Year: 2024

From the Record Shelves #307 – I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise – The main attraction on this Paul Whiteman LP is the outstanding recording of Rhapsody in Blue. But there are also some early successes, including Whispering, the real big one from 1920 (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #63 – Love Is Here to Stay – I just have to sing this wonderful George Gershwin tune. And it’s got to be very slow. And then I had to play a cornet solo after that. The lyrics are not too bad either, here they are: It’s very clear, our love is here to stay (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #306 – Just Too Soon – The pianist as a solo instrument should imitate an orchestra, said Jelly Roll Morton, and his follower Earl Hines is surely one of these one-man bands. The tempo and the timing on a number like this are bound to (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #62 – You’ve Got to See Mamma Ev’ry Night – This tune has, if not nine lives, at least two. Like many other ones. It was popular by recordings of singers and early bands like The Georgians and Ladd’s Black Aces around 1923, then disappeared (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #305 – Medley – Biopics are more or less irritating, but much is forgiven in this one because of the good acting of Danny Kay and the participation of Louis Armstrong. Maybe it should be seen as a film loosely inspired by the life of Red Nichols or (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #304 – Give Me Your Telephone Number – According to the label, J. C. Higginbotham, an extraordinary trombone player, is also the composer of this nice 32-bar conventional popular tune with an additional likewise conventional (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #61 – June Night – Here’s a couple of choruses on a song that, now that autumn has finally taken over, is bound to have a strong touch of nostalgia. In case you want to sing along, here are the lyrics: Just give me a June night The moonlight and you (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #303 – Panama – Here is another short and lively rendition of the traditional jazz tune “Panama.” Orson Welles’ is the announcer who lets you know the personnel of “The New Orleans All Stars.” Big names that either have kept themselves (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #60 – Make Me a Pallet on the Floor – Here’s another exercise in ensemble playing. It could also be called “warming up the instruments.” It’s a traditional number with possible “dirty” lyrics, as in the case of Jelly Roll Morton’s Library of Congress (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #302 – I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed – I have a strong impression that a 1930s Fats Waller recording session was a hilarious affair. No arrangements, not any unusual instrumentation that called for extra efforts from the studio men (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #301 – Every time I Feel De Spirit -This is a very pleasant record. The music is taken from two Lang-Worth transcriptions that Clarence Williams made in 1937. It cannot be compared to the more serious classics that gave Williams fame within (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #59 – True Blue Lou – Here are a couple of choruses and a vocal on a song about a dame who didn’t manage to pick the right guy as you can learn from the lyrics: She was a dame in love with a guy. She stuck to him, but didn’t know why. Ev’ry-one blamed her (…) read more and listenread more and listen