From Lady Day’s first recording session with pianist Eddie Heywood’s band in 1941: The definitive version of the song “All of Me”, written in 1931 by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons.
A near-perfect recording, with a gorgeous accompaniment featuring Lester Young and a young Kenny Clarke that attains its own jewel-like sheen while fully ceding center stage to Holiday, whose vocal performance is a master class in and of itself.
The tune was originally recorded by Paul Whiteman (with Mildred Bailey on vocals), Louis Armstrong, and Nick Lucas in 1932. I think it’s fair to say it was Billie Holiday who really put this song on the map and firmly established it as a jazz standard and audience favorite.
Recorded in New York City on March 21, 1941. Released as Okeh 6214.
Credits: Billie Holiday – vocals Accompanied by Eddie Heywood and his Orchestra: Shad Collins – trumpet Leslie Johnakins, Eddie Barefield – alto sax Lester Young – tenor sax Eddie Heywood – piano John Collins – guitar Ted Sturgis – string bass Kenny Clarke – drums
Beautiful fingerstyle guitar work by the master of the style, Congolese artist Mwenda Jean Bosco.
His clean and precise guitar playing has always sounded somewhat baroque to me. I feel that he and Bach could have collaborated on some interesting compositions. This tune repeats the same complex descending line, often with bass runs connecting the sections of the song.
The title “Kwimba nako ni kuzuri” translates loosely to “Singing is also good.” The lyrics seem to allude to someone calling out to their parents for consolation after experiencing deep sadness or reliving memories of troubled times.
Approximate Swahili lyrics and English translation is available via close caption. Please comment if you have any corrections!
Believed to have been recorded circa 1957-58. Released as Gallotone CO.126.
Credits: Jean Bosco Mwenda – guitar, vocals Unknown artist – bottle
Just two weeks before the Wall Street Crash of late October 1929 that would bring about the Great Depression, Clarence Williams brought a crew of musicians into an Okeh session. He had spent the late summer recording for Columbia and Edison (with his wife, Eva Taylor).
The matrix immediately preceeding this session was Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson’s Blind Willie Dunn’s Gin Bottle Four. One imagines these two guitar legends passing the incoming Williams crew in the studio hallways. Interesting, as this Spencer Williams tune “You’ve Got to Give Me Some” had been famously recorded earlier that year by Bessie Smith accompanied by Clarence on piano and Eddie Lang on guitar.
This version, backed by the scritching washboard of Floyd Casey and energized by a jubilant trumpet and somewhat shy and reticent clarinet, is full of life and joy. While Webster lacks the majesty and gravitas of Bessie Smith, she delivers a light-hearted and winsome performance. There’s a genuine sense of fun and playfulness in this version.
There has been some contention over the identity of the trumpet and clarinet performers in this session.
Charlie Gaines sheds some light on why remembering who played what and when could be difficult in an interview in Jazz-Finder published in 1948: “one recorded with Williams on a routine mass production basis. He never engaged a man for specific dates. He had a stable of musicians on a weekly pay-roll. You might be called for several dates every day or maybe none for a week. We liked that arrangement, but it created a lack of interest in the work you recorded as to recalling outstanding details. But that is how Clarence did business.”
The vocalist was identified as Margaret Webster directly from the Okeh files by Helene Chmura.
Recorded in New York City on October 9, 1929. Released as Okeh 8738
Credits: Charlie Gaines – trumpet Arville Harris – clarinet Clarence Williams – piano Floyd Casey – washboard Margaret Webster – vocals
Sources: Clarence Williams, Tom Lord, Storyville Publications, 1976 Jazz and Ragtime Records (1897-1942), 6th Ed., Brian Rust
Here’s an early one for the Halloween mix! 👻🎃☠️🕷️⚰️🪦🌕
“Funeral March by Chopin! Played by the Climax Band!” In the early days of records and cylinders it was common for the name of the piece and artist’s name to be shouted by an announcer at the beginning or end of the performance.
The personnel of the Climax Band are unknown.
The Climax label was produced by Columbia before they were able to use the Columbia name on their records. These very early single sided discs from 1901 had a continuous gold band label with an actual metal band inside the spindle hole!
Recorded in New York City between 1901 and September 1902. Released as Climax 253.
A jaunty but wistful love song by Tin Pan Alley songster Charles Tobias and lyricist Roy Turk. Performed by Abe Lyman’s California Orchestra.
Though this number is a more straight-ahead dance tune – listen to the trombone jubilantly playing in the background – or the energized piano accompaniment starting at 1:07 – or the emphatic staccato cymbal crashes throughout. It’s full of jazzy lil’ bits! Not a wasted listen at all!
Lyrics: Just another day, wasted away – watching and waiting Just another day, wasted away – filled with gloom All day all alone, hoping you would phone – but you never called me Covered miles of ground pacing up and down ’round my room Just another night, nothing in sight – nothing but grieving When I go to sleep, memories will creep – makin’ me blue When the break of dawn I see What’s it gonna mean to me? Just another day, wasted away, waiting for you.
Recorded in New York City on July 28, 1927. Released as Brunswick 3615.
Credits: Abe Lyman – drums, director Fred Ferguson, Horace Smith – trumpet Orlando “Slim” Martin – trombone Al Baker, Jim Welton – clarinet, alto sax Zip Keyes – clarinet, tenor sax Harry Podalsky – violin Al Newman – piano Teddy Powell – banjo, guitar Jake Garcia – tuba, string bass Frank Sylvano (?) – vocals
Sources: The American Dance Band Discography, Brian Rust
Here’s the first session with Dizzy Gillespie leading from early 1945. Made at a session for the short-lived Guild label in early 1945, which folded before this record had a chance to be released!
Luckily, the assets were bought by the Musicraft label which released them domestically only in 1947 – nearly two years after they were first recorded.
Musicraft was known as a classical label, but with the addition of A&R man Albert Marx in 1944, they began a jazz line and featured artists such as Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, and Sarah Vaughan.
The tune starts with a closely arranged intro – then bossoms into solos starting with Parker at 0:40. Dizzy takes over the reins at 1:08 and hands off to Slam Stewart for one of his trademark “sung” bass solos starting at 1:38. Back to Parker at 2:06 and closing with a restated head as coda.
Recorded in New York City on February 28, 1945. Released as Musicraft 488.
Credits: Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet Charlie Parker – alto sax Clyde Hart – piano Remo Palmieri – guitar Slam Stewart – bass Cozy Cole – drums
In the mid 1920s, Columbia label created a mobile recording unit using electronic equipment made by Western Electric that allowed them to travel and record bands in their hometown, without having to travel to studios in New York City. It is for this reason that this recording, and others from bands like the Halfway House Orchestra, and the Celestin’s Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra exist.
The New Orleans Owls was the house band at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans from 1922-29. All of their 23 recorded sides were made in New Orleans or Atlanta.
This tune celebrates lakefront experiences along Lake Pontchartrain’s historic West End entertainment district in New Orleans, where the band spent summers playing spots like the West End Roof Garden and practicing in local boathouses.
The tune gets off to a right swingin’ start, with joyful ensemble playing. Bill Padron takes a solo on muted cornet, followed by alto sax and cornet choruses before coming to what perked my ears up: a guitar and clarinet duet with a light banjo keeping rhythm. As a guitar player myself, I always love the early jazz guitar breaks – and a duet with a clarinet is quite unique for this period!
Hope you enjoy the romp and take a moment to appreciate what early vacuum tube technology was able to capture in such rich fidelity for our listening pleasure 100 years later.
Recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 14, 1926. Released as Columbia 688-D.
Credits: Benjie White – clarinet, alto sax, director Bill Padron – cornet Frank Netto – trombone Pinky Vidacovich – clarinet, alto sax Lester Smith – tenor sax Mose Farrar – piano Rene Gelpi – banjo, guitar Dan LeBlanc – tuba Earl Crumb – drums
Kostas Roukounas (1903–1984) began singing in tavernas in the mid-1920s and moved to Athens around 1927 or 1928. There, composer and record company executive Panagiotis Tountas (Παναγιώτης Τούντας) discovered him and brought him in to record. He sang traditional, folk, and popular songs, but here we have a classic rebetiko recording called Marika the Hashish Smoker.
Marika frequented Hash dens (tekes = τεκέδες), smoked “the black” (το μαύρο – slang for hashish), and often stayed out very late dancing with swaggering street toughs (manges = μάγκες). The singer bemoans her wild lifestyle and at the end of the song, confesses his undying love for her. To close things out, an unidentified voice shouts “Bravo, Roukounas!”
One meta reference in the song is a line about dancing the “bohori” – a reference to the popular 1928 Marika Papagika (Μαρίκα Παπαγκίκα) folk song “To Bohori” (Το Μποχώρι).
Greek and English subtitles available (CC).
Recorded in Athens, Greece in 1934. Originally released as Parlophon B.21765. Reissued as Decca 31062.
A snappy lil’ number by Lanin’s crew that features a bright Red Nichols duetting with Rube Bloom at 0:43 and soloing on cornet at 2:12.
The audio on this one is weird – overall levels sound very strong in the first 20-30 seconds, then never seem to recover. By the time we get to the vocals they sound abnormally nasally and weak. Almost sounds like an early electric recording gone awry – but to my knowledge Plaza Music Company didn’t go electric until well into 1926 and marked labels with an “E” to indicate electric recordings. I did my best. Hopefully it sounds ok!
Say… is this the first Regal disc I’ve had on the channel??? That’s crazy. Enjoy!
Recorded in New York City on June 19, 1925. Released as Regal 9866, Banner 1564, Domino 3539, Oriole 450, Apex 8370, and others.
Credits: Sam Lanin – director Red Nichols – cornet Herman “Hymie” Farberman – trumpet Herb Winfield – trombone Jimmy Dorsey – clarinet, alto sax, soprano sax Lucien Smith (?) – clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax Rube Bloom – piano Tony “Toots” Colucci – banjo Louis Chassagne – tuba Ward Archer – drums Arthur Hall – vocals Arthur Lange – arranger
Sources: Additions and corrections to Richard J. Johnson and Bernard H. Shirley’s book “AMERICAN DANCE BANDS ON RECORD AND FILM: 1915-1942” (Rustbooks, 2010) supplied by Javier Soria Laso – part 7
