Old Jazz Songs You'd Share

[Soandso]

"Don" Albert Dominique (1908-1980), pictured above, was a professional trumpet player by age 14 who moved from his native New Orleans to San Antonio (Texas) going on to form the first band to promote itself as a "swing" group thusly: "Don Albert and his music, America's Greatest Swing Band." They toured in many states by bus as seen in the photo below.

Don Albert, as he was known professionally, once reminisced that at first like many other early jazz groups his band didn't have a "book" (written musical arrangements) and the band played by "head" music. Head arrangements back then didn't mean an ensemble was playing a memorized song, but rather concocted their performance which is probably how lore arose that jazz was all about spontaneous improvisations by uniquely talented musicians. Regularly performing bands would got familiar with certain of their unscripted (head) musical "numbers" (songs) and aware of patterns their fellow musicians liked to make this allowed seamless passage among the band's instrument sections.

Fatha' Hines (see post #39 above) who was influential in early jazz fortunately for posterity described "head" arrangements. Quote: If one guy started in C, the second started on A and the third on F. They would begin the passage with one guy a third or fifth lower, and another a third or fifth higher and that way you'd end up with harmony in it." When listening to old jazz recordings of ensembles often initially there is extended piano playing which was not just solo featuring of the pianists' musical talent but more often vital to indicate to fellow musicians the starting key and giving the others time to orientate for their turn in the "head" playing. This was also important during old jazz recording sessions because often the studio used some contract musicians (ex: Fatha' Hines was Victor records' recording studio pianist in Chicago for 3 years; he'd be uncredited or sometimes named as Maurice).

Below screenshot is a Tidal copy of the 1936 Don Albert band recording titled ROCKIN' AND SWINGIN'. The album cover image states Kansas City the band's home base was San Antonio where they usually recoded. For a taste of the bands' different styling give a listen to their fine track "Deep Blue Melody."

 

[Soandso]

In 1912 the now famous African-American Booker T. Washington inaugurated the Atlanta (Georgia) Odd Fellows Hall pictured above on Auburn Avenue. The roof top served as a small dance club and in 1929 the 26 year old pianist J. Neal Montgomery's Orchestra recorded AUBURN AVE. STOMP. Below screenshot shows Tidal's copy of the track.

 

[Soandso]

Pianist Alonzo Ross formed the Ross De Luxe Syncopators in Miami (Florida) pictured above and the next year 1927 recorded the song SKAD-O-LEE; screen shot below is Tidal's copy of it. The records other side is FLORIDA RHYTHM, as last screen shot below shows.

Syncopation was a feature of ragtime and jazz whereby the 4/4 time in a musical meter (what divides the number of beats) that in western music traditionally has the 1st and 3rd beats principally accented thus leaving the 2nd and 4th as off-beats instead gets played using the same musical measure of 4 beats differently by stressing instead the 2nd and 4th beats. Syncopation in effect moves the beat count forward in time and when the listener's anticipated off-beats become the principle (accented) beats these 2 factors (measure and accentuation) shifts their personal experience of the musical time creating some sense of novelty. By sometimes having beats fall where western musical tradition anticipates and yet some beats fall where not anticipated the rhythm improvises in terms of the meter counts and when different musicians play different syncopated meter patterns that produces counter rhythms.

 

[Soandso]

Pianist Alphonso Trent (1902-1959) pictured above from the state of Arkansas had his 1st band when 18 years old. By age 20 leading another band in Dallas (Texas) they were broadcasting from a local hotel which was a historical U.S.A. first for any all African-American musician ensemble. The band, pictured below, is considered one of the many early 1900s "territorial" bands and the Alphonso Trent Orchestra would tour in the states of Tennessee, Oklahoma, Iowa and parts of New York.

In 1930 they recorded CLEMENTINE; the last screen shot shows Tidal's copy of the track.

 

[Soandso]

Drummer Roy Johnson's Happy Pals, pictured above in about 1927 (?), are left to right Harold "Pops" Griffin, Emmitt "Lic" Johnson, Nathanial "Buster" McPherson, Roy F. Johnson, Edward "Pickles" Humes, Leroy "Fess" Wychee, Percy Trent, Fleming "Beans" Edwards, William "Mama" Allen and Edward "Skinny" Trent. The band was from Richmond (Virginia state) and toured north to Baltimore (Maryland) and repeatedly to New York City. From around 1926 to 1934 they'd be regularly booked in Harlem, New York by the famous Savoy Ballroom whose early 1940s large dance floor scene is pictured below.

[An extra comment which might be of additional interest I put here. Early jazz musicians often hailed/addressed one another as "Pops" whether one knew the persons name or not. It's usage had nothing to do with deference to one older or even anyone's years of age. Later in the 1900s it would be replaced by expanded use of the word "man". A USA cultural carryover is the widespread contemporary usage of "dude."]

In 1929 Johnson's Happy Pals recorded SAVOY RHYTHM; last screen shot below shows Spotify's copy of the track.

 

[Philbo King]

Cannonball Adderlys 'Work Song' and Dave Brubecks 'Take Five' are ring tones in my phone.

 

[Soandso]

Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Fields (1904-1997), pictured above, was born in Texas but raised in Oklahoma. He was a trombone player who formed his first band in 1930 and later with his Ernie Fields Orchestra, shown in first screenshot below, recorded in 1939 the song T-TOWN BLUES which refers to Tulsa (Oklahoma). The last screen shot below shows Tidal's copy of that track and although that album cover art specifies Kansas City the Ernie Fields group was a "territorial" touring band based out of Tulsa.

 

[AA63]

Whenever I need an adrenaline boost I go big band...

Buddy Rich - Time Check

Swing baby swing - LOL

 

[Soandso]

Cannonball Adderlys 'Work Song' and Dave Brubecks 'Take Five' are ring tones in my phone.

Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (1928-1975), pictured above, got nicknamed "cannibal" for his voracious appetite which would then be adapted into "cannonball" as he got big. He came from a musical family in Florida and in the 1050s his professional trumpet playing younger brother "Nat" relocated them both to the New York City.

Here below is a screen shot of my Cannonball Adderley playlist. It's by no means a definitive compilation of his recorded work and reflects the more relaxed listening jazz mood.

 

[Soandso]

Whenever I need an adrenaline boost I go big band... Buddy Rich ….

life claimed he never practised.

 

[Soandso]

Oliver Cobb, pictured above, was a singing trumpeter who accidentally drowned in 1931 led a band called the "Rhythm Kings" based in Kansas City (Missouri) that toured throughout Missouri and Chicago. In 1929 they recorded the double meaning song THE DUCK'S YAS YAS YAS; a screenshot of Tidal's copy of the track is shown below. For orientation of the lyrics and then the words as website genius dot com cites look further down.

The lyrics' "yas" refers to USA slang for the buttocks which is "ass". The "Georgia rub" refers to close body contact dancing. The location of Market is Norfolk (Virginia) city's old red light street intersection of East Main and Market. The "number 49" was Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company's Monday - Saturday train no. 49 that left Norfolk at 8:30 am, got into nearby Suffolk at 8:40 and ran south reaching Charleston ("Carolina") at 11:37 am. The Southern Railway ran the other train mentioned (the 48) out of Norfolk at 8:00 am with local stops heading to where connections could be made "…to all points south and west…" where the "Golden Gate" of San Francisco (California) is. The location of Morgan refers to a street by that name in the town of Suffolk (Virginia) located about 10 miles from Norfolk where 6 rail road trunk lines converged and in 1928 3,500 men were employed at peanut processing ("Mr. Peanut" originated there) the majority of whom were African-Americans.

 

[Soandso]

Dewey Jackson (1900-1994), pictured above, played the cornet and trumpet professionally by age 12. He'd be part of the Mississippi River excursion boat circuit for a number of years and when the iconic Fate Marable (started as calliope player and only later a pianist) left his boat band "The Cotton Pickers" it was taken over by Dewey Jackson who brought in some fellow St. Louis (Missouri) musicians. He retained the boat's pianist Burroughs Lovingood who with Fate Marable had formed "the first two-piano team with a dance band." In 1926 the Dewey Jackson Band recorded CAPITOL BLUES which has solos by Burroughs Lovingood at the piano, trombonist Andrew Luper and reedman William Thornton Blue; screen shot below shows Tidal's copy of the track with a picture showing Dewey Jackson propped against the piano (seated at the piano is not Burroughs Lovingood).

 

[Soandso]

Lloyd Hunter (1910-1961), pictured above, started his band the "Serenaders" , pictured below, in Omaha (Nebraska) in 1923. As a "territorial" band it toured while sometimes playing in barns repurposed for local dances and even in cleared country fields. The band was considered excellent yet Lloyd Hunter never succumbed to enticements from the then dominant big cities' of jazz. They recorded SENSATIONAL MOOD in 1931; last screen shot below shows Tidal's copy of the track.

 

[Soandso]

Frank Shelton "Red" Perkins (1890-1976), pictured above, in his youth toured in minstrel shows learning piano, organ and trumpet assembling his first band at age 22. In 1923 he formed the 6 piece "Dixie Ramblers" group and then in 1925 increased his band to 8 musicians sometimes billing it for promotional purposes as "The Original Dixie Ramblers" based out of Omaha (Nebraska) seen pictured below. They recorded HARD TIMES STOMP in 1931; last screen shot shows Tidal's copy of the track.

 

[Soandso]

Harlan Leonard (1905-1983), pictured above, was a reed instrument player who formed "His Rockets" band, pictured below, in 1937 based out of Kansas City. In 1940 they recorded PARADE OF THE STOMPERS; screen shot at the bottom is Tidal's copy of the track.

 

[Soandso]

Allen Zach "Whyte" White (1898-1967) was a banjo player born in Kentucky who in 1924 formed his first band in Cincinnati (Ohio). My surmise, based on the era, was that he was of mixed African/European-American ancestry having a light complexion. 1929 "His Chocolate Beau Brummels" band (pictured below with Whyte presumably standing 3rd in from the right) recorded the song GOOD FEELIN' BLUES; 2nd screen shot is of Tidal's track copy.

Many may not know that by the late 1800s Cincinnati was nationally a major commercial center with cosmopolitan aspects. By 1920 a regionally known company located there was making fashionable collars and ties for wearing around the neck with imported fabrics doing business as "Beau Brummel." Naming the band Zach Whyte and His Chocolate Beau Brummels was promotional suggesting the best in musical taste and quality.

 

[Soandso]

Jesse Albert Stone (1901-1999), pictured above, began performing in minstrel shows when 5 years old. As a pianist based in Kansas City he formed "The Blues Serenaders" in 1926 and one year later recorded BOOT TO BOOT (screen-shot below shows the Tidal copy of this track). Back in time when the midwestern USA was highly agrarian there arose the regional jargon "boot to boot" referring to working alongside another closely on horseback. In it's era this song's title implied the musicians were playing what the word "tight" implied in popular musical slang elsewhere in the USA.