Decca 129 – Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra – 1934

Posted on June 6, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Today, June 6, we remember the great bandleader Jimmie Lunceford on the 114th anniversary of his birth. This record was his first to be released on Decca, swingin’ in 1934.

James Melvin Lunceford was born June 6, 1902 in Fulton, Mississippi. Like Andy Kirk, Lunceford studied under Wilberforce Whiteman in Denver, learning to play reeds. He went on to attend Fisk University and became a phys-ed instructor at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he organized a student band called the Chickasaw Syncopators. The Chickasaw Syncopators cut two sides for Columbia in 1927, and two more for Victor in 1930. By 1934, Lunceford’s orchestra had evolved into a hep swing band, and he landed a gig at the Cotton Club in Harlem, following in the footsteps of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. By the height of the swing era, Lunceford’s was one of the leading swing bands in the nation, equal to that of Ellington or Calloway. On July 12, 1947, after playing McElroy’s Spanish Ballroom in Portland, Oregon, Lunceford collapsed and died during an autograph session in a record store. He had been suffering from high blood pressure, though some suggest he may have been poisoned deliberately by a restaurateur who was displeased to be serving black people, as some of his band members also fell ill after dining at said restaurant.

Decca 129 was recorded September 4 and 5, 1934 in New York, Jimmie Lunceford’s first and second sessions for Decca. The band features Jimmie Lunceford directing Eddie Tompkins, Tommy Stevenson, and Sy Oliver on trumpets, Henry Wells and Russell Bowles on trombones, Willie Smith and Earl Carruthers on clarinet, alto sax, and baritone sax, LaForest Dent on alto sax, Joe Thomas on clarinet and tenor sax, Edwin Wilcox on piano, Al Norris on guitar, Moses Allen on string bass, and Jimmy Crawford on drums and vibraphone.

First, they play Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”.

Sophisticated Lady, recorded September 4, 1934 by Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra.

Next, seemingly as an answer to the previous side, they play “Unsophisticated Sue”.

Unsophisticated Sue, recorded September 5, 1934 by Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra.

Bluebird B-7746 – Artie Shaw and his Orchestra – 1938

Posted on May 23, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Clarinetist Artie Shaw does everything his advisors tell him not to do. He shouts down other bandleaders, kicks music publishers out the back door calling them racketeers, scowls at his admirers, refuses to turn on the charm or be civil, says he’s there to make music and not to pose. When kids come to dance, he plays what he likes, thinks they should like it. He plays no request numbers. In other words, he does as he damn pleases.

— Esquire’s Jazz Book, 1944

Artie Shaw, October 1939. Down Beat photo by Ray Rising.

I’ve been meaning to try and work some more swing music into the busy schedule here on Old Time Blues, and with today (May 23) being Artie Shaw’s birthday, it seems like a prime opportunity.

Arthur Jacob Arshawsky was born on May 23, 1910 in New York City, his father hailing from Russia and his mother from Austria. He took up the saxophone at the age of thirteen, and soon switched to clarinet. In the mid-1920s, Shaw worked with Austin Wylie’s orchestra, before moving on to Irving Aaronson’s Commanders, and later Roger Wolfe Kahn’s orchestra and others. Into the 1930s, he found steady work as a studio player like so many other New York jazz musicians of the day. By the middle of the 1930s, Shaw had started his own orchestra, recording for Brunswick as “Art Shaw and his New Music”. He began a contract with the RCA Victor Company in 1938, with whom he produced his largest volume of hits, including “Begin the Beguine”, “Back Bay Shuffle”, and his theme song “Nightmare”. Where Benny Goodman was the “King of Swing”, many proclaimed Shaw the “King of Clarinet”, though Shaw felt it ought to have been the other way around, as “Benny Goodman played Clarinet. [He] played music.” In 1940, Shaw made his feature film debut with Fred Astaire in Second Chorus, which Astaire considered “the worst film he ever made”, and caused Shaw to swear off movie appearances. During World War II, Shaw enlisted in the Navy and led a band in the Pacific, while Glenn Miller was doing the same in Europe, and received a medical discharge after eighteen months. Throughout the 1950s onward, he experimented with artistic variations on jazz music. Artie Shaw was by his own admission “a very difficult man”, and was married eight times (probably making him the runner up for the title of “Most Married Swing Bandleader” after Charlie Barnet, who was married eleven times). Shaw died of diabetes at the age of 94 in 2004.

Bluebird B-7746 was recorded July 24, 1938 in New York City. The band consisted of Artie Shaw on clarinet, John Best, Claude Bowen, and Chuck Peterson on trumpets, George Arus, Ted Vesely, and Barry Rogers on trombones, Les Robinson and Hank Freeman on alto saxes, Tony Pastor and Ronnie Perry on tenor saxes, Les Burness on piano, Al Avola on guitar, Sid Weiss on string bass, and Cliff Leeman on drums.

First up is Artie Shaw’s famous rendition of Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine”, described by Shaw as “a nice little tune from one of Cole Porter’s very few flop shows.”

Begin the Beguine. recorded July 24, 1938 by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra.

Tony Pastor sings the vocal on Shaw’s swing rendition of the famous “Indian Love Call”.

Indian Love Call, recorded July 24, 1938 by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra.

Brunswick 6265 – Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra – 1932

Posted on April 29, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Today we celebrate the birthday of Duke Ellington, who was born on this day 117 years ago. Music as his mistress, he was the man that truly made a lady out of jazz—and a sophisticated lady, at that.

Duke Ellington with his orchestra at the Cotton Club sometime in the 1930s. From Jazzmen, 1938.

Duke Ellington with his orchestra at the Cotton Club sometime in the 1930s. From Jazzmen, 1939.

Edward Kennedy Ellington was born April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. to two piano playing parents. As a youngster, he came to be called Duke for his refined manners and dapper style of dress. While working as a soda jerk at the Poodle Dog Café in 1914, Duke composed his first song, the “Soda Fountain Rag” (a.k.a. the “Poodle Dog Rag”), which he played in a variety of styles. Working as a sign painter in the latter part of the 1910s, Ellington put together small bands for various affairs. He put his first orchestra together in 1917, included as its early members were his childhood friend Otto Hardwick, Arthur Whetsel, Elmer Snowden, and Sonny Greer. Eventually, the band moved to Harlem, following drummer Sonny Greer, who was invited to play with Wilbur Sweatman’s band. In 1924, the band made its first records on the Blu Disc label, which were sold only at the cigar counter of a New York theater. As the Washingtonians, led by Elmer Snowden, the band played at Harlem’s Kentucky Club. Snowden was later kicked out of the band over a financial dispute and full leadership was assumed by Ellington.

In 1926, Ellington signed Irving Mills as his band’s agent, a move that brought his success to new heights. Later, in 1927, King Oliver had foolishly decided to hold out for more money on the prestigious Cotton Club gig, and Ellington took the job, his orchestra becoming the house band of the famous club, replacing the recently deceased Andy Preer. He held the position until Cab Calloway brought Preer’s band (as the Missourians) back to the Cotton Club. Duke was brought to greater fame when his orchestra appeared in the 1930 Amos ‘n’ Andy picture Check and Double Check. Ellington toured across the United States in the early 1930s, and, like many American artists, made a European tour in 1933. Throughout the years, Ellington featured many great musicians and introduced many famous pieces. He appeared in a number of films and continued to enjoy immense success as one of the world’s foremost musical forces until his death in 1974.

Brunswick 6265 was recorded February 2 and 11, 1932 in New York City. Ellington’s Famous Orchestra features Arthur Whetsel, Freddie Jenkins, and Cootie Williams on trumpets, Joe Nanton and Juan Tizol on trombones, Barney Bigard on clarinet and tenor sax, Johnny Hodges on clarinet, soprano sax, and alto sax, Harry Carney on clarinet, alto sax and baritone sax, Duke on piano, Fred Guy on banjo, Wellman Braud on string bass, and Sonny Greer on drums.

First up, it’s Ellington’s famous “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing)”, named after the credo of former band-mate Bubber Miley, who was ailing at the time. Ivie Anderson provides the famous vocal.

It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing), recorded February 2, 1932 by Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchesstra.

On the reverse, Ellington’s Famous Orchestra plays the old standard, “Rose Room (In Sunny Roseland)”.

Rose Room (In Sunny Roseland), recorded February 11, 1932 by Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra.

Updated with improved audio on April 29, 2019.

Decca 1840 – Chick Webb and his Orchestra – 1938

Posted on April 25, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Ella Fitzgerald in the late 1930s. From Jazzmen, 1938.

Ella Fitzgerald in the late 1930s. From Jazzmen, 1939.

In the mood for a bit of swing? I hope so, because today we celebrate birthday of the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald.

Ella was born April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. She moved north to Yonkers during the Great Migration. After falling on hard times as a teenager during the Great Depression, she entered an amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Though she originally intended to dance at the show, after feeling intimidated by another dance act, she sang instead, imitating the style of her favorite singer, Connie Boswell, and won the twenty-five dollar prize. In 1935, Chick Webb reluctantly took her on as a vocalist in his band, which she stayed with for the remainder of the decade. When Webb succumbed to his illness in 1939, Ella took over the band, recording under her own name. After Webb’s band broke up, she continued to record as a solo artist, and the rest as they say, is history. After a life of music, her health declined in the 1980s, and Ella Fitzgerald died comfortably in her home on June 15, 1996, her final words were, “I’m ready to go now.”

Decca 1840 was recorded in two sessions in May of 1938, the first on the second and the second on the third. The band consists of Mario Bauza, Bobby Stark, and Taft Jordan on trumpet, George Matthews, Nat Story, and Sandy Williams on trombone, Garvin Bushell on clarinet and alto sax, Louis Jordan (yes, that Louis Jordan) on alto sax, Teddy McRae, and Wayman Carver on tenor sax, Tommy Fulford on piano, Bobby Johnson on guitar, Beverly Peer on string bass, and Chick Webb on drums.

Ella’s first big hit was “A-Tisket A-Tasket”, which she and Al Feldman adapted as a pop tune. The arrangement was written by the recently departed Van Alexander.

A-Tisket A-Tasket, recorded May 2, 1938 by Chick Webb and his Orchestra.

The label of the flip-side “Liza (All the Clouds’ll Roll Away)” bears the inscription “”To a Swell Kid, Camilla.” Unseen in the scan is “To Marilyn From Camilla Adams 1938” engraved in the run-out with some sharp instrument.

Liza (All the Clouds’ll Roll Away), recorded May 3, 1938 by Chick Webb and his Orchestra.

Brunswick 8063 – Glenn Miller and his Orchestra – 1937

Posted on March 1, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Glenn Miller. From Esquire’s Jazz Book, 1944.

On March 1, 1904, one of the great heroes of American music was born: Glenn Miller. Miller worked with many great jazz men and future swing bandleaders as a studio sideman and member of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in the late 1920s and 1930s. After working as an organizer and arranger for Ray Noble’s American orchestra, Miller struck out on his own in 1935 with a Columbia engagement featuring a band put together to help get him started as a leader on his own. He organized his first “real” band in 1937 and cut a few sides for Decca and Brunswick, but broke that group up at the start of 1938 following an unsuccessful run. After that, Miller put together his most famous orchestra and signed with Bluebird, with whom he made some of the seminal records of the swing era, including “Moonlight Serenade”, “In the Mood”, and “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, among a great number of other classics. In 1942, Miller enlisted in the Army Air Force, where he would lead the band in the war years until his disappearance over the English Channel on December 15, 1944.

Brunswick 8062 was recorded November 29, 1937 in New York City. Miller’s band includes the talent of Pee Wee Erwin, Bob Price, and Ardell Garrett on trumpets, Glenn Miller, Jesse Ralph, and Bud Smith on trombone, Irving Fazola on clarinet and alto sax, Hal McIntyre and Tony Viola on alto sax, Jerry Jerome and Carl Biesacker on tenor sax, J.C. “Chummy” MacGregor on piano, Carmen Mastren on guitar, Rowland Bundock on string bass, and Doc Carney on drums.

On “Doin’ the Jive”, one of Miller’s more memorable Brunswick sides, Kathleen Lane sings, assisted by Miller, McGregor, and Jerome speaking. “Well tell me some more, my suck egg mule!”

Doin’ the Jive, recorded November 29, 1937 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra.

Next up, we hear Miller’s swinging arrangement of Antonín Dvořák’s “Humoresque”. You can hear a bit of that signature “Miller” sound in this one.

Humoresque, recorded November 29, 1973 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra.