Sweet Georgia Brown
CD Retrieval RTR 79055
Ben Bernie had a good dance band that, a hundred years ago, played in the newly opened, fashionable Hotel Roosevelt in New York. Located in the heart of Manhattan, the still-standing Hotel Roosevelt now serves as housing for asylum seekers.
Bernie also co-composed Sweet Georgia Brown, a tune that is one of the most played in jam sessions all over the globe, not always treated well. But here we have it in the original form, recorded on March 19, 1925, and released on Vocalion.
Reed players love to run through its changes, which logically follow the circle of fifths, and in this version we hear an early saxophone improviser. He was Jack Pettis (1902-1963), and he had already made an impression as a pioneer with his C-melody sax while recording in Chicago with The New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Later he was leading a recording group based on members from Ben Bernie’s orchestra, which resulted in some beautiful records. Saxophonists Bud Freeman and Lester Young have mentioned him as a source of inspiration.
Strangely little was known about his activities after the 20s, but with the introduction of the internet, there suddenly was a home page, with the participation of his family members, and now you can learn everything about him and see photos from their scrapbook.
Apart from Pettis solo, Ben Bernie’s Sweet Georgia Brown has no room for jazz improvisation, but it has intense playing, especially by the brass section, and gives us a chance to hear the verse.
There also exists a Vitaphone short with the same arrangement and personnel, and Pettis’s solo has been billed as the first filmed jazz solo.