Mule Walk & Jazz Talk

3rd Annual Arbors Records Invitational Jazz Party - final piano jam

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:36:00 +0000

Do you want to try eight-handed piano? That's easy, having Dick Hyman as the master of ceremonies, and Rossano Sportiello, Bernd Lhotzky, Stephanie Trick, Paolo Alderighi, Mike Lipskin et al joining in!

The Sheik Of Araby never sounded so crowded.

Dust the mouldy pics off! [6] - June Clark & Perry Bradford's orch.

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:11:00 +0000

June Clark with Perry Bradford's Recording Orchestra, 1925

From left to right: Gene Kennedy (alto and soprano saxes); Will Escoffery (banjo); Charlie Smith (piano); Perry Bradford; Jimmy Harrison (trombone) and June Clark (cornet)

Mike Lipskin - Stride Piano Styles

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:08:00 +0000

Stride piano master Mike Lipskin's new CD, "Stride Piano Styles" (Buskirk Productions) is now available directly from Mike's website or from CD Baby.

Here's the track list (piano solos unless otherwise indicated):

1. Yesterday (John Lennon – Paul McCartney) 4:15
2. Where Are You? (Harold Adamson – Jimmy McHugh) 5:00
3. Sweetie Dear (Joe Jordan) 4:20
4. Snowy Morning Blues (James P. Johnson) 5:14
5. When Sunny Gets Blue (Jack Segal – Marvin Fisher) 4:46
6. Blue Room (Richard Rodgers – Lorenz Hart ) 3:37
7. It Takes a Little More to Score (Mike Lipskin) 2:29.
8. Lover (Richard Rodgers – Lorenz Hart) 3:36
9. Isn't It a Lovely Day (Irving Berlin) 3:37
10. Keep Smoking That Cigar (Mike Lipskin) 3:20
11. Willow Weep for Me (Ann Ronell) 3:07

with Ruby Braff, cornet; George Barnes, Wayne Wright, guitars:

12. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (Ted Koehler – Billy Moll) 2:50
13. If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight (Johnson – Creamer) 4:17
14. S’Wonderful (George and Ira Gershwin ) 3:39

James P. Johnson - WWI and WWII Draft Registration Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:03:00 +0000

As part of my project to publish as much documentation on the early stride piano masters as possible -and therefore to make it available for future research-, these are James P. Johnson's Registration Cards for both the First and the Second World Wars, dated June 5, 1917 and April 27, 1942, when James P. was 23 and 48 years old.

The Lion at Hampton, 1968

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:02:00 +0000

Willie The Lion Smith's 20-minute performance at the Hampton Jazz Festival (Hampton, VA) on Jun 27, 1968, is now available at Wolfgang's Vault. Signing up and logging in -which costs nothing- is required to listen to The Lion roaring, though payment is necessary for a download.

From the concert summary at Wolfgang's Vault:

"After chatting for a while, Smith opens this Hampton Jazz Festival performance with his infectious theme song, "Relaxin'". Next up is the autobiographical vocal number "Music on My Mind", which also happens to be the title of his memoirs published in 1964. The Lion then leaps into the tongue-twisting swing-era vocal number, "Nagasaki", and closes out his set with a medley of instrumentals, beginning with James P. Johnson's "Charleston" and continuing with Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'", Luckey Roberts' "Moonlight Cocktail", Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll" and "Sophisticated Lady", and culminating with his own show-stopping number, "Finger Buster"."

James P. Johnson's grave

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 12:29:00 +0000

James Price Johnson

Feb. 1, 1894 - Nov. 17 1955

Beloved Husband, Father and Grandfather

Master American Pianist and Composer

The Dean of Jazz Pianists

As reported in my posts from September 17, 2009 and October 7, 2009 posts, the James P. Johnson Foundation, the Johnson family and Smalls Club organized an all day “rent party” to raise money to buy a monument to commemorate this great musician who so far rested in peace in an unmarked grave in Maspeth, Queens, Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

The event met with success and this is the proof (thanks to Maspeth on www.findagrave.com):

The Mule's 10 random CD picks (3)

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:17:00 +0000

* Henry Red Allen - 1929-1933 (Classics 540)
* Spike Hughes And His Negro Orchestra – 1933: The Complete Set (Retrieval RTR79005)
* Allan Vaché & Antti Sarpila – Swing Is Here (Nagel-Heyer CD-026)
* Dick Hyman - Plays Duke Ellington (Reference Recordings RR-50CD)
* Scott Robinson - Plays C-Melody Saxophone: Melody From The Sky (Arbors ARCD 19212)
* Olivier Lancelot - Lancelot Et Ses Chevaliers (DJAZ DJ 715-2)
* Jon-Erik Kellso - Blue Roof: A Love Letter To New Orleans (Arbors ARCD 19346)
* Stephanie Trick - Hear That Rhythm! (self-produced)
* Wild Bill Davison - Lady Of The Evening (Jazzology JCD-143)
* The Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet – At Last (Concord CCD-4434)

Cotton Club programs on ebay (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:02:00 +0000

One would expect that, when offering a significant piece of jazz history with a steep starting bid such as USD 250,00, the seller would do some research to give basical background on it or, at least, provide the most essential data right. Well, not always!

This Cotton Club program is offered as from "circa 1929-1933" and, obviously, it is not from that timeframe, but from 1938, as the title of the revue (Cotton Club Parade, Fourth Edition) would lead you if consulting a few volumes of the vast Duke Ellington bibligraphy. Taking a simple look at John Edward Hasse's Ellington biography, Beyond Category. The Life And Genius Of Duke Ellington (Da Capo Press, 1993), on page 213, would be enough.

Although usually listed as having started on March 10, the program actually opened at midnight, March 9, and it ran probably through June 9 (according to Billboard, June 11, 1938, the show "closed last Thursday"). Two additional points: on one hand, for the first time since Blackberries of 1930, Ellington wrote the score; on the other, this would be his final appearance at the Cotton Club, which would close in June 1940.

The Mule's 10 random CD picks (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:29:00 +0000

* Coleman Hawkins - 1943-1944 (Classics 807)

* Duke Ellington - The Great Chicago Concerts (Music Masters 65110-2)

* Cat Anderson - The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Cat Speaks (Black & Blue BB 971.2)

* Luckey Roberts & Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith - Luckey & The Lion: Harlem Piano Solos (Good Time Jazz 10035)

* Rossano Sportiello - Rossano. In The Dark (Blue Swing 002 / Sackville SKCD 2-2070)

* Bennie Wallace - Disorder At The Border. The Music Of Coleman Hawkins (Enja ENJ-9506 2)

* Sarah Vaughan - 1951-1952 (Classics 1296)

* Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt - God Bless Jug And Sonny (Prestige PRCD-11019-2)

* Wild Bill Davison - Pretty Wild and With Strings Attached (Arbors ARCD 19175)

* Various Artists - The Jazz Piano (Mosaic Singles MCD-1012)

The Mule's 10 random CD picks (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:21:00 +0000

* James P. Johnson - 1942-1945: Piano Solos (Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40812)

* Willie The Lion Smith - 1938-1940 (Classics 692)

* Marian McPartland - The Single Petal Of A Rose (Concord CCD-4895-2)

* Kenny Davern & Dick Wellstood - Never In A Million Years (Challenge CHR 70019)

* Ben Webster - At The Renaissance (Contemporary/OJC 00025218639026)

* Earl Hines - Four Jazz Giants (Solo Art SACD 111/112)

* Coleman Hawkins - Wrapped Tight (GRP/Impulse! GRD-109)

* Bobby Henderson - Handful Of Keys (Vanguard VMD-8511)

* Lionel Hampton And His Orchestra And Quintet - Jazz Flamenco (RCA 74321364002)

* Various Artists - Prestige First Sessions, Vol. 1 (Prestige PCD-24114-2)

The Lion on BBC's "Jazz 625" (1966) - 30 min. show

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:18:00 +0000

BBC's Jazz 625, hosted by the late Humphrey Lyttelton, featured Willie The Lion Smith in a program from 1966, accompanied by Brian Brocklehurst (bass) and Lennie Hastings (drums) in some selections.

Youtube offers us the opportunity to watch the complete show, which included "Carolina Shout", "Morning Air", "St. Louis Blues", "Dardanella", "Nagasaki" and "Relaxin'".

The Lion obviously enjoys being in the spotlight, facing the audience, smoking his cigar, mopping his brow, talking, joking, vocalizing and improvising over these classical jazz piano chesnuts.

Dust the mouldy pics off! [5] - revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Regarding my previous post, that included a photograph of the Sugar Johnnie's New Orleans Creole Orchestra, fellow blogger Chris Albertson provides a better quality picture, without any damage preventing us from seeing Lil Hardin's face. Chris reports that the photograph was directly taken from Lil's own wall. If you want to read Lil Hardin's recollections from an unpublished copyrighted manuscript and take a look at many interesting pictures and documents, don't miss Stomp Off in C's archives from August and September 2009.

As always, thanks a lot, Mr. Albertson!

Dust the mouldy pics off! [5] - De Luxe Cafe Band

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:47:00 +0000

De Luxe Cafe Band a.k.a. Sugar Johnnie's New Orleans Creole Orchestra (c. 1917)

From left to right: Wellman Braud (bass), Lil Hardin (piano) (not recognizable due to damaged photo), Lawrence Duhé (clarinet), Sugar Johnnie Smith (cornet), Roy Palmer (trombone) and Minor Hall (drums)

Dust the mouldy pics off! [4] - Buddy Petit's Jazz Band

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 31 May 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Buddy Petit's Jazz Band. Covington, Louisiana. 1920

From left to right: unknown, Eddie "Face-O" Woods (drums), George Washington (trombone), Buddy Petit (cornet), Buddy Manaday (banjo), Edmond Hall (clarinet) and Chester Zardis (bass).

Anyone cares to identify the man on the left? Could it be Pill Coycault, Sadie Goodson or "Chinee" Foster, all of whom were part of Petit's band in those years?

Dust the mouldy pics off! [3] - Arthur Gibbs' orchestra

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 31 May 2010 23:25:00 +0000

Arthur Gibbs' Orchestra: Savoy Ballroom, NY (June 1927 to January 1928) and Arcadia Ballroom, NY (February 1928 to June 1928)

From left to right, back row: Sam Hodges (drums), George Washington (trombone), Leonard Davis (trumpet), Billy Taylor (tuba). Front row: Edgar Sampson (alto sax), Happy Caldwell (tenor sax), Gene Michael (alto sax), Arthur Gibbs (piano) and Paul Bernet (banjo).

Hank Jones - In memoriam

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Jack Teagarden, Dixie Bailey, Mary Lou Williams, Tadd Dameron, Hank Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, and Milt Orent at Mary Lou Williams' apartment, New York, ca. Aug. 1947. Copyright by William P. Gottlieb.

Baltimore AfroAmerican, September 20, 1947

Milwaukee Sentinel, October 10, 1952

Norwalk Hour, November 1, 1957

Vocalists on Ellington's March 30, 1926 Gennett session

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Sun, 16 May 2010 23:16:00 +0000

In the latest issue of VJM's Jazz & Blues Mart magazine (#157 - Summer 2010), Steven Lasker contributes with an article on Duke Ellington's March 30, 1926 session for Gennett and, specifically, on who's the vocalist on "(You've Got Those) 'Wanna Go Back Home Again' Blues" and "If You Can't Hold The Man You Love" (Gennett 3291).

Here's how Ellington's specialist Eddie Lambert describes this session in his wonderful book Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide (Scarecrow Press, 1999): "This session was the first of two for the Gennett label, each of which produced two titles. With Miley absent again, the band was that of the preceeding session, augmented by trombonist Jimmy Harrison, and by Prince Robinson and George Thomas, both doubling clarinet and tenor sax. Thus say the discographers, but aurally the band sounds smaller, and it seems probable that Harrison and Thomas were used solely as vocalists. "'Wanna Go Back Again' Blues" (with a vocal by Thomas) includes the first instance on record of imaginative scoring by Ellington, albeit briefly and in a novelty mold. After the band introduction, Hardwick's playing of the theme on baritone is skillfuly offset by two clarinets and the trumpets. This is a considerable contrast to the conventional saxes-against-brass scoring in the eight-bar verse and in the bridge of Irvis's chorus. "If You Can't Hold The Man You Love" (vocal by Jimmy Harrison) has a passage for plunger-muted trumpets which is a distant precursor of what Ellington called his "pep section" in later years. The style, however, looks back to the King Oliver manner and is reminiscent of Oliver's two-cornet breaks with Louis Armstrong on the Creole Jazz Band recordings of three years earlier. Irvis has a terse eight bars but otherwise the performance is dull, despite an attempt to ginger up the last chorus by having Robinson play a piping clarinet improvisation against a written ensemble. This foreshadows a device used regularly and successfully in later years, but in this instance it fails to counteract the prevailing medriocrity".

Since Delaunay's 1938 Hot Discography, almost every published discography (including Rust and Jepsen) has shown George Thomas on the first one and Jimmy Harrison on the second one. As an exception, Bruyninckx lists Jimmy Harrison on both tracks.

On the other hand, Mark Tucker's Ellington: The Early Years (University of Illinois Press, 1991), which contains three pages on this session, lists Sonny Greer on "(You've Got Those) 'Wanna Go Back Home Again' Blues" and Jimmy Harrison on "If You Can't Hold The Man You Love".

Based on Sonny Greer's recollection as recalled by Brooks Kerr, the historical circunstances, and aural evidence, Lasker concludes that neither Thomas nor Harrison take the vocals on those numbers, and that it would have been natural for Ellington to use Sonny Greer as vocalist (as he was the band's regular singer) rather that hiring an outsider such as Thomas or Harrison.

It should be noted that Lasker's recent statement agrees with Luciano Massagli's and Giovanni M. Volonté's The New Desor (Milano, 1999) (thanks to David Palmquist and Ken Steiner for pointing this out to me) and with the current on-line edition of Tom Lord's discography.

Jimmie Noone bio-discography - long overdue!

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Sun, 16 May 2010 22:38:00 +0000

Jimmie Noone - Jazz Clarinet Pioneer, the new bio-discography of the great clarinetist by James K. Williams, is available from the author at tubawhip@comcast.net for $20 US per copy plus packaging and postage ($4 US in US, $4.50 US to Canada and $8 US to overseas destinations).

This book has 120 pages and includes extensive photographs from the Frank Driggs and Duncan Schiedt collections, Chicago Defender advert art and several historic Noone documents. A long overdue tribute!

Dust the mouldy pics off! [2] - Elmer Snowden's Nest Club Orch.

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:17:00 +0000

Elmer Snowden's Nest Club Orchestra in 1925

Left to right: Te Roy Williams (trombone), Elmer Snowden (leader and banjo), Joe Garland (alto and baritone saxophones), Walter Johnson (drums), Freddy Johnson (piano), Bob Ysaguirre (tuba), Prince Robinson (tenor sax and clarinet) and Rex Stewart (cornet).

Dust the mouldy pics off! [1] - Keppard with Lil Armstrong

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:29:00 +0000

Tonight I'm starting a series on old photographs published in The Jazz Information magazine in 1940 & 1941, featuring jazz bands from the 1920s. Some of them are very good shots; some of them are of substandard quality. Some of them have been published elsewhere; some of them I haven't seen anywhere else. All of them are a very importante piece in the jazz hisory puzzle; all of them are worth rescuing.

Hope you enjoy'em!

Freddie Keppard with Lil Armstrong's band

From left to right: John Thomas (trombone), Ted Eggleston (drums), Lil Armstrong (piano), Freddie Keppard (cornet) and Jerome 'Don' Pasquall (clarinet). This group was formed in 1928, when Pasquall was leading his own twelve-piece orchestra at Harmon's Dreamland, the Arcadia Ballroom and various benefits in Chicago, with Freddie Keppard on cornet. Lil Armstrong asked Don to form a small group for gigs around Illinois and Indiana, and the combination illustrated was the result. The band was always on demand, Don says, because it was a "real hot band, with Freddie blowing his top every session. In fact, Freddie was a whole brass section by himself".

The Lion at Suburban Gardens (1939)

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:31:00 +0000

Suburban Gardens was the first major amusement park within Washington, D.C.. Located at 50th and Hayes Streets, in the Deanwood neighborhood near the National Training School for Women and Girls, it opened in 1921 and was in operation for almost two decades, closing by 1940. Today Merritt Elementary School occupies part of the site of Suburban Gardens.

Suburban Gardens was created by the Universal Development and Loan Company, a black-owned real estate and development company. Apart from a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, several swimming pools, games of chance and picnic grounds, there was also a large dance pavilion where popular jazz musicians performed.

Here's where our Lion enters the game. He played there for three consecutive nights on June 23, 24 & 25, 1939, billed as the "King of Swing" (sic) and accompanied by his Junglecats including vocalist and dancer Ollie Potter. Dancing started at 8:30... with no known end.

Washington Afro-American (June 17, 1939)

Condon's Town Hall 11apr42 concert ad

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Oh, those Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts for less than a dollar, or a dollar and a few cents at most: James P., Hot Lips Page, Red Allen, Bud Freeman, Benny Morton, Sandy Williams, Zutty Singleton...

Published in the NYTimes (April 5, 1942)

From Spirituals To Swing - NY Times ad

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:58:00 +0000

Published on December 23, 1939:

Duke Ellington at the "400" Restaurant (N.Y.)

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:10:00 +0000

Here's another piece of Ellington memorabilia.

From ebay, this is a program signed by Duke Ellington from an engagement at the "400" Restaurant (5th Avenue at 43rd Street, N.Y.). The auction states that it is from June, 1949 but, according to the current version of the Duke Ellington Itinerary, that month the orchestra was coming from a Canadian tour (starting on May 23 in Belleville and ending on June 4 in Peterborough), playing in cities such as Detroit, Wilberforce, Indianapolis, Toledo, Windsor, South Bend, Peoria and Madison, and ending with an engagement at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee (June 23-29).

So, despite the handwritten note at the bottom left of the second photograh, you can infer that the auction text is wrong, which is confirmed by the fact that, by 1949, Joya Sherrill and Rex Stewart had long left the band (1946 and 1945, respectively). This program must be from 1945, as the Duke Ellington orchestra had an engagement at the "400" Club/Restaurant from April 4 to April 30 and then a few concerts on May).

Ellington & Nance rare photograph

noreply@blogger.com (Agustín Pérez) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:04:00 +0000

Offered on ebay is a photo album from an African American family containing 50 photos of various sizes, dating from 1940-1945. The majority of them document a young man's life first as a high school student hanging out with his friends and then as a military man.

But there's a hidden treasure: one of the 5" x 7" photos pictures Duke Ellington and Ray Nance with a group of injured soldiers at Mayo General Hospital "Reconditioning Section" in Rochester, Minn. on July 25, 1944.

Thanks to Carl A. Hällström for pointing me to this photo.