What 78 are you spinning right now ?

[jeffcrom]

Moved on to some big-band swing this afternoon. I've mentioned all of the Redmans at some point, but the others are new to me.

Don Redman - Keep on Doin' What You're Doin'/Tired of It All (Melotone, 1933 - as "Earl Harlan and His Orchestra")

Don Redman - Lazy Weather/Sunrise on the Lowlands (Perfect, 1936)

Don Redman - Sweet Sue - Just You/Stormy Weather (Vocalion, 1937)

There are some bad songs and forgettable singing among the Redman sides, but every one of them has great solos, by the likes of Red Allen, Sidney DeParis, Benny Morton, and Redman himself. "Sweet Sue" takes the prize for the arrangement; it's a great chart.

Charlie Barnet - Knockin' at the Famous Door/Tin Roof Blues (Bluebird, 1939). "Tin Roof" is an excellent Benny Carter arrangement.

Bob Crosby - Russian Sailors' Dance/Vultee Special (Decca, 1942). Some nice Jess Stacy and Yank Lawson on "Vultee."

Edited April 17, 2011 by jeffcrom

[jeffcrom]

Yesterday was New Orleans R & B day among the 78s:

Earl King - My House is Not a Home/Old Faithful and True Love (King, 1955); Teddy Charles plays vibes on the the incredibly sad side one.

Dave Bartholomew - In the Alley/I'll Never Be the Same (King, 1951)

Paul Gayten - Fishtails/Confused (Regal, 1949-ish); "Fishtails" is a really nice swinging instrumental, about which I can find no info. Anyone have a Gayten or Regal discography?

Smiley Lewis - Jailbird/Farewell (Imperial, 1954)

Smiley Lewis - She's Got Me Hook, Line & Sinker/Please Listen to Me (Imperial, 1956)

Frankie Ford - Last One to Cry/Cheatin' Woman (Ace, 1958); Somebody was still buying 78s.

Bobby Charles - No Use Knocking/Laura Lee (Chess, 1956); Some nice Lee Allen on this.

Chris Kenner - Sick and Tired/Nothing Will Keep Me Away From You (Imperial, 1957)

[paul secor]

Yesterday was New Orleans R & B day among the 78s:

Earl King - My House is Not a Home/Old Faithful and True Love (King, 1955); Teddy Charles plays vibes on the the incredibly sad side one.

Paul Gayten - Fishtails/Confused (Regal, 1949-ish); "Fishtails" is a really nice swinging instrumental, about which I can find no info. Anyone have a Gayten or Regal discography?

Slaven/Leadbitter gives the following for the Paul Gayten:

R-1069 - Confused - 1 - Regal 3234

R-1074 - Fishtails - Regal 3234

New Orleans, 1949

Paul Gayten: V-1, p; Wallace Davenport: tp; Frank Campbell: as/bs; Lee Allen: ts; Jack Scott: g; George Pryor: b; Robert Green: d.

Hope that helps. It's what I could find.

An aside - The Earl King -Earl (Connelly) King - who recorded for the King label was a different artist from the Earl King (Earl Silas Johnson III) who was from New Orleans and recorded for Specialty, Ace, Imperial, etc.

See here for more.

[jeffcrom]

Yesterday was New Orleans R & B day among the 78s:

Earl King - My House is Not a Home/Old Faithful and True Love (King, 1955); Teddy Charles plays vibes on the the incredibly sad side one.

Paul Gayten - Fishtails/Confused (Regal, 1949-ish); "Fishtails" is a really nice swinging instrumental, about which I can find no info. Anyone have a Gayten or Regal discography?

Slaven/Leadbitter gives the following for the Paul Gayten:

R-1069 - Confused - 1 - Regal 3234

R-1074 - Fishtails - Regal 3234

New Orleans, 1949

Paul Gayten: V-1, p; Wallace Davenport: tp; Frank Campbell: as/bs; Lee Allen: ts; Jack Scott: g; George Pryor: b; Robert Green: d.

Hope that helps. It's what I could find.

An aside - The Earl King -Earl (Connelly) King - who recorded for the King label was a different artist from the Earl King (Earl Silas Johnson III) who was from New Orleans and recorded for Specialty, Ace, Imperial, etc.

See here for more.

Thanks, Paul; I thought that might be Wallace Davenport on trumpet, since I knew he recorded with Gayten. And did not know that about Earl Connelly King - I did a leader search with the Lord CD-ROM discography and both Earl Kings are listed as one.

Edited April 26, 2011 by jeffcrom

[jeffcrom]

Last night I played a bunch of 78s involving trumpeter Phil Napoleon:

Bailey's Lucky Seven: Sweet Indiana Home/Joe Samuels and His Master Players: The Sneak (Gennett, 1922)

Tennessee Ten: That Big Blonde Mama/Benson Orchestra of Chicago (Victor, 1923)

Then I grabbed a few records at random from among the 20 or so I have by Napoleon's Original Memphis Five:

Original Memphis Five: Struttin' Jim/Don Parker's Western Melody Boys: Wild Papa (Pathe Actuelle, 1923)

Original Memphis Five: Oh Baby/I Never Care 'Bout Tomorrow (Perfect, 1924)

Original Memphis Five: Steppin' Out/Dancing Dan (Regal, 1923) Miff Mole plays great on this one.

Then on to some early vaudeville blues by Leona Williams and Her Dixie Band (which is actually the Original Memphis Five):

Mexican Blues/Uncle Bud (Bugle Blues) (Columbia, 1922)

That Teasin', Squeezin' Man of Mine/If Your Man is Like My Man (Columbia, 1923)

Edited April 28, 2011 by jeffcrom

[Clunky]

another Asch addition to the collection,

Mary Lou Williams and her six- Stardust Parts 1 and 2- Asch 1005 , 12 inch ( purple label- not sure if that is significant) - a rather dark and brooding interpretation with Don Byas , Victor Dickenson & Dick Vance.

[jeffcrom]

Spent a pleasant hour among the Victor Red Seal classical records this morning, all one-sided ten-inchers from 1905 to 1920: violinists Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, and Maud Powell, followed by sopranos Frances Alda, Geraldine Farrar, and Amelita Galli-Curci. I ended with Galli-Curci; her singing really knocks me out, and I had never heard of her until I started collecting 78s.

[Clunky]

New additions , a couple of decent Red Nichols- both Brunswick pre take-over (1932?)

Red Nichols & his five pennies- Oh ! Peter/Honolulu Blues- Warner Brunswick 1233 UK

Red Nichols & his five pennies- Just a crazy song/ You rascal, you- Warner Brunswick 1163 UK

sound very clear , shellac very quiet, performances nice and jazzy , typical Nichols

[jeffcrom]

In the mood for some world music, inspired by Cinco de Mayo, I guess: records by Curti's Mexican Orchestra, an anonymous Mexican String Orchestra, a Spanish String Orchestra (these all on the great green-label Columbia E series), the Imperial Russian Balalaika Orchestra (Victor, 1911), and the two most amazing records: a late-20's Columbia by Orchestra Bratia "Holutiaky-Kuziany," a Lemko-Ukranian group consisting of arco bass, two violins, and clarinet with some raw vocals, and a late-30's Decca Turkish record - one side by Hamiyet and one by Besiktash Kemal Senman, with some of the most microtonal clarinet playing I've ever heard. At least I think it's a clarinet. All great stuff - discovering amazing music from other traditions has been one of the things I've most enjoyed about collecting 78s.

Edited May 7, 2011 by jeffcrom

[jeffcrom]

Among all the 78s I've spun in the past few days are these, which I don't think I've mentioned before:

Mary Lou Williams - Knowledge/Oo-Bla-Dee (King, 1949) MLW in her bebop mode, with Idrees Sulieman, Mundell Lowe and George Duvivier on hand, among others. Side two is an attempt at a bop pop song (Benny Goodman also recorded it) with Kenny Hagood on vocal.

Earl Bostic - Ubangi Stomp/Time on My Hands (King, 1954) Blue Mitchell and Stanley Turrentine are in the band, but Earl Bostic's records were pretty much all about Earl Bostic, so you don't hear much of them.

Skip Hall - Two Left Feet/Skip a Page (Jamboree, 1949) Jump blues with Buddy Tate, Buck Clayton, and Walter Page.

Una Mae Carlisle - Without You Baby/'Tain't Yours (Joe Davis, 1944) Ray Nance and Budd Johnson do some nice playing on this.

Armand Hug/Ray Bauduc - Breezin' Along/Little Rock Getaway (Okeh, 1950) I've always liked New Orleans pianist Hug.

Tommy Dorsey - Mendelssohn's Spring Song/Liebestraum (Victor, 1937) Dorsey had a great band during this period - Bunny Berigan, Bud Freeman, Dave Tough, etc.

The Tennessee Ten - Waitin' for the Evenin' Mail/'Tain't Nobody's Business If I do (Victor, 1923) This was an expanded version of the Original Memphis Five, a band which I love. Unfortunately, twice as many musicians resulted in music which was half as good.

[jeffcrom]

I recently found a four-record album by British clarinetist Danny Polo, on the London label. I've had one of the records from this set for a couple of years, but I was pleased and surprised to find the entire set in wonderful condition. Four of the sides are from 1937-38, recorded in London with some of the usual suspects in British swing of the time, like Tommy McQuater and George Chisholm. The other four sides are the ones which really knock me out; they are from Paris, 1939, with Alix Combelle and Oscar Aleman, among others. This is really nice stuff.

[jeffcrom]

Played an odd selection of 78s today, starting with my entire collection of Danish 78s - three records: two discs of folk songs from 1917-18, and a song from the movie Cirkusrevyen 1936, sung by actor Osvald Helmuth. I don't play these records often, but I had the urge today. I generally buy any "world music" 78s I find for cheap, especially those in Columbia's "E" series, which the two early ones are, but I know that Chris and Victor will forgive me when I say that these are not the most engaging 78s I have. But I enjoyed researching them, which I had never bothered to do until today.

Then I moved on to some early country, by Roy Hall and His Blue Ridge Entertainers, The Kessinger Brothers ("Devil's Dream" is really nice) and the Scottdale String Band. After that I spun two 1922-23 Brunswicks by Bennie Krueger's dance band. I like this stuff, and imagine that it's the kind of thing that my grandmother danced to - she was an up-to-date, short-skirted, bob-haired flapper in the 1920's, apparently.

Then the mailman brought the real prize of the day: a 1924 Silvertone (Sears' record label of the time). Side one is by Sam Lanin's dance band, but the flip is "My Rose Marie" by Fletcher Henderson, with an excellent 24 bars by young Louis Armstrong. This is my only 78 RPM example of Louis in the 20's, and his playing really dances. And the record came in the original Silvertone sleeve. Too cool.

Edited May 16, 2011 by jeffcrom

[jazztrain]

The Danny Polo album is a nice set. I've had my copy for a few years and enjoy playing it once in a while.

If you like the material as much as I do, you might want to know about a cd that was issued a few years ago (Retrieval 79051) that includes some additional material, some of which had been previously unissued.

I recently found a four-record album by British clarinetist Danny Polo, on the London label. I've had one of the records from this set for a couple of years, but I was pleased and surprised to find the entire set in wonderful condition. Four of the sides are from 1937-38, recorded in London with some of the usual suspects in British swing of the time, like Tommy McQuater and George Chisholm. The other four sides are the ones which really knock me out; they are from Paris, 1939, with Alix Combelle and Oscar Aleman, among others. This is really nice stuff.

[jeffcrom]

The Danny Polo album is a nice set. I've had my copy for a few years and enjoy playing it once in a while.

If you like the material as much as I do, you might want to know about a cd that was issued a few years ago (Retrieval 79051) that includes some additional material, some of which had been previously unissued.

I recently found a four-record album by British clarinetist Danny Polo, on the London label. I've had one of the records from this set for a couple of years, but I was pleased and surprised to find the entire set in wonderful condition. Four of the sides are from 1937-38, recorded in London with some of the usual suspects in British swing of the time, like Tommy McQuater and George Chisholm. The other four sides are the ones which really knock me out; they are from Paris, 1939, with Alix Combelle and Oscar Aleman, among others. This is really nice stuff.

Yeah, I came across the Retrieval CD while I was researching the 78 album. If I can't get enough of Polo after living with the 78s for awhile, I'll get the CD.

Edited May 17, 2011 by jeffcrom

[jeffcrom]

Early big bands today:

King Oliver - Stingaree Blues/Shake It and Break It (Bluebird, 1930; 1938-43 pressing)

Fletcher Henderson - My Rose Marie (Silvertone, 1924); With the Louis Armstrong solo mentioned above. I didn't need to hear the flip side by Sam Lanin again.

McKinney's Cotton Pickers - Milenberg Joys/Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble (Victor, 1928)

McKinney's Cotton Pickers - Hullabaloo/Baby Won't You Please Come Home (Victor, 1930); I don't have any of these McKinney takes on CD or LP.

California Ramblers - Sittin' In a Corner/Tell All the Folks in Kentucky (Perfect, 1923); as "Golden Gate Orchestra."

California Ramblers - That Old Gang of Mine (Columbia, 1923); the flip side is by The Columbians, the label's anonymous house dance band.

California Ramblers - California, Here I Come/Cover Me Up With the Sunshine of Virginia (Columbia, 1924). The Ramblers knew what they had in bass saxophonist Adrian Rollini; he gets a solo, or at least some hot breaks, on almost every one of these sides.

Stating the obvious, but I just love 78s.

[jeffcrom]

I'm sure I've mentioned all of these in the past, but here's where I was mentally/emotionally between 12:30 and 1:00 this morning:

Piron's New Orleans Orchestra - Mamma's Gone, Good-bye/New Orleans Wiggle (Victor, 1923)

Sara Martin, piano accomp. by T. Waller - You Got Everything a Sweet Mama Needs But Me/'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do (Okeh, 1922)

Sara Martin, piano accomp. by T. Waller - Last Go Round Blues/Mama's Got the Blues (Okeh, 1922)

Benny Moten's Kansas City Orchestra - Moten Stomp/Clifford Hayes' Louisville Stompers - Blue Guitar Stomp (Victor, 1927)

Tommy McClennan - She's Just Good Huggin' Size/My Little Girl (Bluebird, 1941)

[jeffcrom]

Started out with some Southeastern "territory" swing bands:

Dean Hudson -You're Gone/Blitzkrieg (Okeh, 1941). Dean Hudson was still leading a big band in Atlanta in the 1980's.

Hod Williams - Old King Cole/Monopoly Swing (Bluebird, 1937)

Hod Williams - The Big Apple/Shades of Hades (Bluebird, 1937). A North Carolina big band; they recorded 10 sides for Bluebird in Charlotte in 1937. Not bad.

On to a semi-famous, but little-recorded band:

International Sweethearts of Rhythm - Jump Children/Slightly Frantic (Guild, 1946). These ladies swing hard! Great tenor solo on side two; it doesn't seem right to call it "virile" or "ballsy."

Ended up with Illinois Jacquet:

She's Funny That Way/12 Minutes to Go (Apollo, 1946). With Joe Newman & Trummy Young.

All of Me/Pastel (Mercury, 1951). Carl Perkins on piano.

The Cool Rage/Lean Baby (Mercury, 1952). This is the less common take of "Lean Baby" - another advantage of being an insane 78 collector.

Now I'm going to go play a gig in a cemetery.

[Clunky]

S

Ended up with Illinois Jacquet:

She's Funny That Way/12 Minutes to Go (Apollo, 1946). With Joe Newman & Trummy Young.

All of Me/Pastel (Mercury, 1951). Carl Perkins on piano.

The Cool Rage/Lean Baby (Mercury, 1952). This is the less common take of "Lean Baby" - another advantage of being an insane 78 collector.

I like picking up any Jacquet 78s I can find, always good value playing, still kicking myself for missing out on the Mosaic but I no have a decent amount of it on 78s, LPs and CDs

[jeffcrom]

Okay, sometimes I don't know if my posts here are reports or confessions....

Since I got heavily into 78s a couple of years ago, I have acquired a dozen Columbia records, 1919 to 1929, by the Ted Lewis Jazz Band. I came into possession of most of these without design - they were in a box of records I bought, or Ted Lewis was on the flip side of a selection I wanted. But I did pick up a few intentionally - they looked interesting, or they looked to be the right vintage to have Muggsy Spanier in the cornet chair. (Sadly, only one has paid off with Muggsy's presence.) God help me, yesterday and today I played all of them.

First of all, Ted Lewis's clarinet, alto sax, and singing are just awful. That's a given. But beyond that, it was fascinating to hear the music that the general public considered jazz at the time. And Ted usually had some pretty good musicians on board. Like I said, I only have one record with Muggsy, but there are generous doses of New Orleans trombonist George Brunies. And there are two records from 1928 that are amazingly good - mostly because Mr. Lewis is hardly in evidence. The excellent Don Murray takes the clarinet solos, and sounds really good. Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble/Clarinet Marmalade and A Jazz Holiday/Jungle Blues are the pairings; The only Ted Lewis I can hear on them is one vocal, on "Jazz Holiday," and some alto sax ensemble work. "Jungle Blues" is the Jelly Roll Morton tune, and it's a really nice version; I hope Morton got a nice royalty check.

Later, of course, Lewis hired folks like Frank Teschemacher, Fats Waller, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Jack Teagarden for his record dates; I've got some of that stuff on LP. But I want to find the 78 on which Lewis interrupts a Benny Goodman clarinet solo with "Play it, Ted!"

The two records I mentioned are by far the best of the lot, but there are some nice moments on many of them. And some really miserable ones.

[jazztrain]

Jeff:

The Ted Lewis record on which Lewis says "Play it Ted" while Goodman is soloing on clarinet is "Ho Hum" (Columbia 2452-D).

Okay, sometimes I don't know if my posts here are reports or confessions....

Since I got heavily into 78s a couple of years ago, I have acquired a dozen Columbia records, 1919 to 1929, by the Ted Lewis Jazz Band. I came into possession of most of these without design - they were in a box of records I bought, or Ted Lewis was on the flip side of a selection I wanted. But I did pick up a few intentionally - they looked interesting, or they looked to be the right vintage to have Muggsy Spanier in the cornet chair. (Sadly, only one has paid off with Muggsy's presence.) God help me, yesterday and today I played all of them.

First of all, Ted Lewis's clarinet, alto sax, and singing are just awful. That's a given. But beyond that, it was fascinating to hear the music that the general public considered jazz at the time. And Ted usually had some pretty good musicians on board. Like I said, I only have one record with Muggsy, but there are generous doses of New Orleans trombonist George Brunies. And there are two records from 1928 that are amazingly good - mostly because Mr. Lewis is hardly in evidence. The excellent Don Murray takes the clarinet solos, and sounds really good. Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble/Clarinet Marmalade and A Jazz Holiday/Jungle Blues are the pairings; The only Ted Lewis I can hear on them is one vocal, on "Jazz Holiday," and some alto sax ensemble work. "Jungle Blues" is the Jelly Roll Morton tune, and it's a really nice version; I hope Morton got a nice royalty check.

Later, of course, Lewis hired folks like Frank Teschemacher, Fats Waller, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Jack Teagarden for his record dates; I've got some of that stuff on LP. But I want to find the 78 on which Lewis interrupts a Benny Goodman clarinet solo with "Play it, Ted!"

The two records I mentioned are by far the best of the lot, but there are some nice moments on many of them. And some really miserable ones.

[jeffcrom]

Jeff:

The Ted Lewis record on which Lewis says "Play it Ted" while Goodman is soloing on clarinet is "Ho Hum" (Columbia 2452-D).

Thanks! That must have really pissed Benny off.

[jeffcrom]

Had the urge for some Bix today, so I spun all my Bix 78 sides (which isn't a large number):

Jean Goldkette - Idolizing (Victor, 1926)

Jean Goldkette - I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover (Victor, 1927)

Jean Goldkette - I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie (Victor, 1927)

Paul Whiteman - Lonely Melody (Victor, 1928)

Paul Whiteman - Selections from Show Boat (12" Victor, 1928)

Bix sounds good on all of these, although his solos are short. The last title doesn't sound promising, but it has a hot 12-measure solo by Bix.

Then played a couple of new finds. When looking for 78s, I've often come across 7" 78 RPM records on the budget label Bell, from the 1950's. They've always been uninteresting pop music, but I've thought that if I ever found any that looked like they might have good music, I'd get them. I just got two:

Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra featuring Jimmy Dorsey - The High and the Mighty/The Man That Got Away (1954). Not that great musically, actually, but it has a nice picture sleeve with the Dorseys.

Artie Shaw and His Gramercy Five - Besame Mucho/That Old Feeling (1953). This one is nice, with Tal Farlow and Hank Jones.

Bell records sold for 39 cents, according to the sleeves. In spite of the small size, they have three minutes of music on each side; they're microgroove vinyl pressings, not shellac. These two are in nice shape and sound really good. I'll be playing the Gramercy Five record often; the Dorsey not so much.

[jeffcrom]

I'm probably eccentric, even for a 78 collector: I frequently listen to classical music on 78s. It's usually the great artists of the acoustic recording era that I turn to, but I sometimes listen to later recordings. And I don't often listen to longer works that require changing records in the middle of a movement, but I make exceptions in the case of hard-to-find pieces or 78s featuring outstanding performers. This morning I played:

Edward MacDowell - a 1947 Decca album (two 12" records) of short piano pieces, play by Rudolph Ganz. Two pieces fit nicely onto each record side, and the performances are excellent and sensitive.

Three 10" Columbias from the late 1930's by a group billed on different records as the Saxophone Quartet of La Garde Republicaine or the Saxophone Quartet of Paris - but it's the Marcel Mule Quartet, in any case. They play short saxophone pieces by French composers - Pierne, Francaix, Bozza - and transcriptions of string quartet movements by Haydn and Mendelssohn. These are beautiful performances and great-sounding records - better than the Clarinet Classics CDs on which most of them have been reissued. Pierne's "Le Veillee de L'Ange Gardien" doesn't appear on those CDs, or on any others, as far as I can tell.

Then some Debussy:

Premiere Rhapsody for Clarinet, played by Benny Goodman and the NY Phil. on a 1940 Columbia 12-incher.

Sonata No. 2 for Flute, Harp, and Viola, on a European recording issued by U.S. Victor. The great flutist Marcel Moyse is on this, which is why I got this album and put up with changing sides every four and a half minutes. I'm not sure when it was recorded, but the style of the labels indicates that this pressing is from the early 1940's.

The Children's Corner, arranged for orchestra by Andre Caplet with Debussy's blessing, played by Stokowki's studio orchestra in 1949 and issued on three records, one movement per side. A really great performance, and 78 surfaces had gotten much quieter by the early 1950's, when my copy was pressed.

[Clunky]

no new purchases so a few UK issued oldies pulled off the sagging shelves,

Eddie Lang - Joe Venuti and their All Star Orchestra- Someday sweetheart/ Farewell blues, Panacord , recorded pretty hot so it's all loud with a tad of distortion

Eddie Lang's Orchestra-Walkin the dog- Parlophone, New Rhythm Style Series No 41, coupled with Luis Russell - Jersey Lightning, odd combination as seems the norm for this series. Great shellac quality though.

[Big Beat Steve]

First of all, Ted Lewis's clarinet, alto sax, and singing are just awful. That's a given.

There is that quip that goes something like this:

Speaker 1: Ted Lewis really can make the clarinet talk.

Speaker 2: Yes, and it usually says: "Please put me back in my case!" :crazy:

Who was it again who said that? Eddie Condon??