The record changer (Jan 1955-Dec 1957)

[vious labels. Also due soon on the market an LP by folk singer Jesse Fuller who ran assortment of guitars, harps, kazoos, harmonicas along with his vocals. Alugh seeing Jesse strumming the strings h his feet as well as hands is half the fun, I] record should be interesting listening, hon Ewell presented a piano recital of ■ Irks by Morton, Hines, Waller, Johnson, | til., to an enthusiastic Sunday night crowd. |t| was one of a series of attempts by Jldon Kees to make a ramshakle old ba'rn ■ Itch he has acquired and named the 'powplace" an entertainment center. Ewell |i continues to develop, and given a break j'e and there would maintain his position ijthis postwar era's best traditional jazz | Inist. Jay Region opinion seems almost unani^ jus that the newest Turk Murphy LP on i 'umbia is his best, especially the brilliant ifenta/ Strut. One query, however: was it [urely necessary to completely ignore the pence of Everett Farey on trumpet when i|ting the notes? As a youngster in a pack ^seasoned veterans, Ev handled himself jj:ndidly, and though not with Murphy H longer, credit should be given for some iiipetent horn work on the record. EHIND THE COBWEBS .abel of the month: As promised in Vol. No. 1, in our discussion of the Roy croft :1, this month's rarity is the Wise label, arently marketed by the same company ' later was to be the sole distributor of croft. Specimen shown is Wise 3008. label is black with the picture of an , the name Wise, the crossbars beneath h, the circle around the label, and the ppany name and slogan in white. Titling n gold. This color scheme and general ifflt of the label is exactly like that of the Emerson 3000 series, bearing Consoli:d Record Corp. credit, and late Dandy es. "A" side shown in our cut is I'm ma Charleston Back To Charleston 91 ), while the reverse is / Love My Baby V Baby Loves Me) (3808), both as by ifornia Melody Sync. Masters are clearly b the ERL-Consolidated 3100 series (see . column, Vol. 14, No. 2). 3691 also ears on Dandy 5090 as by Georgia iody Makers while 3808 is to be found ler the Georgia name on Dandy 5137 and 'it least three Grey Gull family labels with log number 1329. These latter, all as by \ City Six, are Radiex, Supreme and khell. The Wise 3000 series of catalog •ibers does not duplicate the Emerson one 3008 couples two different masters. Wise would seem to date about late P or early 1926. The record is in the ection of Perry Armagnac. ow we'd like to drive the final nail in the n of the "Mills" Myth! As long s we recall, collectors have referred to the ie Perfect, Cameo Romeo Lincoln Variety, Banner-Regal-Domino-Oriole-Jewel groups (and some others as well) as "Mills" labels. As near as we can make out this was based on the frequent use of the Mills name in pseudonyms and on composer credits, and the obvious interchange of masters among the groups. All this culminated in Stilwell's Dating Chart and Bob Peck's "Millin' Around With The Mills" article (in this magazine, 1948). Since then we've read where one of Irving Mills' brothers was interviewed and denied that Irving or the Mills Music Co. had ever owned or operated the labels. Irving had, it seems, simply been given a free hand by these variouscompanies to select the musicians and tunes for their record dates and carry off the recording sessions. Perry Armagnac and your columnist have been researching in the trade magazines of the 1920s for The Syndicate and have unearthed further facts to show who ran these labels and when they changed ownerships. 17 A very brief capsule recap on the history of these labels before the "Mills" period ( 1926 to 1930) is indicated. Cameo began in 1922 and the Lincoln label was added in 1923. The Cameo Record Corp. merged with a radio manufacturer in 1924 and losses from this end of the combine caused bankruptcy in 1926. The record company was reorganized and continued to issue records with Romeo and Variety 1926 additions to the label stable. Plaza Music Co. first issued records with the Banner label at the end of 1921. Soon after they acquired the Regal label from Emerson and in 1924, under the name Domino Record Co., began the Domino label. Oriole and Jewel have never been proven to be issued by anyone but the former after its appearance (with Grey Gull and Emerson masters at first) in 1923, shows virtually all Plaza masters, and the latter, begun about 1926, is a similar case without the preliminary flirtation with Grey Gull and Emerson masters. The Pathe One of the Most Important Books FOR JAZZ SCHOLARS By ALAN P. MERRIAM With the Assistance of ROBERT J. BENFORD Published by the American Folklore Society Here for the first time is a truly monumental bibliographic tool in the field of jazz studies. Merriam and Benford have indexed, cross indexed, dissected and listed every book, article, critique, magazine, etc. published anywhere in the world which contained material of any real importance in respect to jazz music. The American Folklore Society is one of the world's leading academic organizations. In publishing this excellent volume they have made an important contribution to the serious study of jazz music. Superbly Printed and Bound. ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY. Immediate Delivery Shipped Parcel Post Prepaid. $£.00 BOOK DEPARTMENT THE RECORD CHANGER 418 West 49 Street New York 19, New York