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
Found in the basement of a bar in Reinbeck Iowa – a home recording of Louise and Skinny Matthews, two performing artists recording in 1942.
These Recordio discs were sold as blanks – and with the help of a special cutting turntable you could cut your own records. These discs are quite fragile – with a cardboard core and a thin layer of material that can flake off if you look at it funny.
They are not professional quality – and so prepare for a lo-fi experience with plenty of surface noise. I did my best to improve the sound, but these discs were not known for their high fidelity.
But how cool is this – the only recording of these two artists in existence!
The first track is a cover of Ernest Tubbs’ “Walking the Floor Over You”, which had just come out in 1941 and was a big hit – selling over a million copies. Both Louise and Skinny sing together on this one.
The second track is an old Jimmie Rogers tune which he originally recorded as “Desert Blues” in 1929. It is here presented as “Big Chief Buffalo Nickel” from a line in the lyrics. Skinny takes this one solo. I’m wondering if he was the guitar player on both tracks?
I was not able to find much out about these two – a local newspaper in Washington, Iowa mentions a local named Skinny Matthews in a few articles in 1938. It’d be kind of cool if the ancestors of Skinny and Louise found this video and could tell us more about them!
Recorded on July 23, 1942 somewhere in (presumably) Iowa.
A ragtime composition performed on a unique instrument: The cimbalom: a large concert-sized dulcimer with metal strings played by striking two mallets against the strings.
Romanian-born Joseph Moskowitz was from a family of klezmer musicians. He emigrated from Romania to the US, arriving in New York City with 17 cents in his pocket. He began finding work as a musician while also running a small restaurant on the lower east side of Manhattan.
He recorded around 30 sides for Victor in 1916-17. This record (with “Operatic Rag” on the flip side) was his only ragtime recording. He recorded again for Brunswick in 1928.
This lively tune shows the novel influence of ragtime music on performers of other musical genres. It also showcases Moskowitz’ ability to adapt his playing style to emulate the sound of a ragtime piano.
Recorded in New York City on February 4, 1916. Released as Victor 17978
Credits: Joseph Moskowitz – Cimbalom Edward T. King – piano
Can’t remember how this British disc early in The Winner label’s catalog made it into the collection – probably part of a larger lot. I tend to hold on to interesting discs like this. Reminds me a bit of something the EMGColonel might play (R.I.P.).
I’d dedicate it to my dear departed grandmother, Kathryn Rooney, but she likely would have disapproved of such cantankerous carrying on. She once sang in the choir for Pope John Paul II when he visited Des Moines in 1979. I recently found out my grandfather converted to Catholicism to marry her, so that gives you an idea of the radiant power of an Irish lass.
Me, I love the whooping and hollering during the tune. These fellas were having a grand time while recording this one!
Released as The Winner 2028 circa 1912 – at the twilight of the Edwardian era and the eve of the Great War.
In any case, this one is suitable for playing on loop at St. Patrick’s Day dance parties.
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.
