Variety (Sep 1935)

38 VARfETY Night Club Reviews HARLEM, N. Y. Part of Harlem may be moved to and the Bronx must come to Harlem to get all the loca;i color there is. There seemingly can be no compro- mise. Connie's Inn oh Broad way has been one manifestation of trans- planting black-and-tan nltery enter- tainment--downtown, for- eonvenl- ence, but the other Harlem cafe on- treproAeurs are , not a,mlss In their . theory that part of the I35th street and Lonox avenue appeal is the long tais:-i>l<ie>uptown. It's ail part of ihe slumming excursiort and nocturnal -^dventm:e-Jhat goea-Klth ,Harlftm. _ Right now, and all through the summer, there ai-e three highlight hot spots. They're the Cotton Club, priding. Itself as being 'the aristo- crat of Harlem,' the Ubangi Club (nee Connie's), a bit mox-e lowdown, and Dickie Wells', even more low- down. Cotton Club this Is the 36th edition of the 'Cotton Club Parade' series. Ted Koehler's name has gone up oyer the billing in place of Danny Healy's as the floor show entrepreneur, and a good show it Is. The. 'Truckln' novelty sorig and danqe,. a produc- tion of the newest Harlem strut, Is doing the trick, for the >,public sock appeal. Koehler and Rube Bloom authored the entire show, Ellda "Webb and Leonard Harper putting on. the dances; orchestrations by Will Vddery, Claude Hopkins and Alex Hill; plus other credits, The dance band, and very good, Is Claude Hop- kins.who now features his freak top tenor soloist, Orlando Robeson, be- cause of the ether rep this baiid has built up. Besides the 'Truckln' dance crca- tlon, 'Cotton,' an old-fashioned camp meetin' (revival), and some stock NITERY ORATOR ELIZABETH HOUSTON and DAN . HARDEN FIRST APPEARAKCE RAINBOW ROOM-GRIIl Rockefeller Center, New York Dlreetlnn: HENRY WIESE PnoUne Cooko Office. comedy routines • by . Miller, (cx the late Aubrey Lyles) and Mantah, are the outstanders. For name effect, Xlna Mae AloKlnney is featured; but outsiJe onier~''Gb"off Io'r~NofKfii'T'oe7'" a street-walker specialty,, she does little; but look nice. She's attempted to niake herself further 'interesting' by an affected white streak of hair whlcii is a" flash if nothing else. The champ looker in the outfit Is Lena Home, a beaut in any shade of color, who makes It so tough for the rest o'f the company tbat she's, purposely eased on and off quick after hv uurobers, otherwise.they'd be aim looking at her. A chorine I wh o was develope d oiit of the Cot^ ton CTub ranlTs two seasons" ago^ Miss Home is a delicately-featured maduro-shaded Ingenue, about. 18, -who'll probably be grabbed for pic- tures. She works opposite the nice looking Babe 'Wallace, juve. al- though jxiore; high-yaller than the comely Miss Home. Whether it's manager Herman Stai'k or the production staff. Miss Home has been rigidly tutored to do her song and dance and romance chores with impersonal unaffecta'- tiousness, and the audience reaction is,the more effective. Seemingly un- concerned by her extraordinary per- sonal pulchritude. Miss Home and Wallace handle their juve assign- ment in great style, Butterbeans aind Susie are another comedy pair. Cora LaRedd is the Individual hk. of the show because of her 'Truckln' song-leadihg. It's a show-stopper and may well fulfill the program's billing that It's the country's next dance craze. Just as Undy-hopplhg, etc., came out .of Harlem. Three Rhythm Queens are a versatile h'oofing trio, each with a'different style of terplng. Juano Hernandez is a good second lead, best in the camp meetin' number. Cook and Browi) are legmania spec- ialists. There- are 16 choristers and seven boys; also a fantastic sort of a panze for the 'Truckin' bit. Be sides the Hopkinites. Jessie Cryar and his Rascals (6) are dusky rhythm purveyors before and be tween the major sessions/ Ubangi Club On the sfte of the former Connie's Inn, alrcopied and one of the nicest Harlem nitery interiors, is the Ubangi, a bit more hotcha than the Cotton, but with ad elaborate a floor show. Joe Springer maViagos aiid Leonard Harper puts on th« produc tion; special songs by Andy Razaff and Lou Crawford. Principals are' Mae Johnson, dusky Mae West; Gladys Bentley, with her own peculiar spicy song style that's very. Harlem; Lee Simmons, Dusty Fletcher, Pearl Balnes, Bobby Evans, Edna Mae Holly, BilUe Dan- iels, Bunny Brlggs, Velma Mlddle- .ton. Brown and Brdwii, 3 Speed Demons; 12 girls; Erskine Hawkins and his Bama State Collegians, a sizzling band; and piano-table workers in between the halves. The specialist^ are. all. professional a.nd combine into a hot show. No couvert charge (nor Is there one at the Cotton), minimum $1.B0 and $2 (weekends), as against the $2.60-$3 minimum at the Cotton Sam Fraser's Plea Slaves Licenie— But Not $1,000 Fine Detroit, Sept, 17. Because Sam Fraser, Its proprie- tor. Is . a convincing orator. Oriole Terrace, svyanky hiteries, hag es- caped the padlock. Biit, despite the pratory. i.t c68.t .Fraser;a.$l,OOp fine,; State Liquor Control Commlssibh last week ordered the club's license, revoked indefinitely for selling liquor on Sunday, but Fraser Jumped tot his feet and launched a 20- inute plea for leniency, and won. MAYRiS EDWARD CHAMEY»dFOX Helplnc to Mttke flip R\Tanky CLUB DB.«VVIM.E . FHANCISCO The Talk of tile West Coast Mow 20th. Conmcntlre iVeok Ensmrement -ExtcDded Inileflnltely Club. Dickie AVells Real lowdown, with jet touch of Ethiopian rue Blonde! atmosphere is Dickie Wells, the old Shim Shim club on West 133d. It's a basement hot spot, where Kenny Watts and his sizzling sextet get up plenty of heat from a kazoo band. Instead of the reeds and the brass, the kazoo trio is backed by piano, bass viol and drums, and a corking dance combo it is, too. Wells, Mordecai and the late, Billy Taylor are . .t-wo-thlrds represented in this establishment. Wells and Mordecai both do floor as well as managerial Interludes. Billy Orlffih, Joe Smothers arid Hannah Sylves- ter, latter the saucy table worker doing hot grinds, makes this spot okay for the wlndup; Doesn't heat up until 4 a.m. and at its peak at 6 in the morning, on a 'good nl^ht. Scaled more modestly. It gets 50-75 npr cent native trade, as :israInst the ns ner cent ofays that patronize the C C and the Ubangi. Aiel HEALY'S (NEW YORK) . Jack White is the jgeneral facto- tum, leading spirit, combination host, nri.c. and prlnplpal funster at Jim Healy's madhouse on West 52d street. During the summer It had an outdoor garden and was a hot spot despite the weather; now with the cooler temp it's a fave, stay-up and wind-up haunt. The same waggishnesSi which dis- tinguished White, Lillian Fitzgerald, Danny Healy, et al. in their previous tomfooleries Is ! highlighted here, MINORX ROOT ST. REGIS HOTEL, NEW YORK Management C.8.S. ARTIST BUREAU LEAVING PAR Hollywood, Sept. 17. Nat FInstoh winds up as head of the Paramount studio music depart- ment Sept, 24 and will not renew his pact with the studio. He will take a month's vacation and on returning will connect with another major studio on deal now being closed Irvln Talbot, who has been acting as Flnston's assistant at^ Paramount,. .will move up to take charge of the department. ASCAFs Classification Conunfttees' Meet Set Classification committees of the. American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers meet Thurs- day (26) to go over the ratings of the membership preliminary to the distribution of the third-quarter money. Publishers' ranking coterie will be presented by Remick with a request that the Arm's classiflcatlon be i-eturned to where it was three- quarters ago.. Committeo at the time dropped the Warner Bros, subsid out of what was formerly known as Class A. Among other publishers due to maiie a bid for promotion in claq- siflcation are Joe Morris and Harry. Engel. Disc Reviews By Abel Green Dave Bernie's Bkptcy . Dave Bernle, band leader, giving his address as 147-37 Beach Ave., Flushing, Xi. I., filed a voluntary, pe- tition in bankruptcy in the federal district court in Brooklyn, N, T., last week. Schedule which the brother of Herman and Ben Bernie attached to his petition listed liabilities as $1,501' and.assets, none. FBIMA m N. 0. New Orleans, Sept. 17. Louis Prima has niDved up his play date for hls appe&ranpe at his brother's, Leoii-Prima's, Shim Sham club. He will open Sept, 18. From here Prima goes to Holly- wood, Nathaniel Shilkret on deal with Hal Roach to handle music for Lau- rel and Hardy's 'Bohemian Girl.' only that White does it as a virtual solo, although Eleanor Blake is good foil. She sopranos seriously and cuts up not so serious. Healy and Miss Blake's travesty version of 'Cheek to Cheek' isn't exactly as Irving Berlin meant it, but it's funnier, especially after midnight. Unhappy Trio, alias the Beale St. Boys, featuring Jack Bland,', vet of the Mound City Blue Blowers, dishes up the dansapation. Bland's former associate. Red McKenzie, makes merry a few doors up 62d street at the Onyx with the same style of advanced jazzlque. Boom Is a drop-in but always good for a laugh. Long, bar does ,50% of the gross; at tables there's $1 mliilmum check, Joe Frisco Is a paying entertainer regularly. Hanging around the spot, he's pressed Into service for. scenes, blackouts and general knockabout. If not on the payroll by now he should be. A-spot like Healy's is the answer to the 25 or 30 Joints all concen- trated on West 52d,- between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Each figures on benefiting from the other. No telling what" will attract the nocturnal staggerrin' and outers, and onie spot pulls biz for the others. West 62d is New York's Mpntmartre and any one of the garish boltes, catering to all types and tastes. Is likely .to en- joy unexpected witidfalls. Abet In the ultra-modern swing vs. the orthodox dansapation field, the re- Te&'sSs ■a?6''aB6m'evienTy'aiviaett.-<Jab-^ Calloway on Brunswick 7504 tee9 off with 'Nagasaki,' now the 'ole nash' <Har)emcse for 'national anthem- of Llndy-hop addicts) backed by his own inimitable hi-de-ho version of; 'Miss Otis Regrets' (Cole Porter), Plenty sizzling and snappy. Another dusky troubadour is Fats Waller and his Rhythm oh Victor 25116 with "The Girl I Left Behind Me' whl.pb Jie ^ifffji?^ft^,ln onSP.H simulation of a serious barytone and lhejX-intcujila-.rharantftriBtlC--.'i\vJbOLg..- 'Truckln' out of the 26th edition of the Cotton Club reyiie (Ted Koehler- Rube Bloom) Is more Harlemese by Wia,lier on the revefse. It's the new- dance rhythm. Not dusky but equally heated are the Louis Primaites on Brunswick 7499 with 'Weather Man' ,a:nd 'Plain Old Me,' wherein the maestro also does his Own characteristic warb- ling. Bob Howard on Decca 524 with 'I Never Saw A Better Night' and 'Painting the Town Red' utilizes these ditties as framework for bis own brand of planOloglstlc flwlng- ology to self vocalraccomp. For a change of pace, Eduardo Bianco and his famous Argentine orchestra (Brunswick 7606) evidence with their two tangos, 'Ventl Iglla' (J. Peccl) and 'Tentadora' (A. Corhejo) why their fame and name has penetrated the U. S. Composer AguStln COrnejo vocalizes his own tango comiiosltlon and Manuel Blan- co does the vocal .chore on the re- verse. Very authentic South Amer- ican rhythms. A departure for Johnny Green Is Smolen's ari'angement of 'Frultas,' snappy rhiimba, with the piano- conductor at the Ivories. 'I Niever Saw a Better Night' from. 'Old >Ian Rhythm' (Lew (Sensler and Johnny Mercer) Is a smoother foxtrot bal- lad with Marjory Lane, Jimmy Far- rell vocalizing and Green again at the Steinway for the keyboard di- does. An unusual arrangement both. Vocals The vocal entries finds Lanny Ross accomped by Russ Morgan's ore on Brunswick 7496 with 'I'm in the Mood for Love' (Flelds- McHugh, a crack writing team that's no more, incidentally, after many years) backed by 'I Wished on the Moon' (Dorothy Parker's lyric to Ralph Ralnger's swell tune). Both from a' Par pix and sympathetically tenored by Ross, himself a Par flliher thiat was. Ethel Merman, accomped by Al Goodman's balton, gives out 'The Lady In Red' from 'In Callente' (Dlxon-Wrubel). with 'It's the Ani- mal in Me' from 'Big Broadcast,' a' pair of novelty ditties, distinguished by La'Merman's usually vivid vocal style—Brunswick 7491. If they like baby talk, Mae Ques- tel's two from 'Curly Top' (Shirley Temple pic) will please on Decca 540. The Betty Boop Girl gives out 'When I Grow Up* and 'Animal Crackers In My Soup.' A local vocal yokel vogue is Pinky Tomlih around Hollywood. He writes for , and also does vocal-hls- trionic chores in pictures. 'Sweet' and 'That's What Ypi, Think' , are two of his collaborations from Unl- versal's 'King Solomon of Broadway,' sung by Pinky with Russ t'lummer's orchestra as backer-uppers. Bruns- wick 7502, and just for the Pinky Tomlln addicts. Not so limited Is Nelson Eddy's vogue. Victor' 4284 (ret. seal label, which is another distinction in Vic- tor's hall of musical fame) couples 'Auf Wiedersehen' from the old Her- bert Reynolds-Slgmund Romberg operetta, 'The Blue Paradise,' backed by 'Love's Old Sweet Song.' Na- thaniel Shilkret's musical accomp is as distinguished as the barytone's rendition. Smoother Dance More, from the Coast. This time oh tlie hoof. Jimmie Grier im- mortalizes 'Hollywood and Vine,' a cute flirtation song by Grier- Moraine, which the maestro does briskly. 'In A Little Street Cafe' (Conrad-Dreyer-Scholl) is equally meritorious song timbre and snap- plly Interpreted by the Grier jazz- Ists. Larry Cojtton and Dick Webster on the vocals. Brunswick 7505. Ted Fis Rito also coasts In with 'Roll Along Prairie Moon' from the Metro-lied Lowis film backed by a waltz, 'Kalua Lullaby.' The maestro collabed on both. Muzzy Marcellino, Flo Rito's fav© vocal interpreter, the Debutantes and a mixed chorus mix In on the lyrlclzing. Brunswick 7507, - Orville Knapp.'and his orchestra/ another " fast' up 'n' coming Coast entry, gives out 'Take It Easy' and 'Speaking Confidentially,' both from Wanger-Par's 'Every Night at 8* film (McHugli and Fields). Decca T539. Oh Decca 538, another Par pic excerpt, 'Why Stars Come Out at Nlghf (Ray Noble), via the 'Big Broadcast' film, backed by 'I Want to Learn to Spealk Hawaiian* (this time by Johnny-not Ray Noble), also a, fOx; fJorman RuVell and Edith Caldwell vocalize. As ever the ^vnoDtlr'KTHrpxrda:nsapatioir"f«tttt3r:53 that odd isteel-gultar break which set a vogue for other dance orches- liatorsv ■ Leo Reisman sustains eastern honors with 'A Sweet Beginning Like Thla.' .^distlnculahed .Ybung<^ Ahlert foxtrot ballad, and Harry Woods' 'Whenever I Think of You/ waltz, Briipswick 7492 and Frank Liither oh the vocals. Eriric ,MadrigUera On yict(jnJ25ill8: recourses' to the Blng Crosby-Par .JCd5iurjfeJ3tW.Qj;silJriy).l£M..^.a.D^ Out 'Takes Two to Make a Bargain' backed by 'I Wish I. Were Aladdin,' another, good Gordon-Revel, song from the same film. Smooth dansa- pation., Tony Sacco vocalizes, along with a male trio. More Gordon and Revel 'Two for 'Tonight' soiigs are by Richard Himber and his Hotel Rltz-Cai-lton orchestra on Victor 25119 with 'From the Top of Your Head to the Tip of Your Toes,' backed by 'With- out a Word of Warning.' Fertile and worthy Par film score has per- mitted the Hlmberltes to do orches- tral tricks with the arrangements. Melodic, smooth- and yet dance- compelling, Stuart Allen now on the vocals In lieu of Joey Nash, erst- while ace Himber vocal soloist. Brunswick's brace of tiptop dan- sapation features Hal Kemp on. No. 7403 with 'Page Miss Glory' and ■You're So Darned Charming'; and on No. 7603, 'The Gentleman Obvi- ously Doesht' Believe In Love' coupled with 'So Nice Seeing You Again,' an above-average Dixoh- Wrubel song from 'We're in the Money' (WB). Kemp's rhythmic reeds and generally snapper dansa- pation are up to par. Maxine Gray, Skinny Ennis and Bob Allen On the vocals. Freddy artin's ore. gives out 'Brokenhe£|,rted, Troubadour' alrid 'Puppchen' In like smooth style on Brunswick 7494. Elmer Feldkatrip and a chorus -on the vocals. Don Bestop (Bruns. 7496) with 'The Simple Things In Life' and 'Animal Crackers,' both from 'Curly Top,' Neil Buckley and Joy Lynhe respec on the vocals, and more expert danceology. Teddy Wilson (Bruhs. 7498) Is smooth and hot with 'A Sunbonnet Blue' and 'What A Little Moonlight Can Do'; on No. 7501, 'I Wished on the Moon' with 'Miss Brown to You' ('Big Broadcast' filmuslcal excerpt),- also snappy. Good jjlanology and brass 'work In the arrangements. Billie. Holiday ofllclates vocally In all foxtrots. Okay for the. hoOf. ROBBINS'CHATS NO FOOMN' "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin' " Prom M-G-M's "BrondwoT Melody of 1030." Looka like a new Robbins* buU^s eye. A great Bond from the sreat score of a great musical movie. Also featured In the same production are: '•You Ara My Lucky Star" "On a Sunday Alternoon" '•Broadway Rhythm" ''Sing Before BreakfatI" P.S. —By the.wny, don't for- Bet: "I'm In the Mood for LevV "You're All I Need" "Roll Along Prairie Moon" "Tender U tha Night" ROBBINS MUSIC CORPORATION 199 -Sr VI N I H AM NUI -M V<, ^ORK N A N Y A AND D R I G O Nonr at Roosevelt H«itel New Orleans, I.a. "The girl is one of the most sparkling dancers . . . It ib her oxceptlonal grace and .delica;te technique- com- bined with the partner's, odd angular lifts that raises this team way abovo the ordinary level. Girl is dramatic and know.<i how to emphasise her best points of beauty," CRevlew from "Variety") Ilooklngs Through MAURICE GOLDEN 1560 Broadway, New York City JACK rAIT writes: Marlon and Randall, the twice-around O10be> trotting Dancers, with a girl added us a trio, :'are tops'; better known In watering spas of the world' than their home-town, Chicago. THE RANDALLS V/orld'Famous Dance Trio RBEN MARDEN'S 11 I V 1 E R M THE BIVIERA -OF -AMERICA