From the Studio
From the Studio
opening the door to other daily activities
As you may have seen here, I’m quite busy listening to and enjoying records. But I am also playing.
There are different sorts of motivations for that. One is that if somebody asks me to come and play, I usually do so when the conditions are reasonable.
Then there is the need to play and the inspiration to do it. When I listen to well-produced pop records or classical music, I’m just enjoying it, but when I listen to jazz, I almost always find ideas about something to add or something to use as a base for creating something new. It speaks to me, and I want to join in the fun!
As I have a room that I like to call my home studio and a lot of good vintage instruments, I will make recordings and let anyone interested have a listen.
I do not want to impress or try to sell myself, but rather want to introduce you to nice tunes and sometimes whole arrangements. Like in a jam session, there will be ups and downs, and that’s only natural.
From the Studio #85 – A Precious Little Thing Called Love – The tune that comes from my studio today was written by Lou Davis and J. Fred Coots. I first heard it by McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, and later I discovered the one by Annette Hanshaw, among other vocal versions (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #84 – ’Leven thirty Saturday night – This nice little song that I have recorded now was written by bandleader Earl Burtnett and two others and was published in 1929. I first heard it in an English version by Ambrose and his Orchestra, and later I’m also digging it by Fess Williams. (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #83 – I’ll Never Be the Same – I associate this song mostly with Venuti-Lang and Billie Holiday in two very different versions. It was written by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli, and it was originally an instrumental with the title Little Buttercup. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics that (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #82 – I’m Sorry I Made You Cry – The jazz heroes Jack Teagarden and Eddie Condon are the main responsible ones that transformed this sentimental ballad into a possible jazz vehicle and inspired me and others to play and sing it. “I’m sorry, dear, so sorry dear I’m sorry I made you cry (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #81 – I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now – I had a friend; he’s gone a long time ago, but when I first met him, we went on a long tour. He didn’t go into details, but I understood that he was unlucky in love and his girlfriend had left him. So he insisted that we should play this tune (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #80 – Rhythm King – This particular “King” was immortalized through recordings by such icons as Bing Crosby with “The Rhythm Boys” and “Bix and his Gang”. It has a good major/minor feel and the verse and chorus goes very well together. In all a tune that should be played more often (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #79 – Don’t Blame Me -With Valentine’s Day approaching, I give you a love song, one of the best. I first fell for it when I heard the great singer Ethel Water’s version from around 1930. Don’t blame Me for falling in love with you. I’m under your spell but how can I help it! Don’t Blame Me (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #78 – Fool Me Some More – Hearing a recording with the young Bing Crosby, when he had left Paul Whiteman and had a short engagement with Gus Arnheim’s orchestra on the West Coast, inspired me. I sing this lovely tune that I never heard by someone else and play some clarinet and cornet (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #77 – A Blues Serenade – This nice, little 16-bar melody is quite haunting and has a fitting title. In an early Vitaphone short, we can see Jimmy Lytell as he performs it on clarinet with The Capitolians. It’s written by Mitchell Parish in collaboration with pianist Frank Signorelli (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #76 – I Left My Sugar Standing in the Rain – Inspiration for this song came first and foremost from a recording by Bing Crosby with Paul Whiteman’s Rhythm Boys, where they incorporate it with Mississippi Mud. Later I found a favorite also in an excellent recording by Adrian Rollini (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #75 – Every Now and Then – I used to play and sing this song with a New Orleans Revival orchestra, and it was quite a success. I got inspiration from one of my 78 rpm records with Red McKenzie. Here’s the lyrics: “Ev’ry now and then there’s a long-ing in my heart, Ev’ry now and then (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Studio #74 – He’s Not Worth Your Tears – This song got fame from a recording by Jimmie Noone with a vocal chorus by Mildred Bailey. I do an instrumental version. But if you’re out of luck in love and want to give air to your woes, the words are here: “The story’s over he’s gone away (…) read more and listenread more and listen