[The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1. Penn State MMC: MCD90-425] King Olivers Creole Jazz Band, Dippermouth Blues (Joe Oliver), Richmond, Indiana, 1923.  Joe King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, cornet (c); Honore Dutrey, trombone (tb); Johnny Dodds, clarinet (cl); Lil Hardin, piano (p); Bill Johnson, banjo and vocal break (bj, voc break); Baby Dodds, drums (d)

Count along with Dippermouth Blues.  Are you counting 4 beats or 2 beats per measure?  Piano rags were usually counted in 2 beats a measure.  Does Dippermouth sound different from the Joplin rags we’ve heard?  Do the accompaniment patterns of the rhythm section stay constant for the entire piece?  This piece introduces stop-time, a repeated rhythmic accompaniment pattern that accents the downbeat of successive bars.  Stop-time can be performed in a variety of ways in a jazz group.  In this case, the rhythm section and accompanying musicians accent beats 1, 2, 3 and rest on 4.  This is usually done behind an improvising soloist.  Can you hear where this occurs in the song?  What are the second markings (00:00) for when the stop-time begins?  Why would the band play stop-time?  Does it enhance the soloist in any way?