I'm with you on the Kimmel.
The recordings might be _slightly_ speeded up. I once related to a friend who plays Dixieland jazz that the Kimmel recordings were too sharp to play along with, and that I was using pitch shifting software to slightly lower the pitch.
He said that on some old Dixieland recordings, speed was increased (and thus, pitch) as part of the hype around certain players, groups, etc.

I wonder if that is going on with Kimmel. It would fit the whole vaudeville thing.

However, it could just be that the instruments were tuned sharper than our standard today. (sharper tunings used to be more common).

Regardless, I love listening to Kimmel. And to Montmarquette.
-Andy