A rousing bit of hot jazz on a dime store label courtesy of a group from Ben Pollack’s orchestra, who went by a variety of pseudonyms such as The Whoopee Makers, Goody’s Good Timers, Mills’ Musical Clowns, and the Lumberjacks.
The Pollack Orchestra’s Victor output felt restricted and “hidebound” to band members compared to their high-spirited live sets – where long hot solos running late into the evening were common. In contrast, their recording sessions were led by Victor executives who dictated the material that was to be cut – often with only one or two run-throughs before making the final recording. Jimmy McPartland complained, “It was no better than sight-reading.”
Recording under pseudonyms for dime store labels was one way the band could let off some steam with material they had already mastered and knew sounded great. Listening to “Whoopee Stomp”, one can get a glimpse of what the Pollack band must have sounded like in their live performances.
0:00 Intro
0:22 Trumpet
0:43 Reeds
1:01 Sax solo
1:19 Clarinet solo (Benny Goodman)
1:37 Trombone solo (Jack Teagarden)
1:58 Trumpet solo (Jimmy McPartland)
2:20 Coda
NewYork, c. November 23, 1928.
Released as Romeo 834, Cameo 9030, and Lincoln 3059.
Credits:
Jimmy McPartland, Al Harris – trumpet
Jack Teagarden – trombone
Benny Goodman – clarinet, alto sax
Gil Rodin – alto sax
Larry Binyon – tenor sax
Vic Breidis – piano
Dick Morgan – banjo
Harry Goodman – tuba
Ben Pollack – drums
Leave a Reply