Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 5, No. 5 (1931-02)

February, 1931, Vol. V* No. 5 167 able fashion (V-5119—French-Canadian list). Marek Weber displays the best of German jazz in the haunting tango Kannst du mir noch einrnal verzeih’n and an extremely sharp- ly projected fox trot, Wenn die Elisabeth nich so schone Beine Hatt’,—a highly zestful piece of playing and recording (V-6160—German list). Weber’s coupling of Maddalena, in march rhythm, and Veronika Der Lenz ist da (V-6102) is much less effective. The Best Ballroom Dance Discs Brunswick: I sham Jorues and Hal Kemp lead, the former with a strongly swinging performance of a fine tune—Travel- in’ All Alone—and a less distinctive I Keep Remembering (4985), and the latter with a vivacious Them There Eyes coupled with a smoothly songful version of Hurt (4992). Jacques Renard does well with bland but graceful perform- ances of Little Spanish Dancer and Under the Spell of Lour Kiss (4995), She’s My Secret Passion and We’re Friends Again—the latter coupling distinguished by Chester Gaylord’s chorussing (4994); Abe Lyman plays Us and Company and As Long as We’re Together in bright, agreeable fashion (4993); Tom Gerun displays his orchestra’s smoothly colored and well poised tone in Nine Little Miles and What Good Am I Without You (4999) Come a Little Closer and You’re the One I Care For—the last specially good examples of his nice handling of an attractive tune (6002); Loring “Red” Nichols is less colorful than is his wont in a fair spring version of Linda and an undistinctive Yours and Mine (4982). Columbia: The Calijomia Ramblers climb up to the top of this month’s Columbia list with their best coupling to date: a* dapper version of the popular Peanut Vendor and a rough and hilarious performance of the tribute-song to Notre Dame, singularly entitled Twenty Swedes Ran Through the Weeds Chasing One Norwegian (2351-D). Lombardo’s Royal Canadians lack something of their customary animation in a two-part Fraternity Medley (2357-D), but Smith Ballew is at the top of his form in Nine Little Miles and There’s Something Missing, both played with a good rhythmic pulse and some deft fiddle work (2350-D). Ben Selvin does well in all four of his performances: Cheerful Little Earful and I Miss a Little Miss (2356-DO, Little Spanish Dancer and Yours and Mine (2366-D)—all dapperly played. The remain- ing qualifiers in the first group are Mickie Alpert, who does very prety suave versions of Tears and You’re the One I Care For (2361-D), and the Ipana Troubadours in a fleet I’m so Afraid of You and an attractive Wind in the Willows—the latter a song somewhat off the beaten track for pieces of light sentimentality (2363-D). Okeh: the only Okeh discs outside the hot class are Ray Seeley’s bright and colorful performances of Hurt and You’re Driving Me Crazy—extremely well recorded (41475). and the Yale Collegians’ undistinguished versions of Then Your Lips Met Mine and Blue Again (41474). Victor: Best if the Victors are the two Ellington releases, reviewied among the Hot Jazz publications. Bert Lown comes next, very slow but ultra-smooth and well rhythmed in You’re the One I Care For and Crying Myself to Sleep (22593), more vigorous in You’re Simply Delish and Then Your Lips Met Mine (22582);—all four represent unsually fine tonal qualities. Rudy Vallee does his best work in months with a peppery version—largely Rudy solo—of She Loves Me Just the Same, coupled with a typical college song —Washington and Lee Swing (22574). Vallee’s other releas- es—22585 and 22595 are in less individual vein. Shilkret does brisk versions of two popular songs on the nola type—Baby’s Birthday Party and the Wedding of the Birds : the tone quali- ties are not all they might be (22581). The Southerners turn in a songful danceable performance of Yours and Mine, coupled with Leonard Joy’s String Orchestra’s On a Little Balcony in Spain (22592). Gus Arnheim begins weakly in both Them There Eyes and Little Things in Life, but soon hits his usual animated stride (22580). Diva and Crown Samples “Albertus” sends me a disc each of the Diva and Crown productions to exemplify the work of some of the minor com- panies’ dance bands. On Diva 3181, Lloyd Keating plays I Love You So Much and You Can’t Take My Memories in fair fashion, moderately well recorded. The Crown example is happier. Milt Shako’s Detroiters do well with What’s the Use of Living Without Love—Bright broad playing, and Jack Albin’s Hotel Pennsylvania orchestra does a vivid and forthright performance of You’re Driving Me Crazy. The recording here is cleaner and much more effective (Crown 1031). Diva discs are made expressly for the W. T. Grant chain stores: Crown records are advertised under the snappy slogan, “Two hits for two bits.” HOT JAZZ Again the Duke E LLINGTON; refuses to rest a single month on his laur- rels. His extensive work of last time is matched by a new series of magnificent recordings, led by a third ver- sion of Mood 1 Indigo (reviewed last month in the Brunswick and Okeh recordings). Now it is done for Victor in almost exactly the same performance as before, and coupled with a good blues with a fine moaning chorus—When a Black Man’s Blue (Victor 22587). Ellington’s other Victor release (22586) demonstrates that even in more conventional fare than his own compositions his orchestra is still supreme. His versions of Nine Little Miles and What Good Am I Without You—both grand tunes—are handled with piquant coloristic and coloratura touches that make them hard to beat by any orchestra. Hotter, but no less attractive in ingenious tonal effects are the Jungle Band’s performances of Home Again Blues and a fascinating Wang Wang Blues (Brunswick 6003), in which a sweet vocal chorus is amusing contrasting with hot, semi wa-wa interjections from Ellington’s own vocalist— the versatile drummer of the band—Sonny Greer. White and Black Venuti’s Blue Four invariably claim a place in the sun: this month they do Sweet Sue Just You and I’ve Found a New Baby, the latter with a singularly expressive introduc- tion, and both rich in speedy solo work for fiddle, bass sax, guitar, and even the bull fiddle (Okeh 41469). Blue Steele starts off Worries on My Mind with echoes of Rachmaninoff’s notorious prelude, going into a plaintively lamenting piece; the coupling is a richly sonorous slow waltz, Missouri Moon (Victor 23501). Fletcher Henderson follows up his fine release of last rnonth with another equally good—a swinging Keep a Song in Your Soul coupled with a very jaunty, infectiously swing- ing What Good Am I Without You? (Columbia 2352-D). Luis Russell turns in a fast and vigorous High Tension coupled with an even fleet, but lighter Panama (Okeh 8849). The remaining discs are all from the Victor Red Hot Dance list: McKinney’s Cotton Pickers in an effective treatment of a fine tune—I Miss a Little Miss, coupled with After All on 23024; Red and his Big Ten making a felicitous debut in a care-free I’m Tickled Pink and a broader That’s Where the South Begins (23026); Bennie Moten in Won’t You Be My Baby and a very catchy performance—enlivened by stutter- ing wa-wa work—of Somebody Stole My Gal (23028); Fess Williams in a fast and furious All for Grits and Gravy, and a performance of She’s Still Dizzy that is marked by some remarkable slap-tonguing from the clarinetist and some rhapsodic soprano sax playing (23025). Finally there are Tiny Parham’s nostalgic, appealing slow fox trot Blue Moon Blues, and a vigorous but not heavy Doin’ the Jug-Jug stomp (23027). Rufus