Variety (November 1924)

VARIETY ■■'■' ' ?'flrT^.-WT-y" ^-T^Tr MUSIC f -^v .cj?l^ ^:«ice^.i 't*-: .>f' ^'wvf^^r. :i r' T. ''^Vtlf?yi i i< Wcdnesdajr, November 19, IMI BAND and ORCHESTRA REVIEWS I^AVE HARMAN and His ' " Orch*«tra (11) 'Cind«r«ll« Ballroom, New York. f. XXave Hartnan'a orchestra, a mid- }■. WMt dance favorite through its ex- tended runs at the KucUd Gardens, Cleveland, and the big ttallroom In Akron, is the new dance feature at the Cinderella, New York. Harman's •roh^stra not only dispensep worthy 'I'tfance music but is further distln- .guished by its novelty. It is an en- j^ tartalntng orchestra featuring its F. comedy Interludes as a change of *:9ace from its symphonic and rhyth- .--tnlc qualities. ^:. Harmon, who plays a corking 'trombone, for instance comes up front for vocal solos of pop num- bers. He sells his stuff in an in- 'Umate manner, getting into the :^^Irit of the thing by singling out '^e regul.irs of the floor and getting ttiem to Join the choruses, etc. Har- nuin al90 features a com*^ falsetto tor the songs written in .tV? opposite gender and in that wise clicks. His Instrumentalists alternate In the ac- Oomi>animentB, the sax and the brass sections in turn standing' up for a concerted musical response to sotpe •( his lyrical quips. The band is a la Jan Garber> CMnblnation, a novelty, singing, en- t^rtalnifig and dance otjsanlzatton with their ability aa dance music purveyors not th^ least of their tbKtia. Charles Young Is the vloltniaj and director, incidentally handling a fl.OOO'Nlcholas Oflgliano vibtin. The Shx section comprises Joe Vannucci, Paul Knoft and Cy Chrlstner. Van- nucci being the arranger also and very good too Judging by some of the symphonic numbers. Hartin Oregor and John RobnBrtion are. the rtnunpets; William Wydcr, bass; ,0«orge Lewis, piano; James-Barry, bcinjo; RaliA Lhringood, ,drums. Human, trombone loader. It's an ideal ballroom organlza- tlwB «nd already they are "set" at fh«'Cinderella. Ahel. PRANK WEtTPHAL ORCHES- TRA (•) OmuviIIs, ChlMa*> Frank Westpbnl 1^ trying out a saw combination tor this Intimate mfe. He has omitted tbe heavy Itrnss. Westpba) / has aphieved qqite a tepatatlon as a leader, bav- Ing furnished the music at tbe Blkiftbo for a number. of years. Tbs present aggregation meas- WM up above the average fof a ■ix-irfece combination.,Several nov- elty arrangements are introduced tor (lance music. The 'buxom boy, wllD resembles Paul Blese somewhat and handle^ a like instrument, steps ont every now and then, getting "red hot." This is practically a saw combination and will improve When becoming more accustomed to one another. For the sise of the cafe the volume is adequate. The Instrumentations are pi&no, TloUn, two saxes, banjo and drums. OOK eiSENBOURQ'S SINFO- NIAN8 (9) Amber Room, Cook's Restaurant Beaton, Mass. Changes In the management and policy of Cook's Restaurant are the reasons for Dok Eisenbourg leav- ing Terrace Gardens, the Wayland, Mass., roa^ouse where he made a name for himself last winter. Cook's had, until two or three weeks ago, been run as a combination caterer's shop, bakery and restaurant, with a "Gold Room," where dancing went with the food. Convinced that this heteregeneous policy was not so Valuable as a straight dine - and - dance routine would be. Cook decided to divorce the catering and bakery department from the dining-rooms. The Gold Room was changed to admit a larger orchestra and decorations of an am- ber tone were introduced, sulflcient in number to warrant tiie appella- tion "Amber Room." Speclflcaily, the changes consist of depressing the rear wall and the In- clusion in the space provided there- by of an elevated orchestra plat- form. This platform is backed by a unique tapestry-like cyclorama of bizarre Oriental design, contempla- tion of which reveals much that Is Interesting. Its material consisU o( odds and ends of everything imag- inable, from what Is alleged to be a part of a petticoat belonging to Cecil Sorel to a cloth pocketbook wliich had its origin at the World's Fair in Chicago. A note of the con- struction of this Interesting curtain would not be amisf on the inenu cards, It isn't good shov^anshlp to pocket your trumps when you are most In need of them. As for the orchestra Itself, It Is a splendidly drilled, businesslike or- ganisation. EUoh member executea bis afslgnfeents with preclslAn. abil- ity and WUb the eaar confidence C' ' :h Is born of many "sets" played tber. No Individual excellence projects, because It Isn't that type of orcbestra. Eisenbourg himself has a fine, gentlemanly personality. He looks like and Is a good musician, playins YtoUn; «nd It Is to his ambition, temt>ered with good sense, that t^e orchestra owes its rapid rise to the high position which it has attained In local musical eifcles. The personnel of the orchestra Is as follows: Hacry Myher, drums and tympanl; Henry Eisenbourg, tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet and 'cello: Angust Korpl. E-flat and soprano saxes and clarinet; Richard Crook, trombone; Eugene Gri^nada. trum- pet; Fred Winn, sousaphone and string bass; Arthur Smltl^ ptano„ and Frank Mondello, banjo - and guitar. The Sinfonians are the featured broadcasting orgacizatloa out of the new Edison Light station, WEEI, here. Norto*. Harmonica Band Middleboro. Mass., Nov. It. The supervisor cS. muslo In the public schools here, W. B. Phillips, has organised an or- chestra of harmonica players. There are nearly SO mem- bers. TROMBONIST IN CLEVELAND \ PAYS $S2U13 Ji, ^/ ■■"•Cleveland, Nov. 18. "^ Bhowdom can be proud of Cleve- land'S payer of the largest Individ- i|al Income tax recorded here, C. H. ||^tat«r, formerly a trombone player IB a local orchestra and inventor of tha Oabrtel born and Gabriel snub- bara. He paid f82Ult.l8, Foster's history reads like a page ' £rom a Horatio Alger novel, havfaag ^■tarted out a poor boy and fighting his way to the top. as his return ■hows, revealing a romance of business. Twenty years ago Foster played A trombone.-hi the orchestta of the Old opera house. At that time he eoneelved the ttTea of an auto horn ■oonded by power from the engine exhaust. Musically Inclined, he farthered t^e idea by attaching the mwlcal horns that later became kaowA aa the Gabriel horn. He mad* his first fortune from this iBTOntion. Later he augmented It bjr Invention of the shock snubbers. Ba ia president of the Gabriel ^BMlbbera Co. ;j.;i^A-: $6,500 FOR WHITEMAN BALLROOM CIRCUIT OF 26 WEEKS Scheme EvblTed for Or> chestrM a» Road Show An ambitious ballroom circuit idea will start- tunctioalng shortly under the direction if National At-> tractions. Inc., organised under the laws of the State of New York and capitalised at |l,Me,0O0. Papers will be filed In Albany this week, with L O. Beck, J. E. Horn and George F. Baright the incorpor- ators. William Morris will be chairman of the advisory boar^ Beck is the owner c' a chain of ballrooms in the Middle West, in- cluding the Euclid Gardens, Cleve- land, and another new place now Horn Is general manager of 'Vin- cent Lopes, Inc., and Baright is a local financier. The plans calf for a 25-week cir- cuit, the corporation either to book, build, own or control dance halls in aa many cities, the orchestras to circuit the . plaoea In one-week atands. Another 20 cities win be divided into three-)'\y stands. Recording or^eatraa will be fea- tured and routed aa email road show attractlona, with an advance man. Individual lobby displays and advertialiog nwtter to a^jptent It. The executive officea' ^11 be In Cleveland, with tha booking done from New York. Rehearsal halls win be maintained for training and auditions of bands. A (ranohloe aratem is beln^r worked on to Include Important ballrooms throughout the courtry and interest them In the idea of playin; n new attradti n weekly as against a permanent band. 400 Standees at Carnegie Saturday Night ^ The flr.1t New York concert ^ Paul Whlteman and bis orchestra at Carnegie Hall Saturday night was a sell-out at $3.80, the 400-odd standees swelling the gross for the night to t6,SeO. A last-minute rush for ducats found many disappointments, the agencies also reporting a demand but no supply because of the ad- vance sell-out. F, C, Coppicua has sandwiched in an extra metropolitan performance at the Brooklyn Academy Saturday afternoon, Nov. 29, at three. This will be a day after the second local concert, Nov. 28, at Aeolian Hall. The big event, the Metropolitan Opera House concert, will come to pass Dec. 28. JUDOMSHT 70S 70HE8 A. L. Jones, of Jones A Oreeii (The Bohemiajis, Inc.), haa token Judgment for $52t.70 against Wal- ter Donaldson, baaed on a |600 note for moneys advanced. The com- poaer was given fSOO advance roy- alty for some song ^aterial which he never 'delivered. x Arthur Lange Doubling Arthur Lange and his orchestra of 14 are doubling this week be- tween the Fay's Follies and the Mark Strand theatre. The ban4 la the featured "presentation*' at the picture house. It Is a return date for the orche*:tra, which will be held over another vieek. , OLSEfTS REASO^(S George Olsen and band resigned from the Beaux Arts for a number of reasons. Florena Ziegfeld, In whose shows ("Follies" and T'Kld Boots"), pisen Is the dance fea- turer couldn't see the idea of the band appearing after-theatre. Ziegfeld promised to look after the bays' interests with' supplemen- tary engagements at society func- tions, and has thus interested him- self in the Olsen combination. Zieg- feld h8M already been instrumental in booking several choice social events. Zlggy couldn't see Olsen's play- ing at the Parody Club when that engagement waa first offered the Ziegfeld band, and the Beaux Arts' engagement was therefore some- what ot a surprise since the man- (tger was known to have objected Quite streanousljr to any cafe doubling. ismmmsi By ABEL GR]^ Song Sharks and Amsteurs ,. A news atory from Varlety'a Seattle correspondent which referred to a proposed copyright Infringanoent suit to be Alad la the local U. 8. DIatcIci Coitrt shortly for copyright Infringement of a aong, is another Instande e( misguided amateur songwriters getting themselves and others Into needless trouble. Vincent F. McCann, former U. S. N. gun« OCT'S mate, has engaged counsel to contest his alleged grievance agalnat 'the Milton Well Mualc Co. of Chicago over the aong "Never Again." The detolla are that McCann wrote a aong by that name in 1821 In collaboration with George Graff, Jr., and publlahed by the World Muato Publlatateg Corp.. 241 Wea*. 47th atreet. New York. Graff la new under Federal Indictment aa a aong ahark, together with the World Co., alao oC the "song aha^" school. McCann previously was one of the many ama- teurs who was being bilked by the pseudo-music companies that preir on guileless songwritlng aspirants of hia type. ^ MUton Weira "Ne^er Again" U the work of lahom Jones and Qua Kohn. famous songwritera, who need filch from no one. Kahn'a reputa- tlon aa one ot the greateat lyricists of all times Is too weU established for him to borrow anybody's Idea. ' Meantime, if McCann does fUe court papers It means needless annejr« anoe to the legitimate pubUahara like Weil, and to hliiikelf. Cliff Edwards' Disk Income Supplementing Variety's story last week about CUff Edwards, alios "Ukulele Ike," his disk Income from the Pathe records is not only 8S8,«0O for the coming yeor at the rate of tl.OOO a disk for 88 "cannings," but also Includes an additional royalty of 8 cents on each record. A conserva- tive estimate ot on average ot 50,000 records i>er release at the 3 cents' royalty will Increase Edwards' Pathe record income another 830,000 or a total of *5S,Me on the year. Edwards' disk sales ore increasing rapidly. Starting at 25,000 turnover on a number; his "Bed Hot Mamma" is said to have gone to 110,000, and "It Hod to Be You," 200,000. Edwordi really put the Pathe record, a popular priced 89-cent disk, on the map. So muoh so that he Is automatically taking other Pathe releases along with this as good aellers. It parallels the Brunswick's (isychology with Al Jolson, who receives 810,000 a recording. The latter figure eliminates any chance for profit, but it lends a eertlan prestige to the Brunswick product ttMit Is bound to carry the other numbers ot the same label along with it. '' .' ^ ^ V t "Names" en Minor Bancis under construction in the same City.^ the propaganda tn' these columns that,"name" bond leaders should not risk their reputations by sending out Inferior units under their own names haa had~ some good effect. One prominent orcheatra leader admitted that he waa halted in his promiscuoua booklnga of minor bonds with his name tacked on for this reason. A contemporary bandman, however, who also has been rather watch- ful of his step in the booking of only worthy organiaoUons erred recently by booking an inferior unit with o production. The musicians' Mrretohed performance resulted in half of the men being sent bock to New York because of the^' muatcol mediocrity with a telegram to the band leader odvlslng that if good xuetL cannot be sent on the bo^clag abouU M considered cancelled. .'J,;"., ;t. ; ' » r *• VAS; " "'"-* ' llyrort Oa/a Ariietei ' ^■;«--.- ^ Byron Gay's series of articles In Variety oil the "medtaQioar* phase ot the music business has Woh fdr him some criticism as a fanatic, but It bos also brought attention to bis writings and to hlsa. Sonoe music men concede the fact thot Gay's theory la to be Mkened to a ptctnre dis- tributor who con reguUte a choice booking at the Strand for Harold Lloyd's "Hot Water," for instance, with the emallor fry being limited la benefiting therefrom until several weeks or months later. Gay argues similarly tbAt a \BOng should be the copyright owner's solo property for licensing as to whichever "mechanicaU" company he desires Without having olj the record or roll convpanies declare themselves In on the prlirllege of "cann^n^ it in exi^iange for a two cents' iroyalty. .•.th;,5-J;; Forbes Garden Reopening Pittsburgh, Nov. 18. The Forbea Garden, which opened last year only to doae in a few weeks, win make an attempt to come back next week. The new management plana o change over the old aystem of relying solely on a dance clientele, and will intro- duce o revue.- -^ Bob Reid, formerly of the Will King' Co., has tuken over the revue at Marquard's cofe, SaU Francisco, succeeding Jack H6t1and, •now at the Granada. ^ ., . , 12-inch Records a Sueeeaa ^ The 12-Inch dance disk idea which Victor has been experimenting with has created a demand from the public. Paul Whlteman and hia orcheatra made the first two records, and now George Olsen and Hia Music oro the featured band on the next large-sised record which will be released Dec. 6. Olaen has made "Toodles" and "My Baby's Baby Blue EJyes," both Berlin, Inc, eopyrighU. The "house" band, the International Novelty Orchestra, on the reverse has "canned" "Ida, Sweet oa Apple Cider** and "Roll Them Roly Boly Eyes" as fox trots. ^ This diaj^ pays a total of eight cents' rpyalty for the four songs. Victor's Unusual Publicity Paul Whlteman Is being accorded unusual publicity by the Victor. In the last "Saturday Evening Post," the back page advertisement fea- tured Whlteman. This is a precedent since the Victor company's theory has been to exploit its concert ond operatic soloists only, figuring that the popular artists can take care ot themselves. In the "ad" Whltemen la "plugged" both as a populor and concert artist. Another exploiUtion feat by Victor has been the reprinting in o spe- cial booklet of the superlative press nfttices Whltemen received from the Chicago critics. These booklets have been circulated in the trade and to the dramatic editors. ■ ,. ■ _____.•■'•■•: '.■'.'.y ' "■"■'■ Broadway Ballrooms' Buainesa One of the newest Broadway ballrooms is already experiencing dif- ficulty In Us finances through poor business and cannot pay off the musicians on time. SUIl another Is not doing as well as It should and was expected to. BOREO'S LTRIC TO OLD SONG Emit Boreo, the beaux Arts ca^c "Apache Rose." ghaplrO, Berhsfilji & Co., Inc., have Accepted It for publication. It ia a reverse' "M'y Man" theme. reverse Lopez and Wiuteman Bands at Same Dance Both the Paul Whlteman and Vin- cent Lopes orchestras will be op- posite each other os Joint dance features at the mammoth ball at Madison Square Garden New Year's Eve. under the auspices of the Ele- phants, Inc., o social organisation which has the RInglings interested. The admission will be scaled at 83 a head. Whlteman's Piccadilly Orchestra will play opposite Lopez's own band with Lopes scheduled to make ,a personal appearaii<:e for. a short time. Whlteman's pohccirt four bars him from appfsariiig^.' SPDtDIEBS nr "YAHITIES" Harry Spindler and his orchestra Join Earl Carroll's "Vanities" In tw6 weks following the completion ot 4 Boston engagement, previously coa« traded for. Spindler came to at- tention at a back-atage testimonial party in honor of Carroll last Mon- day. entertainer, has written the lyric to %>-»_■ *»«.i<r«w». Dantl en'TMii. an old French melody and tjtle^ It J *•* Confrey • Band tO TOUr Sex Cbtifrey and, hU Victor 1^9- ordthg orcheatVK, oj Paul Whlteman unit, start on a dance tour Jnn. 1 ..through Illinois and Michigan. BANJOS New Catalog — Just Out ' 'HE BACON BANJO CO . Inc ChOTON, CONN