The history of "Hot Breaks/Hot Choruses" publishing is a fascinating part of classic jazz lore. It appears two publishers were at the heart of it: Melrose Bros. Music Co. (Chicago) and Robbins-Engel Inc./Robbins Music Corp. (New York). Melrose and Robbins specialized in publishing jazz-related material, but little is known about the "Hot Breaks/Hot Choruses" publishing concept. What we do know comes from a 1968 interview with pianist Elmer Schoebel, in which he recalls his affiliation with Melrose Bros. Music Co. in 1927 and the company's published folio, "Louis Armstrong's 50 Hot Choruses For Cornet." It is a tantalizing glimpse into the archeology of classic jazz.

“During the Chicago days, I was sharing an office with Walter Melrose of the ‘Melrose Music Co.’ One day in 1927, Melrose said he was going to publish a set of Louis Armstrong breaks, but there was a technical problem of getting the Armstrong ‘hot’ breaks down on paper. Finally, Melrose and I hit on the idea of having Armstrong record his breaks. We bought a $15 Edison cylinder phonograph and 50 wax cylinders, gave it to Louis, and told him to play. The cylinders were duly filled up by Armstrong, and the ‘breaks’ were copied into the written form. I transcribed the ‘breaks’ which were published. These were not orchestrated at any time and were not made for that purpose. I had all the records (cylinders), and later I turned them over to Melrose. When I was in Chicago, in 1949, a collector was offering $1000 per cylinder, but Melrose and I couldn’t find them.” (1)

1. For a complete look into this story, see Louis Armstrong’s “50 Hot Choruses” – the Full Story by Lynn René Bayley @ https://artmusiclounge.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/louis-armstrongs-50-hot-choruses-for-cornet-the-full-story.

For now, let's assume the process of capturing these "Hot Choruses" was the same for both companies: have the artist come to the office, record riffs/choruses onto a cylinder, transcribe the audio, and then publish as a folio. For Joe Venuti, in 1927, the Robbins offices were a short walk from his apartment at 244 West 56th St. (Lang lived right down the block at 370 W 51st St.). (2) This would have suited the violinist ideally.

2. Robbins-Engel 1658 Broadway, NYC (W 51st & 52nd Streets)/Robbins Music Corp. 799 7th Ave, NYC (W 51st & 52nd Streets).