The record changer (Jan-Dec 1954)

17 label is all but falling over itself in rushing the release of huge chunks of marvelous music. Most of these numbers need no comment — the performances are classic. The first four selections are played by the Mound City Blue Blowers, which in this case means McKenzie, Condon, Glenn Miller, Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins, Al Morgan, Krupa, Bland, and (on Tails pin and Never Had a Reason) Weldon "Jack" Teagarden. What a splendid mixture of whiskey and talent! The music on the record makes you feel warm all over and seems to get better with each playing. Red McKenzie made blueblowing about as musical as anyone could. Glenn Miller is much more than a curiosity; he wails with everyone else. And Hawk — well, he had the sound on tenor and was always swinging. His solo on Hello Lola moves something like Johnny Hodges used to. A.1 Morgan did much of the pushing on Lola that kept everything buoyant. And then there's Pee Wee. The reluctant spark-plug. Playing twenty-five years ago, he was still his amazing self. With breathless anxiety and unpredictable whimsy, Pec Wee invariably moulds a counter-melody that defies analysis and thrives on its own beauty. He is, I think, one of the really important people in jazz. Copenhagen is by Boyd Senter and supposed to have Mezzrow on tenor as well as McKenzie. Sounds something like Mezz's shuffling, but not too much like Red. This was recorded, incidentally, within a few days of the Blue Blower dates, but doesn't stand up as well today. Serious Thing and Stomp were made earlier, and are often considered prototypes of a number of "mixed" recording dates that followed. Of course Mezz was there, and together with Happy Cauldwell made up a pretty frightening sax section. Leonard Davis and Teagarden were there too, and made the whole business worthwhile. A real giant was Jack Teagarden. There are two takes of Stomp Henry Lee to chew on. The quality of these records far exceeds that of similar pirate reissues a few years ago. {Label "X" LX-3005) (R, B. H.) john mc andrew bars of the melody follow: not, alas, from releases of that period, which would give added authenticity, flavor and recapture the style of a bygone day as nothing else could, but by a syrupy, strictly 1954 Concert-Style Studio band. With so little time to spare, Hildegarde is allowed two lingering choruses of Lili Marlene, one in German ; and the present-day voices of several old-time stars are used, including Rudy Vallee and Gene Austin. You sit back and ask yourself incredulously: How could they! Yet the answer faces you on the cover of every single reissue every last Major company releases: an apology that the recording of the sides is not up to today's preeminent standards. They simply don't know, and are incapable of understanding, that such a record has done something priceless: stopped Time in its flight, and imprisoned that particular moment forever as no artist or recording of the future ever could do again. That Victor, with by far the largest and most comprehensive library of priceless masters of yesterday should be the one to give this watered-down version of Vaudeville is something that defies reason; and needless to say, Jessel's juvenile explanations, with pointed references to his own contributions, would be far less disturbing on the jacket of the LP. True. "Show Biz," the book, was an incredibly commercialized, Hit Parade affair, and "Show Biz," the LP, is perhaps a worthy twin. Nevertheless, even if only top popularity were to be given grooving space, what of Victor artists John Steel, Ailecn Stanley, Billy Murray, Marion Harris, The Revelers, The Duncan Sisters, Henry Burr, Van and Schenck, Lambert Murphy, Waring's Pennsylvanians, Ohman and Arden, Coon-Sanders Orch, Jesse Crawford, Ada Jones, Sousa's Band, Pryor's Band, Victor Herbert's Orch, The Peerless Quartet, Al Jolson, Reinald Werrenrath, Will Oakland and many, many others? leadbelly {Continued from Page 1 ) Riley have appeared in Disc albums 660, 734 and 735. I would guess that the remaining material comes from a vast body of acetates thoughtfully taken down by Moe Asch over the years. The quality of the dubbing is good and this LP displays the same careful editing that is found in the first Legacy volume. LEADBELLY'S LEGACY: Volume III, 10" Folkways LP FP 24 Pigmeat/Black Snake Moan/Roberta, Parts i and 2/Fort Worth and Dallas Blues/See See Rider/Daddy I'm Coming Back To You. Several items in this LP definitely merit close attention. In Black Snake Moan we have a perfect example of a song changing in oral tradition. Leadbelly learned this from Blind Lemon Jefferson when the former was a constant companion of the blind singer during his formative years. Blind Lemon recorded this same song for Paramount early in 1927 (it's now available on Riverside RLP 1014). The Leadbelly version is a little more boisterous, displaying his personal adaptation of the song, though retaining traces of Blind Lemon's distinctive guitar playing, noticeably the short runs after each verse line. (Leadbelly's instrumental introduction is far more elaborate.) Even some of Leadbelly's intonation, the holding of the opening note, "Oh — Oh," is identical to the Blind Lemon recording. Both Black Snake Moan and Pigmeat come from the early Columbia masters discussed before. The version of Pigmeat on this LP precedes, in time, the version on the second Legacy volume. The notes by Frederic Ramsey are excellent and the recording good. No texts. LEADBELLY LEGACY: Volume IV, 10" Folkways LP FP 34 There's A Man Going Around Taking Names/Easy Rider/ Red Bird /Line 'Em/T.B. Blues/ Jim Crow/Bourgeois Blues/ Army Life/ Hitler Song. The material included here is not all folk, in that much of it has not passed into the oral singing tradition. Jim Crow, Hitler Song, Bourgeois Blues and Army Life are all Leadbelly originals. Bourgeois Blues first appeared, in "Negro Sinful Songs," M-31, recorded for Musicraft in 1939. I do not think that this is a direct dubbing of the song as it appears in that album. A Man Going Around Taking Names is well known and has appeared on other records in poorer versions. The remaining songs I have heard sung by quite a few people, but never with the convincing authority that Leadbelly gets across. The notes are only fair, and no texts are included. CLASSICS IN JAZZ: 10" Capitol LP H 369 Ella Speed/On A Christmas Day/Sweet Mary Blues/ Western Plain/Tell Me Baby/ Backwater Blues/Take This Hammer /Irene. This is the best-recorded Leadbelly around, and it's too bad the material doesn't match up. I'd like to catch the A. and R. man who thought Leadbelly's twelve-string guitar wasn't accompaniment enough and so backed him up with a zither. Yet, despite all the polish, the old Leadbelly comes through, a little trimmed around the edges, but the old brash, uncaring force, the false titles and the band credits sound reminiscent of his earliest work, can "still be detected. More down to earth versions of most of these songs are available on other labels. But, if you have never heard Leadbelly, live and up close, this is probably the nearest you'll ever come, for the sound is really good. If you care, the zitherist is Paul Mason Howard. Jac Horzman RECORDS WANTED I AM INTERESTED IN BUYING OUTRIGHT small or large collections of Jazz, Sweet, Swing, Personality, Blues, Bop, or Pops. / will pay spot cash for such collections. If you have a collection you wish to dispose of, please write, giving full details of the collection, type, artists included, labels, and most important of all please describe the condition of the records carefully. Then set your lowest price for the lot. I do not buy piecemeal but will take all or none. WRITE, WIRE, OR PHONE BILL GRAUER, Jr. lp.8 West l).9th St., New York 19, N.Y,