Sunday, January 23, 2022

Dearieme presents

This is a joint posting - Dearieme providing the music and commetn, I list the liner notes:

This Vitaphone Short was reviewed in the June 13, 1928 issue of "Variety", p.12, as follows:

ABE LYMAN and Orch.
VITAPHONE NO. 2274
10 mins.
Orpheum, Chicago

Ralph Wondraschek:

One of the pioneer recording jazz orchestras. Abe Lyman's bunch is already established as a name in cities and towns. His Vitaphone canning may be taken into any house without worry as to how they'll be received, although Lyman's disc naturally will mean much more in houses without stage bands. 

In this recording the band starts with a sweet and lengthy version of "Souvenirs", broken by a nicely handled vocal chorus from one of the musicians. Jimmie Ray, eccentric hoofer, follows with a satisfactory but not impressive limber-leg routine done to the old "12th Street Rag". Ray screens as though he is being supported by a wire. 

Closing is a typical hot Lyman arrangement of "Varsity Drag", bringing out specialty periods by almost all members of the band. Lyman announces, and does tricks with his drummer's sticks while playing that brought comment here. He's still a little self-conscious in closeups. Okeh for large and small houses.



Jack Hylton, Hal Kemp and Ruth Etting will be posted next Sunday.

Here's the take with which we're all familiar of one of THE Hottest records of the1920s.
Abe Lyman's California Orchestra
Matrix 17827, Chicago, February 1, 1926
American Brunswick  3069-B

Abe Lyman - Director, Drums
Ray Lopez, Howard Fenimore - Trumpet
Orlando "Slim" Martin - Trombone
Jim Welton - Clarinet, Alto, Flute
Al Baker or Gus Mueller - Clarinet, Alto
Horace "Zip" Keyes - Clarinet, Tenor
John Schonberger, Charles Kaley, Dave Fink  - Violins
Gus Arnheim - Piano
Charlie Pierce - Banjo
Jake Garcia - Brass and String Bass



Jack Pettis and His Pets -- Doin' the New Low Down, Fox-trot from: Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928 (McHugh -- Fields) Victor 1928 (USA)

NOTE: Jack PETTIS -  American saxophonist, jazz pioneer. Born about 1891 in Illinois, full name was John Baber Pettis. He was self-taught on the C-sax and as teenager, he worked with Elmer Schoebel and Paul Mares. In  1922-23 he played and recorded with a New Orleans Rhythm Kinhs and two years later he joined the famous Ben Bernie's band. It's Jack Pettis who makes an impressive sax-solo in "Sweet Georgia Brown", in one of three historical short sound movies od Bernie's orchestra in 1925. These films were made in the De Forrest photo-recording technique, which -- in spite of superb sound quality, that was achieved by this method -- was abandoned to give way to Vitaphone sound recording system. 

In 1926, Jack Pettis began performing as leader of his own band, using different label titles (The Whoopee Makers, Irving Mills' Hotsy Tots Gang, Jack Pettis and His Pets). Among Pettis' sidemen were Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Tommy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. He also wrote or co-wrote several catchy tunes including "St. Louis Shuffle" (later recorded by Fletcher Henderson), "Freshman Hop," "Sweetest Melody" and "A Bag O' Blues." After 1930, Jack Pettis' carreer started fading. He made only one more appearance on record and by 1940 he completely vanishes (apparently, he died in age of 50). 

This song -- which has its most famous performance by 1928 Duke Ellington's Orchestra -  comes from Lew Leslie's hit musical review "Blackbirds of 1928"  which featured an all-black cast and starred Adelaide Hall and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.  The show premiered May 9, 1928 at New York's Liberty Theatre and ran for 519 performances.  Other famous tunes from the show included: "I Can't Give You Anything But Love",  "Digga Digga Do" and "I Must Have That Man."   There were several successful all-black Broadway productions in the 1920s - a decade that coincided with what is now referred to as the Harlem Renaissance

3 comments:

  1. A spiffing selection. Bravo!

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  2. Excellent selection. As I listened with my laptop jiggling up and down on my knee I thought how jolly it all was. An old-fashioned word for it, but it feels right enough to my ear.

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  3. Three more from the DM stable next Sunday too.

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