The Canary Cottage Dance Orchestra is Dan Levinson's newest ensemble, a six-piece unit consisting of violin, C-melody saxophone, trombone, piano, banjo, and drums. This unique group is devoted exclusively to "rag-a-jazz," a hybrid style of dance music that existed briefly from the mid teens through the early twenties, while ragtime was evolving into jazz. Modeled after a little known group called the Frisco Jazz Band--the first jazz band to record for the Edison label--the Canary Cottage Dance Orchestra's spirited repertoire includes one-steps, two-steps, fox-trots, waltzes, and other dances popular at the dawn of jazz.
