Charley Straight: pianist - composer in 1910s, Hot Dance Orchestra Director in 1920s.

Charley Straight, ragtime pianist and composer, bandleader from Chicago, began his career in 1910s as performer and composer of rags, touring also Europe and Australia, cutting piano rolls in New York and Chicago for various companies among which the “Imperial Player Roll Company” and ''QRS'' and making also duets as piano rolls with, among others, Roy Bargy, the composer of the famous “Pianoflage”
(    • Roy Bargy :  Some His Piano Rolls  (1919 -...   at 28min.- 02sec. ).
In 1921 Straight began his career as bandleader playing piano and leading the ''Benson Orchestra of Chicago '' and in 1922 he led a band at the Rendezvous Café in Chicago for c. 4 years. During this period his orchestra played also in other hotels and clubs and in 1925 for c. 3 months Bix played with the orchestra. Straight recorded in 1923 for Paramount, then in 1926 and 1928 for Brunswick and for Vocalion in 1926. After never recorded, continuing to perform as bandleader until 1940, when he was hit and killed by a car. The recordings which are of some interest to jazz are those for Paramount.
Here are a decoded MIDI file from scanned Piano Roll cut by Charley Straight in 1917 for Imperial and a 1923 tune by his orchestra recorded for Paramount :

00:14 ''I Want To Be Loved'' (Charles E. Byrne - Charley Straight ) – piano roll played by Charley Straight - ''Imperial Song Record'' n. 9460 - Roll date: 1917 Dec.,
downloaded from ''pianola. co. nz''
https://pianola.co.nz/public/index.php/wmi...

03:07 ''Bathing Beauty Blues'' (A. Lawrence - R. Cooper ) - Charley Straight's Orchestra - Rec. Chicago Sept. 1923 – original Paramount 20244 - Mx. 1511 - Take 3
(see ''Discogs''
https://www.discogs.com/it/release/8801957... ),
downloaded from ''The Syncopated Times''
https://syncopatedtimes.com/charley-straig... .

Personnel according to Brian Rust:
CHARLEY STRAIGHT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Charley Straight, p, dir: Gene Caffarelli, c / ? Guy Carey, tb / cl, as, vn /
Wally Preissing, ts / Leo Murphy, vn / Frank Sylvano, bj / Ike Williams, bb /
Bob Conselman, d.

For other piano rolls by Charley Straight see    • Charley Straight :  Some His Piano Rolls  ...   .

The photographs and the recordings in this video are more then 50 years old. Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "FAIR USE".
The intent of this video is for non profit Historic Preservation, Education.