’Taint So, Honey, ’Taint So
LP Columbia CL 2830
It was raining like mad, but I was out on my bike. I had a very important business to take care of, which was buying a record. When I came to Leif Anderson he opened the door wearing his bathrobe. Leif was a radio personality and had a post-order business with jazz records; he was like a father to all of us who worshipped vintage jazz. “I was also caught in the rain and had to take off everything!” he said, in his characteristic hoarse voice. Nothing strange about this, but I remember it like it happened yesterday. And the record was good—and still is!
Speaking about fathers, maybe Paul Whiteman could be named as such regarding the modern dance orchestra. The typical instrumentation came from his orchestra, as it was organized in the beginning of the 1920s, I think.
Here we have an augmented version with a string section and some other instruments more associated with the symphony orchestra.
It was the summer of 1928, and they were at their peak, recording now for Columbia. In the fall, they would do several extensive and exhausting tours. In the orchestra, they had some of the best musicians in the world in each section, and on top of that they had the best singer in Bing Crosby, and some outstanding jazz talents.
Bix Beiderbecke is all over the place in this recording with his cornet, muted or open. Unusually, he plays a solo on the tune’s verse. Frankie Trumbauer is responsible for the bassoon solo, with some help on the low notes.
The song is from Willard Robison, and the one saying “’taint so” is a certain old aunt called Phoebe Law in Arkansas.