Bennie Moten

Benjamin "Bennie" Moten (November 13, 1894 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.

He led the Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchestras active in the Midwest in the 1920s, and helped to develop the riffing style that would come to define many of the 1930s Big Bands.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 13th, 1894 (Kansas City), Died April 2nd, 1935 (Kansas City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, director, leader, piano, songwriter, arranger

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 104 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-37232 10-in. 12/13/1926 Thick lip stomp Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-37233 10-in. 12/13/1926 Harmony blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-37234 10-in. 12/13/1926 Kansas City shuffle Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-37235 10-in. 12/13/1926 Yazoo blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-37236 10-in. 12/13/1926 White lightnin' blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-37237 10-in. 12/14/1926 Muscle Shoals blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-37238 10-in. 12/14/1926 Midnight mama Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band composer, instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-37239 10-in. 12/14/1926 Missouri wobble Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-38667 10-in. 6/11/1927 Sugar Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-38668 10-in. 6/11/1927 Dear heart Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-38669 10-in. 6/11/1927 The new Tulsa blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-38670 10-in. 6/11/1927 Baby dear Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-38671 10-in. 6/11/1927 12th Street rag Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-38672 10-in. 6/12/1927 Pass out lightly Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director  
Victor BVE-38673 10-in. 6/12/1927 Ding-dong blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-38674 10-in. 6/12/1927 Moten stomp Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, director, composer  
Victor BVE-42924 10-in. 9/6/1928 Justrite Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42925 10-in. 9/6/1928 It's hard to laugh or smile Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42926 10-in. 9/6/1928 Slow motion Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42927 10-in. 9/6/1928 Tough breaks Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42928 10-in. 9/7/1928 Sad man blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42929 10-in. 9/7/1928 Kansas City breakdown Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42930 10-in. 9/7/1928 Trouble in mind Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BVE-42931 10-in. 9/7/1928 Hot water blues Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BVE-42932 10-in. 9/7/1928 When life seems so blue Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band director, instrumentalist, piano, composer  
(Results 1-25 of 104 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Moten, Bennie," accessed December 7, 2021, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104807.

Moten, Bennie. (2021). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104807.

"Moten, Bennie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2021. Web. 7 December 2021.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104807

External Sources

Wikipedia: Bennie Moten

Discogs:

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Moten, Bennie, 1894-1935 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85031478

Wikidata: Bennie Moten - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q672295

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/27252655/

MusicBrainz: Moten, Bennie, 1894-1935 - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6d2a6a98-cddf-489a-80dc-b03b873368b8

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.