What year was the first jazz recording? What were the titles of the recorded compositions? What problems were encountered with early recording?Was...

The Original Dixieland Jass Band was
a dixieland band from New Orleans, led by Trumpeter Nick LaRocca. They are credited for
making the first jazz recording in 1917 on the record label Victor.
The first hit single was their rendition of "Livery Stable Blues", however they were
responsible for producing the first recordings of many jazz standards; perhaps the most
famous being "Tiger Rag".

In terms of the quality of the
recording, I would say it is a true representation of what Dixieland (one early style of
jazz) sounded like. Their recordings sold across the country, and soon enough musicians
everywhere were trying to recreate their sound.

I found a
free sample of the recording on Wikipedia, the link is provided below. The sound is very
distinct. This is due to recording technologies of the time; but also a result of
musician training, quality of instruments etc. In short, our ideals of how jazz
instruments should sound and how musicians should be trained have changed dramatically
over the past 100 years. But of course, this is a separate topic all
together!