Ross Gorman and his Orchestra – “Sleepy Time Gal” (1926)

I was reading “The Guitar in Jazz” by James Sallis and came across a passage in the chapter about Eddie Lang (written by Sallis) where he claimed that Lang was regularly playing with Ross Gorman’s studio band, and that “working with the [Ross] Gorman Band… seems to have given Eddie just the opportunity he needed to mature along his own lines.”

I was quite interested in hearing this, as I did not recall Lang playing with the Gorman band.

He goes on to mention a Lang solo on Gorman’s “Sleepy Time Gal” that was “in duet with a baritone sax, a startling combination that prefigures Charlie Christian’s ensemble playing years later.”

This immediately got my attention, as I love the baritone sax and it just so happens that I have a copy of this record.

Listening to the solo, however, I found that it did not truly sound like Eddie – something was off.

Further research indicated that most sources named Tony Colucci as the guitarist on “Sleepy Time Gal” – not Lang. In searching through both Rust’s Jazz Records and Dance Band discographies, I could not find a single track noted in Rust’s discographies that Lang played on with the Gorman band. While Tom Lord’s discography showed Lang as having played with Gorman’s band on several tracks.

All of this is to say – studying the history of early jazz can be incredibly confusing – and respected sources can contradict one another. So what do you think? Is this Eddie Lang? Duet starts at 1:05 and continues through 1:47.

0:00 Intro/Head, Brass solos
1:05 Guitar / Baritone Sax duet
1:47 Brass
2:22 Ensemble playing

Recorded in New York on November 24, 1925.
Released as Columbia 516-D

Credits:
Ross Gorman – director, clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax
Red Nichols, Donald Lindley, James Kozak – trumpets
Miff Mole – trombone
Alfie Evans – clarinet, alto sax, violin
Harold Noble – clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax
Billy McGill – clarinet, tenor sax
Barney Acquelina – bass saxophone
Jack Harris, Saul Sharrow – violin
Nick Koupoukis – flute, pic
Arthur Schutt – piano
Dick McDonough – banjo
Tony Colicchio – guitar
David Grupp – drums