The Roof Garden Jass Band

Dan Levinson's Roof Garden Jass Band is a traditional jazz ensemble led by clarinetist and saxophonist Dan Levinson, devoted to the transitional 1917-1923 "jass" era when early jazz still carried strong ragtime influences. Formed in 1987 by Levinson while a student at New York University for a concert marking the 70th anniversary of recorded jazz, the group took its name from a repeat performance in the Roof Garden of Los Angeles' Variety Arts Center. The band is the only one devoted exclusively to this neglected era, faithfully re-creating Original Dixieland Jazz Band material, and has released albums including Salutes the ODJB and the Beginning of Recorded Jazz (1998), Blue Roses of Far and Near, and Echoes in the Wax.