In 1917, Ford Dabney's Syncopated Orchestra began recording jazz.
In August 1917, during their first session, they recorded 5 songs for Aeolian Vocalion, including "At the Darkdown Strutter's Ball," which featured vocalist Arthur Fields.

Dabney and his instrumentalists were black and Fields was white.
According to historian Tim Brooks, that recording was "an early, and unusual example of a white vocalist recording with a black orchestra.
Though not the first example of interracial recording, it was progressive for its time."
Dabney, from 1919 through 1922, as pianist and leader, recorded 28 songs with Vocalion and Paramount.

Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic
Dabney, leading his own Syncopated Orchestra, was the musical director of Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic for 8 years, from 1913 to 1921.
The shows were in the Roof Garden Club of the New Amsterdam Theatre, where more risqué productions were presented.
In that setting, his Syncopated Orchestra stands as the first black orchestra to play regularly in a Broadway Theater.

In the summers, Dabney's orchestra performed at the Palais Royale in Atlantic City.
In 1917, Ford Dabney's Syncopated Orchestra began recording jazz. In August 1917, during their first session, they recorded 5 songs for Aeolian Vocalion, including "At the Darkdown Strutter's Ball," which featured vocalist Arthur Fields.
Dabney and his instrumentalists were black and Fields was white. According to historian Tim Brooks, that recording was "an early, and unusual example of a white vocalist recording with a black orchestra. Though not the first example of interracial recording, it was progressive for its time." Dabney, from 1919 through 1922, as pianist and leader, recorded 28 songs with Vocalion and Paramount.
Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic
Dabney, leading his own Syncopated Orchestra, was the musical director of Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic for 8 years, from 1913 to 1921. The shows were in the Roof Garden Club of the New Amsterdam Theatre, where more risqué productions were presented. In that setting, his Syncopated Orchestra stands as the first black orchestra to play regularly in a Broadway Theater.
In the summers, Dabney's orchestra performed at the Palais Royale in Atlantic City.
Ford Dabney