Kaiser Marshall
Joseph "Kaiser" Marshall (June 11, 1902 in Savannah, Georgia – January 2, 1948 in New York City) was an American jazz drummer. Marshall was raised in Boston, where he studied under George L. Stone. He played with Charlie Dixon before moving to New York City early in the 1920s. After playing with violinist Shrimp Jones, he joined Fletcher Henderson's band at the Club Alabam, and remained in Henderson's retinue from 1922 until 1929. He played with many noted jazz artists in the 1930s and 1940s, including Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Art Hodes, Wild Bill Davison, Sidney Bechet, Bunk Johnson, and Mezz Mezzrow. He also recorded with Louis Armstrong in the late 1920s, being the drummer on Armstrong's recording of "Knockin' a Jug" from March 5, 1929. In 1928-1930, he recorded with Benny Carter, Fats Waller and Coleman Hawkins in McKinney's Cotton Pickers. And shortly afterrecorded with the Four Bales of Hay, featuring Wingy Manone, Dickie Wells, Artie Shaw, Bud Freeman, Frank Victor, John Kirby and either Teddy Wilson or Jelly Roll Morton. He also recorded for the Mezzrow-Bechet Quintet (Sidney Bechet, Mezz Mezzrow, Fitz Weston, Pops Foster and Marshall). |
Birth and Death Data: Born Savannah, Died January 2, 1948 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1958
Roles Represented in DAHR: drums
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 63 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BVE-57064 | 10-in. | 11/5/1929 | Plain dirt | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57065 | 10-in. | 11/5/1929 | Gee, ain't I good to you | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57066 | 10-in. | 11/6/1929 | I'd love it | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57067 | 10-in. | 11/6/1929 | The way I feel today | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57068 | 10-in. | 11/6/1929 | Miss Hannah | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57139 | 10-in. | 11/7/1929 | Peggy | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57140 | 10-in. | 11/7/1929 | Wherever there's a will, baby | McKinney's Cotton Pickers ; Don Redman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57926 | 10-in. | 12/18/1929 | Lookin' for another sweetie | Fats Waller’s Buddies | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57927 | 10-in. | 12/18/1929 | Ridin' but walkin' | Fats Waller’s Buddies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57928 | 10-in. | 12/18/1929 | Won't you get off it please | Fats Waller’s Buddies | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BVE-57929 | 10-in. | 12/18/1929 | When I'm alone | Fats Waller’s Buddies | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BS-055532 | 10-in. | 8/21/1940 | Just for laffs | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BS-055533 | 10-in. | 8/21/1940 | Martin on every block | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BS-055534 | 10-in. | 8/21/1940 | Pig foot sonata | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | BS-055535 | 10-in. | 8/21/1940 | Charlie was a sailor | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Columbia | 81513 | 10-in. | 1/31/1924 | Chicago blues | Clara Smith | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Columbia | 81514 | 10-in. | 1/31/1924 | 31st Street blues | Clara Smith | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| OKeh | W401689 | 10-in. | 3/5/1929 | Knockin' a jug | Louis Armstrong Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Gennett | X-50 | 10-in. | 3/26/1926 | Honey bunch | Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Gennett | X-54 | 10-in. | 3/26/1926 | When spring comes peeping through | Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Decca | 67358 | 10-in. | 3/20/1940 | Take it from the top (Instrumental) | Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
| Decca | 67359 | 10-in. | 3/20/1940 | Tea dance | Ella Fitzgerald | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
| Decca | 67360 | 10-in. | 3/20/1940 | Jubilee swing (Instrumental) | Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
| Decca | 67361 | 10-in. | 3/20/1940 | [Unknown title(s)] | Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
| Decca | 71756 | 10-in. | 2/8/1944 | Back door stuff, part 1 | Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Marshall, Kaiser," accessed December 11, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111092.
Marshall, Kaiser. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 11, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111092.
"Marshall, Kaiser." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 11 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Kaiser Marshall
Discogs: Kaiser Marshall
Allmusic: Kaiser Marshall
Grove: Kaiser Marshall
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Marshall, Kaiser, 1899-1948 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98088561
Wikidata: Kaiser Marshall - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1708374
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/19866114
MusicBrainz: Kaiser Marshall - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6106e466-15ff-4a6f-8ba4-9e7bf101e2d3
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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