppolo's final recordings before his institutionalization and Arodin's early work.[1][2][4]

Fun Facts

• A Columbia scout discovered the band after hearing their hot 4/4 stomp version of the waltz 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart' during a casual visit to the Halfway House.[1]
• Their first 1925 Okeh session was the only one with trombone and featured Leon Roppolo's last recordings before his commitment to a mental asylum at age 23.[2]
• Two 1927 Columbia sides were rejected at the time due to Charlie Cordella's struggling clarinet solos but were bootlegged in the 1940s and later officially reissued.[1][2]
• Sidney Arodin's 1928 clarinet solos on the band's final tracks sound strikingly like Artie Shaw's style from a decade later.[2]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• King Oliver - Stylistic influence on leader Abbie Brunies' cornet playing (Snookum) [1926]

Key Collaborators

• Leon Roppolo - Clarinetist on early sessions (Pussy Cat Rag (Okeh session)) [1925]
• Charlie Cordella - Reedsman (clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax), co-composer (Pussy Cat Rag, Squeeze Me, Snookum) [1925-1927]
• Sidney Arodin - Clarinetist on later sessions (Just Pretending) [1928]
• Mickie Marcour - Pianist, co-composer (Pussy Cat Rag) [1925]
• Bill Whitmore - Pianist, composer (New Orleans Shuffle) [1925]
• "Red" Long - Pianist, composer (When I'm Blue, I Want Somebody to Love) [1927]
• Chink Martin - Brass bass player (Later Columbia sessions) [1926-1928]
• Leo Adde - Drummer (Various recordings) [1920s]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Let Me Call You Sweetheart (The Halfway House Orchestra 1925-1928)
2. Maple Leaf Rag (The Halfway House Orchestra 1925-1928)
3. Pussy Cat Rag (The Halfway House Orchestra 1925-1928)
4. I Want Somebody to Love (The Halfway House Orchestra 1925-1928)
5. Barataria - Original (New Orleans - The Cradle Of Jazz CD1)
6. Pussy Cat Rag (New Orleans in the '20s 1924-1925)
7. Barataria (New Orleans in the '20s 1924-1925)
8. Pussy Cat Rag (New Orleans Jazz 1924-25)
9. Barataria (New Orleans Jazz 1924-25)
10. Barataria (The Halfway House Orchestra 1925-1928)

External Links

• Spotify