It’s been a rough year over here in the USA, and today I needed some cheering up. So here’s a lovely tune recorded in London by Colorado-born Roy Fox’s orchestra to bring a smile to your face. Features vocals by one of everyone’s favorite jazz crooners, Al Bowlly.
Enjoy, darn ya, enjoy!
Recorded in London, UK at the Monseigneur Restaurant on October 7, 1931. Released as Decca F. 2580.
Credits: Roy Fox – cornet, director Nat Gonella, Sid Buckman – trumpet Joe Ferrie – trombone Jim Easton, Ernest Ritte – clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax Harry Berly – tenor sax Lew Stone – piano, arranger Al Bowlly – guitar, vocals Don Stuteley – string bass Bill Harty – drums
In January of 1928, Fred Rich and his Hotel Astor Orchestra travelled to London and recorded eight tunes over three sessions before returning to the states in April.
This record is from the first session, which included Sylvester Ahola on trumpet. The flip side, Baltimore, is a little hotter but this one, “Four Walls” has a fun arrangement and does not appear online anywhere so I thought I’d do a transfer of this one. If you want to hear Baltimore too let me know.
Recorded in London, U.K. on January 26, 1928. Released as Columbia 4720.
Credits: Fred Rich – piano, director Sylvester Ahola, Benny Bloom – trumpet Lloyd Turner – trombone Ted Klein, Benny Fairbanks – clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax Phil Walzer – clarinet, tenor sax Al Duffy – violin Unknown Artists – banjo, tuba Ray Baduc – drums Joey Griffith – vocals
Can’t recall where but I recently overheard two jazz collectors discuss this as being their favorite Cab Calloway record. After posting “Some of these Days” by the Fletcher Henderson band yesterday, I decided to dig this one out to give it a fresh listen.
And wow! This one is a rompin’ stompin’ good time! The hot insistent playing, driving beat, and feverish vocal performance by Calloway all make for a very hot side! Excellent solos, ensemble playing, and inspired vocal by Mr. Calloway.
This disc actually looked pretty beat – almost as though someone had put it through a cement mixer with a bag of sand. I was expecting the surface to sound grainy and noisy and wasn’t planning on trying to make a transfer from it. But somehow the grooves were still pretty solid and the transfer came out WAY better than I thought it might. Good ol’ Brunswick shellac for the win!
Recorded in New York City on December 23, 1930. Released as Brunswick 6020.
Credits: Cab Calloway – director, vocals R. Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, Reuben Reeves – trumpet De Priest Wheeler (and Harry White?) – trombone William Thornton Blue – clarinet, alto sax Andrew Brown – bass clarinet, tenor sax Walter Thomas – alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, flute Earres Prince – piano Morris White – banjo Jimmy Smith – tuba Leroy Maxey – drums
By request, the flip side of a scarce Henderson record featuring vocalist Evelyn Preer on the Vocalion 1000 series that I posted earlier this year (“Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” – https://youtu.be/7LZTfu4F4sQ ).
Recorded in New York City on January 19, 1927. Released as Vocalion 1079 (mx. E-4397).
Credits: Fletcher Henderson – director, piano Russell Smith, Joe Smith, Tommy Ladnier – trumpet Benny Morton, Jimmy Harrison – trombone Buster Bailey – clarinet, alto sax Don Redman – clarinet, alto sax, arranger Coleman Hawkins – clarinet, tenor sax Charlie Dixon – banjo, guitar June Cole – tuba Kaiser Marshall – drums Evelyn Preer Thompson – vocals
A deep depression cut from the Mills Blue Rhythm Band – a band so named for manager Irving Mills, who also famously managed Duke Ellington’s orchestra from 1926 – 1939. The Blue Rhythm Band recorded under a host of pseudonyms and here bandleader Baron Lee gets the credit.
Listening to this uber-hot track, it’s hard to understand how this band did not break out to a larger degree like Ellington and Calloway’s orchestras, who also performed at the Cotton Club with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band. Some blame Mills, who is said to have seen this band as a sort of relief band for his headliner acts. Others say the lack of a consistent leader hurt their image.
Notwithstanding – this track jumps to life quickly and swings hard throughout. Highlights for me are Hayes Alvis’ slapped bass solo at 1:47 and again at 2:08, Edgar Hayes’ hot piano break at 2:02, and the many excellent horn and reed section solos and breaks. Full of aural excitement and a spasm of rhythm that don’t quit, this surely was a popular number with the more energetic dancers when played live.
Recorded in New York City on May 12, 1932. Released in the UK as Brunswick 1401. Originally issued in the US as Melotone M-12418, Perfect 15629, and Romeo 1874.
Credits: Baron Lee – director Wardell Jones, Shelton Hemphill, Ed Anderson – trumpet Harry White – trombone, arranger Henry Hicks – trombone Charlie Holmes – clarinet, alto sax Crawford Washington – alto sax, baritone sax Joe Garland – clarinet, tenor sax, baritone sax Edgar Hayes – piano Benny James – banjo, guitar Hayes Alvis – string bass O’Neil Spencer – drums
A wonderful duet between rebetiko legends Stellakis Perpiniadis and Roza Eskenazi from 1932 Athens composed by Iakovos Montanaris (Ιάκωβος Μοντανάρης).
I had to chuckle when I first translated the title of this one, “Μάγα Μ’ Έκαψες” one translation app called it “MAGA you burned me”, which seems quite apropos at the moment here in the U.S.
As it turns out, Μάγκα is a Greek slang term meaning a “tough guy” or “cool dude” – a streetwise man with swagger who is possibly involved with the underworld in some way. The song is a fun back-and-forth between Stellakis (playing the role of the Μάγκα) and Roza (who is rejecting his advances).
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Lyrics Τα ματάκια σου, κυρά μου έχουν κάψει την καρδιά μου ό,τι έχω θα πουλήσω Ρόζα μου, να σ’ αποκτήσω (Your little eyes, my lady, have burned my heart. I’ll sell everything I own, Rosa, just to have you)
Σύρε, φύγε, βρ’ εσύ μάγκα έμαθα πως είσαι μάρκα μάρκα φίν’ από τις πρώτες κι απ’ αυτές που κλείνουν πόρτες (Beat it, tough guy – I’ve heard you’re a real piece of work a top-class player – the kind that slams doors shut)
Το ντουνιά μην τον πιστεύεις κι από με ό,τι γυρεύεις στα μετάξια θα σε δούνε και τα μάτια τους θα βγούνε (Don’t believe the world – and whatever you ask of me they’ll see you dressed in silks and their eyes will pop out)
Σύρε, φύγε, βρ’ εσύ μάγκα και δεν πιάνει η ματσαράγκα είσαι μάρκα φίνα, πρώτη κι απ’ τον καφενέ του Φώτη (Go away, tough guy – your tricks don’t work on me you’re a top-notch big shot straight out of Foti’s café)
Θα σου βάλω βραχιολάκια και ολόχρυσα γοβάκια σα χορεύεις να γυαλίζουν και τους μάγκες να ζαλίζουν (I’ll put bracelets on you – and golden little shoes so they shine when you dance – and dazzle all the other tough guys)
Στρίβε, φύγε, βρ’ εσύ μάγκα βρε, έμαθα πως είσαι μάρκα μάρκα μ’ έκαψες στην τρίχα και γι’ αυτό κόψε το βήχα (Turn around and leave, tough guy – I heard you’re a real smooth operator a playa that burned me to the core – so cut the sweet talk)
Άντε βρε Στελλάκη είσαι μάρκα μ’ έκαψες! (Come on, Stellakis, you’re a real hotshot — you burned me!)
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This disc looked pretty beat – lots of scuffs and laminate cracking – but it played like a dream – these laminated royal blue Columbias from the early 1930s really hold up well.
Recorded in Athens, Greece in 1932. Dubbed and released as Columbia G-56328-F in 1933. Originally released in Greece as Parlophon Β.21656.
An early recording by the Original Indiana Five when it was led by Johnny Sylvester. Here, the OI5 give us their take on “Tin Roof Blues”, a tune made famous by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings earlier that year. (And if you haven’t heard it, you can hear that recording here: https://youtu.be/V7VbDFw5Udk )
Charlie Panelli takes a trombone solo at 0:55, then hands it to Nick Vitalo for a clarinet solo at 1:18. Sylvester gives us a trumpet solo at 2:07.
If you own a copy of Brian Rust’s “Jazz and Ragtime Records” 6th ed – make a note – this record appears listed there as Pathé Actuelle 036029 rather than the correct catalog number shown here (036019).
Recorded in New York City on November 6, 1923. Released as Pathé Actuelle 036019.
Credits: Johnny Sylvester – trumpet, director Charlie Panelli – trombone Nick Vitalo – clarinet, alto sax Harry Ford – piano Tony Colucci (?) – banjo Tom Morton – drums
Wow – I really love this flip side of the Harmony disc I posted yesterday! A real pick-me-up that will brighten your day and is well-worth a good listen.
From the last recorded session under the Arkansas Travellers moniker, this band was a variation of Red Nichols and his Five Pennies that featured most of its key players. The standouts here include a clarinet solo at 0:42, Red on trumpet at 1:01, a sparkly piano solo from Rube Bloom at 1:38, and a Miff Mole trombone solo at 1:56.
Recorded in New York City on September 14, 1927. Released as Harmony 601-H. Also released as Velvet Tone 1601-V and Diva 2601-G.
Credits: Red Nichols – trumpet Miff Mole – trombone Pee Wee Russell or Fud Livingston – clarinet Fred Morrow – alto sax Rube Bloom – piano Vic Berton – drums
About a month after Duke Ellington’s band famously started at the Cotton Club in Harlem, he recorded three tunes for what I believe was his only session for the Harmony label (Columbia’s budget line which also included the Velvet Tone and Diva labels).
It’s a slow burn – at 0:56 Bigard gives us a plaintive clarinet solo and then at 1:18 Ellington launches into a double-time piano solo that builds momentum for an ensemble ending.
Recorded in New York City on January 9, 1928. Released as Harmony 601-H.
Credits: Duke Ellington – piano, arranger, director Bubber Miley, Louis Metcalfe – trumpet Joe Nanton – trombone Otto Hardwick – soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax Harry Carney – clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax Barney Bigard – clarinet, tenor sax Fred Guy – banjo Wellman Brand – string bass Sonny Greer – drums
A friend of the channel mentioned a Chinese opera record I had posted ages ago (which you can see at https://youtu.be/3Pnx_tH2JXc ) and asked if I had any others.
These two sides from a Cantonese Opera (粤曲) feature vocals by Chen Fengqi (陳鳳歧) who performs a young gentleman role (小生 or xiao sheng). This role generally appears beardless with pale skin and projects a male character who is seen as young, handsome and winsome. In some genres of Chinese opera, the xiao sheng role is played by a female actress.
The title of the opera (義援釵之思憶) seems to translate as “Memories of Yiyuan Chai”. Both sides of this record, parts 1 and 2, are included in this video. It is likely that there may have been one, two, or three additional records containing other pieces from this opera. Unfortunately, I only have the one.
Not completely certain on recording date – though 1925 appears on the label. If anyone has better intel on these Beka releases let me know.
This Beka disc is in very nice condition – most of the others in my collection are rather scuffed and scratched up. It’s wonderful to hear this intriguing music so clearly!
