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Red McKenzie (Oct. 14, 1899, St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
 - Feb. 7, 1948, New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
) was an American jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 musician. He was the best-known, and one of the only, comb
Comb

A comb is a device made of solid material, generally flat, always toothed, and is used in hair care for straightening and cleaning hair or other fibers....
 players in jazz history.

McKenzie played the comb by placing tissue paper
Tissue paper

Tissue paper is a lightweight, light cr?pe paper. Tissue can be made both from virgin and recycled pulp ....
 over the tines and blowing on it, which produced a sound similar to a kazoo
Kazoo

The kazoo is a device fitted that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane....
. McKenzie also played the kazoo proper, and occasionally sang. He was a co-founder, with Jack Bland
Jack Bland

Jack Bland was an American jazz banjoist and bandleader.Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Missouri, Bland co-founded the Mound City Blue Blowers with Red McKenzie in 1924 in St....
, of the Mound City Blue Blowers
Mound City Blue Blowers

The Mound City Blue Blowers were an American jazz ensemble active in the 1920s and 1930s, co-founded by Red McKenzie and Jack Bland.First assembled in 1923, the group's original members were Red McKenzie playing comb and tissue paper, Dick Slevin on kazoo, and Jack Bland on banjo....
, who released a number of titles between 1924 and 1925.






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Red McKenzie (Oct. 14, 1899, St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
 - Feb. 7, 1948, New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
) was an American jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 musician. He was the best-known, and one of the only, comb
Comb

A comb is a device made of solid material, generally flat, always toothed, and is used in hair care for straightening and cleaning hair or other fibers....
 players in jazz history.

McKenzie played the comb by placing tissue paper
Tissue paper

Tissue paper is a lightweight, light cr?pe paper. Tissue can be made both from virgin and recycled pulp ....
 over the tines and blowing on it, which produced a sound similar to a kazoo
Kazoo

The kazoo is a device fitted that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane....
. McKenzie also played the kazoo proper, and occasionally sang. He was a co-founder, with Jack Bland
Jack Bland

Jack Bland was an American jazz banjoist and bandleader.Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Missouri, Bland co-founded the Mound City Blue Blowers with Red McKenzie in 1924 in St....
, of the Mound City Blue Blowers
Mound City Blue Blowers

The Mound City Blue Blowers were an American jazz ensemble active in the 1920s and 1930s, co-founded by Red McKenzie and Jack Bland.First assembled in 1923, the group's original members were Red McKenzie playing comb and tissue paper, Dick Slevin on kazoo, and Jack Bland on banjo....
, who released a number of titles between 1924 and 1925. At the same time, McKenzie also recorded solo as Red McKenzie & the Candy Kids. In 1928, he fronted a group called McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans for a few sides on Okeh Records
Okeh Records

Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States in 1918 in music; from the late 1920s on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records....
. He returned to the Mound City name again in 1929, 1931, and 1935-36.

Beginning in 1931, he started recording as a singer, processing a very warm crooner style as a solo for Columbia
Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
 and with Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman was an United States orchestral leader. He was born in Denver, Colorado. After a start as a classical violinist and viola, Whiteman then led a jazz-influenced dance band, which became locally popular in San Francisco, California in 1918....
 in 1932. He sang again with the Spirits of Rhythm
Spirits of Rhythm

Spirits of Rhythm were an American jazz string band.The ensemble's members had previously played under several other names , and upon adding Teddy Bunn as guitarist in 1932, the group began calling itself Spirits of Rhythm....
 in 1934 and the Farley-Riley group in 1935. He made two swinging vocal records for Variety in 1937. Between 1939 and 1943 he went into retirement, moving back to his birthplace of St. Louis and working in a brewery
Brewery

A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, but appeared with Eddie Condon
Eddie Condon

Albert Edwin Condon , better known as Eddie Condon, was a jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in the so-called "Chicago school" of early Dixieland, he also played piano and sang on occasion....
 between 1944 to 1947 as a vocalist. He died of liver cirrhosis in 1948.