New York circa 1922. "Paul Specht Orchestra, Hotel Astor Roof Garden." The Jazz Age, with smart F Scott Fitzgerald types taking a well-earned break:
[Photo: Shorpy/GG Bain]
A closer look: the impeccably dressed and coiffed saxophonists are both pipe smokers.
It's a long way from New Orleans, or Kansas City.
You'd think, with decent chaps like that, they'd have had a warm welcome over here. Not so:
He toured England several times, beginning in 1922, and set up a "School for Jazz Musicians" there in 1924. Specht encountered some difficulty with his English performances due to political and union woes, which were documented regularly in the popular music press of the day. He did not return to England after 1926, having become thoroughly dissatisfied with the treatment he received.
Oh dear.
The sound of the Paul Specht Orchestra….Honey Bunch….Hot Feet….That's What I Call Sweet Music.
Mick Hartley 
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