“Crazy Rhythm” – Miff Mole and his Little Molers (1928)

A delightful “Red and Miff” session from 1928 featuring a catchy head and excellent solos from each.

Miff Mole was a trombonist from Long Island, New York who co-founded the seminal early jazz band the Original Memphis Five with Phil Napoleon and Frank Signorelli. He became a sought-after player in New York, performing and recording with bandleaders Sam Lanin and Ray Miller. He had a shy countenance with an iconic owlish look completed by a pair of black round spectacles.

In 1925 he began a long period of collaboration with trumpeter Red Nichols – an up-and-coming hot player who also had a savvy business sense. From 1925-1929, the pair recorded with both Red’s bands (Red Nichols and his Five Pennies) and Miff’s band (Miff Mole and the Little Molers), as well as a band where each shared top billing (Red and Miff’s Stompers). They played together in numerous other iterations (The Red Heads, Lanin’s Red Heads, The Charleston Chasers, and Arkansas Travelers) until Mole decided in 1929 to accept a staff position at NBC in their studio orchestra.

Nichols’ “almost manic” solo here was thought by writer Richard Sudhalter to have been inspired by a session three weeks earlier with a group of energetic Chicago musicians that included Frank Teschemacher, Joe Sullivan, and Gene Krupa.

0:00 Intro / head
0:47 Trombone solo (Miff Mole)
1:27 Ensemble
1:49 Trumpet solo (Red Nichols)
2:10 Clarinet solo (Fud Livingston)
2:31 Outro

Recorded in New York City on July 17, 1928.
Released as Okeh 41098.

Credits:
Red Nichols, Leo McConville – trumpet
Miff Mole – trombone
Dudley Fosdick – mellophone
Fud Livingston – clarinet, tenor sax
Arthur Schutt – piano
Carl Kress – guitar
Joe Tarto – tuba
Stan King – drums