During the swing era magazines like DownBeat and Metronome regularly polled readers to learn their favorite bands and individual musicians categorized by instrument. These polls skewed heavily toward the most popular white bands and often marginalized Black bands and groups that were playing a purer style of jazz. Esquire Magazine ran a poll in its publication in 1943 that seems to have bucked that trend and then released a record in December of that year featuring the poll winners. On January 18, 1944 Esquire sponsored the Esquire All-American Jazz Concert featuring many of the same musicians in the “decidedly non-jazz friendly” Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

The Esquire concert was held to raise funds for the war effort and brought in more than $600,000 toward that end. The evening featured performances by musicians who had won first place in the previous year’s Esquire jazz poll. Benny Goodman, who had been voted the top spot in the clarinet category, was not able to attend. But those who were there included a who’s who of jazz. Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge played trumpet that night, Jack Teagarden was there playing trombone, Barney Bigard appeared on clarinet as did Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone. The rhythm section consisted of Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson at the piano, Al Casey on guitar, bassist Oscar Pettiford and Big Sid Catlett played the drums. Billie Holiday and Mildred Bailey were the vocalists that night. The performance was broadcast live on the NBC Blue Radio Network as well as on Armed Forces Radio for those in the service overseas.

Here is a link to a recording of the concert held in midtown Manhattan on that January night 82 years ago:

"ESQUIRE ALL-AMERICAN JAZZ CONCERT"