Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 12 (1930-09)

428 The Phonograph Monthly Review an’ Hame on Columbia 2250-D, a two part song-sketch written about his own home in Embo, Scotland, where the Scottish comedian—the best of his kind since Lauder—is now visiting. McQuhae is heard in two Irish songs, End of the Cobble- stone Road and Dawn Brought Me Love and You (Bruns- wick 4711) that are out and sung to highly formalized pat- terns. Crurnit brings out a sequel to his Abdul Abulbul Amir disc wherein Abdul returns for another battle with terrible Ivan. The coupling is a lively ballad of the race tracks, I’m Bettin’ the Roll on Roamer, done in Crumit’s in- imitable manner. (Victor 22482). Hill Billy My old favorite in the ballad ranks, Marc Williams , is back this month with typical tales of Crepe Upon the Little Cabin Door and Cowboy Jack, sung and recorded in his us- ual fetching manner (Brunswick 430). Johnny Dodds gives vivacious warning to Stay Away from my Chicken House (Okeh 45462) ; Jack Webb , the 101 Ranch Cowboy, sings ballads of the Night Guard and the Roving Cowboy in a booming yet smoothly handled voice (Victor V-40285); Carson Robison gives a jocose account of Life in the Navy (Brunswick 442) ; Dan Hornsby revives the old heartbreak- er Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (Columbia 15578-D); and the McCravy Brothers duettize highly pathetic song on Okeh 45466—Can a Boy Forget his Mother? Race Best is the Utica Jubilee Singers’ spirituals on Victor 22465 —perfervid, slow swinging solos and responses, Lord I Have Done and Mighty Day, a good addition to their series. Men- tion also goes to Lonnie Johnson and Spencer Williams in a roguish repercussion of the race hit Six or Seven Times, entitled Once or Twice (Okeh 8812); Barbecue Bob in a gay She Moves It Just Right (Columbia 14546-D); Bunn and Williams in Goose and Gander and Cleah It Out (Victor V-38602). DANCE Revivals Ted Lewis abandons his usual style to do the Three O’- clock in the Morning waltz and the World is Waiting for the Sunrise in luscious fashion, and grand sentiment, which however is happily sauced as the pieces go on by his pathe- tic recitation in the former and the jazzier measures that close the latter (Columbia 2246-D). The Louisiana Rhythm Kings dig up one of Gershwin’s early hits, the fine Swanee from “Sinbad” and do it up in good hot style, coupled with a slow Meanest Kind o’Blues (Brunswick 4845.) Red Nichols re-animates I’m Just Wild About Harry from “Shuffling Along,” featuring Jimmy Dorsey’s marvellous saxophoning; also After You’ve Gone, done with some remarkable pace changes (Brunswick 4839). The March Craze The public fancy for martial rhythms, aroused by the Stein Song and Around the Corner, is offered further food in the way of Betty Co-Ed, played by Rudy Valee on Victor 22473 (with Violet and Friends—collegiate songs), by Bob Haring on Brunswick 4852 (coupled with a very peppery performance of I Love You So Much), and Johnny Walker on Columbia 2247-D (coupled with a merry version of Kitty from Kansas City). Honors are evenly divided. Spanish and German Flavors The versatile Marek Weber demonstrates that he is as much at home in Spanish dance music as in Teutonic. His paso doble playing in Soldadito Espanol and Vaya Veronica is exhilarating and vivacious to the nth degree (Victor 46943—Spanish list), while his series of German talkie hits in the German list reveals his more polished style to equally good effect. Of the four discs, Victor V-6075 to V-6078, I like best the last, hits from the film, “Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt,” very catchy tune with splendid vocalizations by Web- er’s start cherister. This songster, Herr Egen by name, demonstrated his talents again in Ich Hab’ eine kleine braune Mandoline, coupled with the Victor orchestra’s Stein Lied on V-6076. The other films represented are “Heute Nacht— eventuell . . .” and “Der Liebeswalzer.” Prize Winners Don Azpiazu and his Havana Casino Orchestra, who made their debut a month or two ago, are heard in more character- istic fare on Victor 22483, a remarkable Rumba fox trot (Pea- nut Vendor—a street cry worked up into a fine dance piece) and True Love, irresistibly rhythmed. The choruses are in Spanish. Victor’s Dance Record of the Month is one of the best to date, Waring’s Pennsylmnians’ delicate and sprightly performance of Without Love—by far the best re- corded dance version—and a more songful and orthodox So Beats My Heart For You (22486). Columbia has a winner in Bert Lown and his Hotel Biltmore orchestra who play their big radio hit, Bye Bye Blues in beautifully smooth style with good coloring (Columbia 2258-D). The coupling is an easy-going performance of Under the Moon It’s You. Guy Lombardo does another big broadcast hit, Confessing and does it in his best style (Columbia 2259-D). The coupling is a dreamy, subdued Good Evenin’, nicely played, but scarcely as effective. Okeh’s winner is Frankie Trumbauer in a great performance of Hittin’ the Bottle, very powerfully recorded, and with refreshingly original choruses (Trumbauer himself?). What’s the Use, on the other side, is not as strik- ing, but it displays some fine saxophone work (Okeh 41437). For Brunswick I sham Jones (now back as a regular recording band, I hope) does a beautifully restrained piece of playing with Stardust and none other than Joyce Kilmer’s Trees, set to fox trot rhythm (4856). Strongly contrasting, but no less effective, is Ben Bernie’s gusty performance of Highway to Heaven, cdupled with a swinging, attractively animated and colored version of Love Comes in the Moonlight (Bruns- wick 4850). The Torrid Masters Okeh maintains its established reputation for hot discs of ■superior merits. This month I pass over even the redoubt- able Louis Armstrong and the talented Luis Russell in favor of Jack Purvis —whose Poor Richard, released a few months ago, was one of the most remarkable hot creations of the season. On 8808 he plays Be Bo Bo and Dismal Dan in scarcely less remarkable fashion, featuring as before the sensa- tional pianoing of Frank Froba as well as Purvis’ own trump- eting. Duis Rusdell is not far behind, however, with a fer- vent performance and interesting arrangement of On Revival Day, coupled with a fetching drag, Louisiana Swing, that boasts a number of very striking instrumental effects (8811). Louis Armstrong’s disc brings back the Indian Cradle Song, done in powerful fashion, and Exactly Like You—in which he demonstrates again the forcefulness and originality of treatment by which he can revive a hackneyed tune of the moment and get genuine feeling into it (41423). Bruns- wick’s best bet in the hot ranks is Andy Kirk’s orchestra, a jaunty organization that displays its eccentricities rather than its best points in Snag It and Sweet and Hot (4878). Mary’s Idea (4863) is sprightlier although rather shrill, but the coupling,—Once or Twice—is done in the easy-going catchy style of this band’s best work. In the long Victor race lists Lhike Ellington and Jelly-Roll Morton stand out. The former plays Sweet Dreams of Love in very bland and yet resilient fashion, coupled with a hot yet dapper Sweet Jazz o’ Mine—the latter with some fine snatches of the Duke’s own piano (V-38143). The Morton Trio (piano, clarinet, and traps) does an exceedingly jaunty performance of That’s Like It Ought to Be, coupled with a less distinctive Little Dixie Home (V-38601). The other re- leases are not outstanding: Bubber Miley couples neat ver- sions of Black Maria and Chinnin’ and Chattin’ (V-38146); McKinney’s Cotton Pickers play a bold, rather coarse I’ll Make Fun for You, coupled with a slow songful Then Some- one’s in Love (V-38142). Most curious of all is W38141, whereon Jimmie Luncejord and his Chickasaw Syncopators play Sweet Rhythm and In Dat Mornin’, the latter a singu- lar dance piece with a Negro sermon for vocal refrain.