Eugene F. Rodemich was born in St. Louis in 1890 and studied violin and piano as a child. In 1904, he heard a group of ragtime pianists perform at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis and was immediately hooked. He moved to NYC in 1913 and worked as an accompanist for vaudeville performer Elsie Janis – and later went on tour with her in France to entertain the troops during WWI. After returning to St. Louis in 1918, he started his own orchestra, which hired young saxophonist Frank Trumbauer in 1921.
The flip side of “Scissor Grinder Joe”, which I posted this morning, “Wond’ring Blues” is just as remarkable as an artfully arranged hot dance number exhibiting jazzy characteristics throughout.
In this one, we hear doo-wacka-doo trumpets, led by a lead trumpet that gives us a hot muted solo, followed by a trombone solo and numerous others – including a piano solo by bandleader Rodemich himself. Some of the some solos sound composed, though the arrangement is lively and fresh, providing many moments of excitement and jazzy vibes.
Rust and a few others have attempted to provide personnel for this session – and they are quite different from one another. I’ve listed those that all sources agree upon plus a few suggestions (marked with a ?) on who else is playing.
Recorded in New York City on June 11, 1924.
Released as Brunswick 2663.
Credits:
Gene Rodemich – piano, director
Clarence Foster or Jess Walton (?), Charles Werner – cornet
Jules Blattner (?) – trumpet
Julius Robb (?), Bill Bailey (?) – clarinet, alto sax
Allister Wylie (?) – alto sax, 2nd piano
Jules Silberberg – sax, violin
Otto Reinert (violin)
Unknown performer – paper and comb
Larry Conley – trombone
Eddie Storman – banjo
John Bambridge (?) – tuba
Paul Spoerloder – drums
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