The record changer (Mar 1945-Feb 1946)

Record Details:

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ON THE LABELS by Roger Pryor Dodge Songs by Lead Belly Accompanied by Sonny Terry Asch Album A343 Good Morning Bines 343-1 How Long Ain't You Glad 343-2 Irene On A Monday 343-3 John Henry Lead Belly keeps adding to his rich store of American folk music. Folk anthology is growing but it is such men as Lead Belly who give it any point at all for being presented to the public at large. Only with the folk singer himself do the words and music make any sense when repeated many times, unless, of course, we personally go in for folk singing ourselves. Lead Belly's attack of the lyrics is quite foreign to accepted singing. It is this folk quality which, without detracting from their meaning, removes them from mere repetition of their literal content. Of the two sides on the first record I find Good Morning Blues the most interesting. Sonny Terry on his harmonica plays one introductory chorus that makes' his simple material strong and striking. Lead Belly has a good attack on Ain't You Glad. Terry is very good on this side and shows great variety in his accompanying material. As each verse cornes up it has renewed vigor because of Lead Belly's new interest in it. This is not usually evident on most of his records. It has a spirited jump to it. In the waltz, Irene, Lead Belly shows more sympathy with the words than on any other of these sides. The repeated chorus of Irene good night Irene good night is far from monotonous. In the last verse he has great feeling. I would like to see more of this in Lead Belly. On A Monday is a lively tune. Terry plays very rhythmically on it while Lead Belly sings better than usual. What I miss on all these sides, is more of Lead Belly's guitar. More of it would have added immensely to them. In Lead Belly's singing there runs a certain monotony. Although he is prolific in genre, he does not give to any one piece great variety. Except where I have NOVEMBER, 1945 pointed out, we get the whole piece in the first chorus. Folk singing is rightly, an expression of a people, a people singing themselves. It is the exceptional singer who so raises this art that it has constant interest when listened to. We have only a few folk singers of this calibre while the ranks of blues singers would be very easily swelled immensely if the demand warranted it. There is a wonderful stark quality in Lead Belly's voice which might be termed 'bottom' but if it is to be 'bottom' I would like to hear a little moving around on this 'bottom.' Bessie Smith was stark sometimes, such as in the middle of Work House Blues but wherever she placed her interest she continually moved her inflection hither and yon. Although Lead Belly has been 'built up' a little he nevertheless holds his own amongst the mass of blues and folk singers to be considered after the Bessie Smiths and Ma Raineys. Probably it would be more just to term Lead Belly as a folk rather than a blues singer. It is in the fast tunes that he warms up to the music most readily. Each one gathers momentum under his hand and their tunefulness runs through one's head long after. As with all singing, the knowledge of the words contributes greatly to the enjoyment of the singing. The folk delivery of lyrics is so mannered that it is hard to understand the words, especially in the fast numbers. I do not say this in reproach as I certainly would not want them articulated. On the other hand, however, I would like to see a printed text issued along with singing records. The one very beautiful verse in John Henry printed in the notes contribues interest to the record, especially so, as at this point of the record Lead Belly is not so clear. The album is representative of Lead Belly and does his voice and folk spirit justice. Variations on a Theme Harpsichord Improvisations by Mead Lux Lewis Art Hodes' Blue Five 20 Ways of Playing a Chorus Blue Note 19 Self-Portrait School of Rhythm Blue Note 20 "Fcelin' Tomorrow Like I Feel Today . . ." Shake That Thing Blue Note 45 Apex Blues Alfred Lion is again pressing the Mead Lux Lewis harpsichord sides which were never well reecived in the past. Mead Lux, Honky Tonk and boogie woogie are all closely related in the public's mind. The music is so highly charged in its own way 26 that, like Bach's fugues, no individual side stands out separate from a. the group. Because there is nothing of a popular vein on Mead's records, one or two of his records are for j the average listener representative enough. When we add to the "non-popular" aspect of this music the fact that the instrument on which it is played is itself a "non-popular" instrument, and is relegated to the field of novelty in jazz, we have . little that attracts the jazz fan. This is unfortunate because the instrument has a richness that the piano has never attained. In ensemble, especially a jazz ensemble, the harpsichord lacks sufficient strength to stand out. There is too much dynamic disparity between it and the other instruments. Over a microphone it can take its place with the other instruments and in the recording studio its variety and richness are unmistakable. There is no reason why the harpsichord should not be accepted as an instrument for the playing of jazz. The reason that it has not been accepted is that the jazz public has been conditioned to certain other instruments. Naturally the jazz musicians choose their instruments from among those at hand and popularized these instruments. Any lesser known instruments seem exotic and are therefore shunned as bizarre by the average listener. There is no valid reason why we cannot use other instruments, if by so doing we improve the music. The unorthodox use of instruments such as the kazoo, washboard, jug and the like, found themselves supplanted by instruments of greater possibilities, so why not further experiment? Mead. Lux's Self -Portrait is an excellent example of a very melodic blues transcribed to a keyboard. I hardly know of another piece which is such a perfect balance of singing blues and keyboard rhythmic design. Amongst the many different treatments of music on the keyboard the richest lies somewhere between the straight playing 'of a song and inventive design with no apparent song continuity. Most pianists fall into playing either one way or the other ; they rarely hit the rich mixture of the two. After Mead Lux's bold introduction consisting of two groups of vigorous triplets and a termination of the blues structure, we are given two choruses of keyboard blues exposition. Following these melodically rich THE RECORD CHANGER