{"id":19251,"date":"2026-02-20T13:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/?p=19251"},"modified":"2026-02-20T07:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:57:05","slug":"preserving-local-music-louis-bellson-in-the-fredlo-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/2026\/02\/20\/preserving-local-music-louis-bellson-in-the-fredlo-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Preserving Local Music: Louis Bellson in the Fredlo Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Davenport\u2019s Historic Fredlo Studio Shows its Roots Through an Historic Undocumented Jazz Recording<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2023, Special Collections staff applied and were awarded the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Historical Resource Development Program (HRDP) Grant. With this grant, we strove to digitize and make the Fredlo Recording Studios Collection accessible. The project was completed in 2025. Now, we are ready to share this collection of Quad Cities music history through stories about individuals, groups\/bands, ensembles, and other unique contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are thrilled to partner with Neal Smith to present these stories found within the Fredlo Recording Studios Collection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fredlo Recording Studios Collection at the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center has recently acquired a set of previously undocumented jazz recordings made at Inter-City Recording Service in Moline on March 15, 1948. Inter-City Recording Service, a direct predecessor to Davenport\u2019s storied Fredlo recording studio, operated from its location at 1715 15th<\/sup> Avenue, Moline, between March 1947 and September 1949. Run by recording engineer and former dance band leader Fred Mauck, the company engaged primarily in the production of acetate recordings for personal and commercial broadcast use, with the business listed as a “transcription recording service” in the 1949 Moline city directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
“On the Spot Auditions,” The Dispatch <\/em>(Moline, IL), June 13, 1947, page 28. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The set of records in the collection consists of two aluminum-base acetate discs: a single-sided 10\u201d and a 12\u201d with a song on each side. Both records spin at 78 r.p.m., the standard playback speed of the era. Before tape recorders were made available and affordable to the average consumer, acetate discs could be created, one at a time and on the spot, using cutting lathes which were common in smaller studios like Inter-City. The ephemeral nature and limited durability of these recordings meant that they were best suited for use in radio, as demo recordings, or as personal audio keepsakes. Such recordings were almost always made without fanfare and exist in remarkably limited quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three tracks recorded that day, \u201cShaw \u2018Nuff,\u201d \u201cShave Tail,\u201d and \u201cDawn on the Desert,\u201d were credited to The All-Star Sextette, an ad hoc ensemble of nationally-recognized jazz luminaries who were all on break from their respective touring bands to play a month-long engagement at The Horseshoe Club, 1601 2nd<\/sup> Avenue in Rock Island. Tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec, who had recently been featured with Cab Calloway\u2019s band, was at The Horseshoe most of the month, although Ben Webster had been the saxophonist on the bill when the gig started. Bassist John Simmons, who may have been best known as a fixture in Benny Goodman\u2019s rhythm section at the time, had recently added recording sessions accompanying Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, and Benny Carter to his discography. Trumpeter Charlie Shavers, clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, and drummer Louis Bellson were all enjoying their busman\u2019s holiday in the Quad Cities while their bandleader, Tommy Dorsey, vacationed on his yacht off the coast of Florida before marrying his third wife at the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
“Al Barnes’ Horseshoe Club, ” The Dispatch <\/em>(Moline, IL), March 4, 1948, page 20. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although Hank Jones, a pianist for Benny Goodman, was with the sextette at The Horseshoe Club, the pianist on the Inter-City recordings was Bellson\u2019s former Moline High School classmate, Keith Greko, who had been performing nightly at Beulah\u2019s Beautiful Club Belvedere at 4600 9th<\/sup> Street in Rock Island with The Lou Black Quintette. It\u2019s difficult to speculate about the reasons for Jones\u2019 absence on the recordings, although a second recording ban imposed by the musician\u2019s union (the first ban being from July 31, 1942, to November 11, 1944) may have been a contributing factor. Though Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman both had integrated dance orchestras, the musicians\u2019 union remained segregated throughout the 1940s. This more recent recording ban, which lasted from January 1 until December 14, 1948, was in part a response to royalty distribution as it related to the relatively new medium of television. Stepping into a recording studio in 1948 may have been a risk Jones was not willing to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n