An Archive of Early Jazz on 78 RPM
A very upbeat “weary way”, if you ask me.
A tune written and recorded by Ida Cox and Lovie Austin in 1923, resuscitated by Sydney Bechet and Albert Nicholas 23 years later for a session on the Blue Note label.
These two legendary clarinetists sound fantastic together!
Recorded in New York City on February 12, 1946.
Released as Blue Note 517
Credits:
Sidney Bechet, Albert Nicholas – clarinet
Art Hodes – piano
George “Pops” Foster – bass
Danny Alvin – drums
One of my favorite guitarists of the 20s and 30s was Lonnie Johnson. I always thought his playing style was so crisp and fresh that he’s one of the few blues artists I go out of my way to collect.
Of course, Johnson considered himself a jazz guitarist and indeed appears on many jazz records in the 1920s, including with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, Jimmy Blythe, Wilton Crawley, Chas. Creath’s Jazz-o-maniacs, Duke Ellington, and Clarence Williams (and yes, I just did a search of Rust’s “Jazz and Ragtime Records to come up with that list) – along with providing guitar accompaniment to a number of blues singers. Of course, his most famous collaborations are with guitarist Eddie Lang.
But often he recorded blues after winning a contest in St. Louis in 1925 and being awarded a recording contract with Okeh Records. Many of his records featured a blues number with Johnson on vocals. Here we have an instrumental composition that could be said to represent a bridge between his jazz and blues roots.
Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on Tuesday, February 21, 1928.
Released as Okeh 8575.
Credits:
Lonnie Johnson – guitar
Hungarian violinist and composer Jenö Hubay composed “Hejre Kati” (literally “Hey, Katie”) in the 1880s. The composer was still teaching in Budapest when American jazz violinist Eddie South was touring Europe from 1928 – 1931.
South, who was a classically trained violinist, visited with Hubay during his time there.
When he returned to the Great Depression-ravaged U.S. in 1931, he recorded Hubay’s composition in a recording session for Victor.
South’s version is a kind of homage to the fusion of his musical worlds: a classical composition played with a distinctively jazzy sensibility.
The first section of the piece sets the lyrical bowing to a swung 4/4 rhythm, and the surprising highlight of the improvised section that follows is South’s scatted vocalizations, seeming to both pay tribute to the melody while delivering near-comprehensible lyrical verses. South finishes the recording with virtuostic flair on solo violin, showing his chops as both a classical artist and a jazz improviser of the highest order.
If you’d like to hear Hubay’s original composition as traditionally performed in a classical setting, listen to Toscha Seidel’s recording from 1919:
https://youtu.be/jtI_lEgdC0k
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on September 27, 1931.
Released as Victor 22847.
Credits:
Eddie South – violin, vocals, director
Clifford King – clarinet
Antonia Spaulding – piano
Everett Barksdale – banjo, guitar
Jimmy Bertrand – drums, bells
Hungarian violinist and composer Jenö Hubay composed “Hejre Kati” (literally “Hey, Katie”) in the 1880s. Here we have an early recording of the composition on a one-sided 12″ Columbia disc performed by Violinist Toscha Seidel in 1919.
Lest you think me mad for the inclusion of this classical recording on the channel, stay with me, dear reader, as I shall connect it in short order to the realm of jazz.
But first, listen, and appreciate this record, whose first 70 seconds begin with long flowing lyrical bowing before picking up to a sprightly pace.
You see, the composer, Mr. Hubay, was still teaching in Budapest when American jazz violinist Eddie South was touring Europe from 1928 – 1931.
For the rest of the story – watch my next video at:
https://youtu.be/RhORBC_ztmo
Recorded in New York City on May 7, 1919.
Released as Columbia 49630.
Credits:
Toscha Seidel – violin
Louis Gruenberg – piano
Sources:
https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000143993/49630-Scenes_from_the_csarda
An early session by the not-from-Indiana Original Indiana Five featuring trumpeter Johnny Sylvester.
When I first read this title, I thought: “Oh, a clever play on words – they’re talking about musical staves and how jazz harmonies often change keys mid-stave!” You know, sorta like “Changes” by Walter Donaldson and Byron Gay: e.g. “Beautiful changes in different keys – Beautiful changes and harmonies”.
The roots go deeper – as it is an Al Bernard-penned song about a street tough in New Orleans with the subtitle “The Meanest Man in New Orleans”. The lyrics referenced that Stavin’ was a rough “bad man” from New Orleans who “He had a knife long enough to row a boat [and] a big forty-four, underneath his coat”
While I first passed this off as some Yt mythologizing, interestingly, the name “Stavin’ Chain” also appears in a couple of songs in 30s blues records by Lil Johnson and Big Joe Williams.
Jelly Roll Morton, when asked about Stavin’ Chain by Alan Lomax said “Stavin’ Chain, well he was a pimp. Supposed to have more women in this district than any other pimp.”
Seems to me that Al, Jelly Roll, and these later blues artists were all referencing some older NOLA folklore. Al perhaps misheard or got the name wrong, as “Stavin’ Chain” makes sense as a nickname for a street tough, but “Stavin’ Change” is more of an apt metaphor for a traditionalist who resists change.
Lots of New Orleans-style ensemble playing with Nick Vitalo adding an extended alto solo at 1:15. Sylvester and Panelli get a few hot breaks in and Tony Colucci keeps things moving with a solid foundation of 4/4 banjo rhythm.
Recorded in New York City on September 7, 1923.
Released as Perfect 14173 and Pathé Actuelle 021070.
Credits:
Johnny Sylvester – trumpet, director
Charlie Panelli – trombone
Nick Vitalo – clarinet, alto sax
Harry Ford – piano
Tony Colucci (?) – banjo
Tom Morton – drums
Sources:
https://pages.stolaf.edu/americanmusic/2017/10/03/whats-a-stavin-chain/
These devotional Carnatic ragas are the perfect start to a Sunday morning
A – Pattividuvarathu (Manjiri)
B – Abhimana Menadu (Byagada)
Recorded in India circa 1932.
Released as Columbia LBE 61.
Matrices WEI 2378 / WEI 2380
Credits:
Mr. Palladam Sanjeeva Rao – flute
Unknown Artists – Harmonium, Mirdhangam
As a guitarist myself, I love hearing guitar records from the 20s and 30s of almost any genre.
Roy Smeck, credited as “The Wizard of the Strings” on this Decca label, played guitar, banjo, ukulele, and octochord (lap steel guitar with 8 strings) on many 78 rpm discs starting in the mid 20s. His playing style ranged from Hawaiian guitar records with Frank Ferera to early country records by artists such as Carson Robison and Frank Luther.
He also played banjo on records for early jazz bands such as The Georgians and The Cotton Pickers. In the mid 30s, he played guitar on several sides with Clarence Williams.
“Slippery Fingers” demonstrates Smeck’s showy playing style which in its own way foreshadows later players such as Chet Atkins. Smeck playing here was no doubt inspired by early guitarists like Nick Lucas and Eddie Lang, among others.
Which reminds me – a long time ago on my instagram channel I played my three recordings of Nick Lucas’ guitar classics “Picking the Guitar” and “Teasing the Frets”. Need to get good transfers of those three up here!
Recorded on April 9, 1936.
Released as Decca 1089.
Credits:
Roy Smeck – guitar
Unknown artist – guitar accompaniment
Ain’t cha got music?
Ain’t cha got laughter?
Ain’t cha got dancing?
Ain’t cha got song?
In spite of your troubles
In spite of your worries
In spite of your burdens
you’ll get along
A tune composed by pianist James P. Johnson for the musical Harlem Hotcha.
Recorded in New York City on July 21, 1933.
Released in the UK as Brunswick 01776.
Originally released in the U.S. on Banner 32840, Melotone M-12769, Oriole 2746, Perfect 15808, and Romeo 2119.
Credits:
Henry Allen – trumpet, vocals
Dicky Wells – trombone
Hilton Jefferson – alto sax
Coleman Hawkins – tenor sax
Horace Henderson – piano
Bernard Addison – guitar
John Kirby – string bass
Walter Johnson – drums
A recording made for the Union Trade Company (UTC), a Swiss trading company, in the Gold Coast of Africa. The PLJ series comprises recordings made for this company by EMI and released on the Odeon label. Recordings were made in the mid 1930s and mid 1950s. I believe this disc was from the mid to late 1950s. UTC was a well-known brand in Ghana and continued to operate there until its closure in 1999.
This group, The Star Rockets, appears to be from Ghana based upon the language recorded in (Twi and Ga). Gentle rhythms – sounding a bit melancholy on this side – are punctuated by melodic horn riffs and a male vocalist. A plaintive guitar at 0:24 issues a clarion call that merits response from the rest of the band. A muted wah trumpet at 1:43 provides a moment of Latin-fused melody full of unhurried vitality.
The title, “Meya Kaneshie” seems to reference a visit to the Kaneshie neighborhood in Accra, known for its market.
Believed to have been recorded in Ghana in the mid-to-late 1950s.
Released as Odeon PLJ 75.
A recording made for the Union Trade Company (UTC), a Swiss trading company, in the Gold Coast of Africa. The PLJ series comprises recordings made for this company by EMI and released on the Odeon label. Recordings were made in the mid 1930s and mid 1950s. I believe this disc was from the mid to late 1950s. UTC was a well-known brand in Ghana and continued to operate there until its closure in 1999.
This group, The Star Rockets, appears to be from Ghana based upon the language recorded in (Twi and Ga). Gentle upbeat rhythms are punctuated by melodic horn riffs and a female vocalist.
The calm atmosphere created by this music stands in contrast to the title, “Otanfo Abonsam” seems to translate roughly as “My enemy is a demon”. Not a literal demon, but simply someone possessed by malevolence: a malicious rival or a former friend who has done you harm.
Believed to have been recorded in Ghana in the mid-to-late 1950s.
Released as Odeon PLJ 75.