“It Isn’t Fair – Nye Mayhew and his Westchester-Biltmore Orchestra (1933)

Nye Mayhew was a reedman who first recorded with Hoagy Carmichael in October 1927 for Gennett at their Richmond, Indiana studio. Within a month, he was recording with Paul Whiteman and Bix Beiderbecke on “Changes” (Victor 21103) and later recorded with Hal Kemp. By 1933 he was leading his own band during the thick of the Great Depression years.

Roger Kinkle’s Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz notes: “Excellent band but never much popularity.” Nye also had three brothers, Jack (reeds), Gus (trombone), and Bob (trumpet), who also played with artists such as Whiteman, Kemp, and even Louis Armstrong.

But the reason I’m sharing this is that I found the vocalist, an obscure singer named Douglas Newman, to be quite interesting. He’s got that haunting higher-pitched voice that works so well with numbers like this. He only seems to have recorded with Nye Mayhew and Art Kahn from 1933-34 and then vanished off the map.

Recorded in New York City on July 27, 1933.
Released as Perfect 15800, Banner 32827, Melotone M-12757, Oriole 2737, and Romeo 2110.

Credits:
Nye Mayhew – clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax, director
Douglas Newman – vocals
Unknown artists – alto sax, tenor sax, violin, piano, guitar, string bass, drums