RIPMJAZZ
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The Orchestra World

In 2025 RIPM loaded issues of The Orchestra World largely from 1935 to 1953, with selected issues from the earlier years. The remaining issues, to the extent they can be located or are still extant, will be loaded in 2026. Unfortunately, very few copies of the magazine are known to exist, none complete.

Founded in June 1925, The Orchestra World was one of the earliest music periodicals to consistently discuss jazz in the United States and represents an enormous mine of information from a musician and music industry perspective. Focused on the activities of orchestras, including symphony orchestras, big bands, theater and restaurant orchestras, dance bands, local and touring ensembles, large and small groups, the musical scope was broad, including jazz, popular dance, symphonic, and various ethnic musics. With a central focus on New York, it also covered activities on the eastern seaboard and the midwest, over time increasing its reporting from the west coast. While not a jazz periodical per se in its early years, with the growth of swing and big bands, these ensembles and their music assumed a significant editorial focus of The Orchestra World, alongside symphony orchestras and growing numbers of topics of interest to professional musicians.

The first issue appeared after the conclusion of Paul Whiteman’s 1925 spring tour when the economic potential for jazz orchestras became apparent following Whiteman’s efforts in the previous years to popularize jazz with audiences and critics. As such, early issues of The Orchestra World sought to protect the interests of orchestras and their members from excess competition, especially from those outside of New York who might consider playing in the city, thus creating downward economic pressure on musicians and ensembles during the otherwise boom time of the 1920s. The activities of orchestras—locations of engagements, departures and hires of musicians, instrumentation, repertory—and their leaders figures prominently in the early years of The Orchestra World.

Editors changed frequently in the early years. In the beginning, The Orchestra World was edited by J. M. Head with Jess J. Carlin acting as business manager. Carlin temporarily succeeded Head in September 1926 and Paul Schleissner became editor in December of that year. He was succeeded by a rotating group, including Robert W. Marks, Harry W. Hickey, Harry L. Shaw, Elsie Ullman, and A. H. Melchor—a period in which the place of publication temporarily removed to Kutztown, Pennsylvania—before Carlin returned as editor in 1935 and thereafter oversaw the journal from offices in New York. Carlin (1902?-1955) appears to have come up through the publishing world. In the late 1940s he moved to Chicago and while The Orchestra World maintained an editorial office in New York, issues from the 1950s were published variously in Evanston, Illinois and Waukesha, Wisconsin.

By the mid-1930s, The Orchestra World established a pattern in each issue. News of Broadway theaters and orchestras in New York, reports on the band and orchestra scenes in various cities throughout the nation, musicians union news, radio news and program reviews, advice columns on specific instruments written by teachers and performers, music publishers news including from Tin Pan Alley, record reviews, feature articles on bandleaders and musicians, and discussions of musical trends appeared in most issues. Reflecting the intended readership, much advertising was directed toward those in the music industry, including musicians, bookers, publishers, and promoters. Many issues also contained musical supplements contributed by different publishers.

In the 1940s, the focus turned significantly towards swing and big bands, with copious information on the rosters, repertory, and journeys of various ensembles. Regular writers and columnists included drummer Rudy Van Gelder, who gathered musical news and wrote pedagogical articles; Lige McKelvy wrote on lighter aspects of bands; Harry Volpe addressed guitar playing; Hal Davis reviewed and wrote on radio programming; trumpet player Charles Colin wrote on technique; clarinetist David Gornston wrote on his instrument and a range of other topics; Dick Brucato reviewed records and provided musical news; Eve Ross wrote a column for pianists; saxophonist Normal C. Bates wrote on pedagogy; and Al Payne reviewed bands and recordings.

The Orchestra World declined following the end of the war. Changing musical tastes—leading to the decline of big bands and dance orchestras—were reflected, with new articles on western / hillbilly music, Latin ensembles, and music on television. Although Carlin died in February 1955, The Orchestra World continued until at least May 1956. Given the incomplete nature of extant copies—only three libraries hold substantial portions, including the Institute of Jazz Studies, New York Public Library, and University of North Texas—a number of issues remain wanting in RIPM’s run. Further issues will be added in 2026. Should additional ones be located, we hope to include them at a later date.