Don Redman Archives - Paul – and some of that Jazz

From the Record Shelves #339 – Papa De-Da-Da – Step into the time machine and travel back a century. On March 4 in 1925, a band under the leadership of Clarence Williams was in the studio to record and promote one of his own compositions (in partnership with Spencer Williams). His wife, Eva Taylor (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #316 – Take a Good Look at Mine – This is from one of the last Victor sessions by Jean Goldkette’s orchestra. But it’s not the fabulous, ultimately too expensive, 1927 outfit that we hear. Still, there is much to enjoy. They have a light rhythm section with precise drumming, strong brass (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #291 – Then I’ll Be Happy – The LP starts with 1923 and Fletcher Henderson had a good and interesting orchestra already. The brass instrumentalists play with conviction and feeling and the saxophone team of Don Redman and (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #283 – Doin’ the New Low Down – Today I enjoy an album with music from a show called “Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1928.” After having successfully produced an album with music from “Showboat,” Jack Kapp at Brunswick Records continued (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #281- You Call It Madness – I have about five or six favorites among tenor sax players, and Don Byas (1912–1972) is one of them. He had big band experience from Lionel Hampton’s, Don Redman’s, Andy Kirk’s, and Count Basie’s great orchestras (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #275 – I Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle – Before leaving New York for Chicago at the end of 1925, Louis Armstrong had one last session. The leader was the very busy pianist, composer and manager Perry Bradford, who called his studio band (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #261 – Linger Awhile – I was old enough to work, and I had some money to spend. I went and ordered some records. It took time, but finally I got a letter saying that they had one of them, and it was this one. Was I disappointed? No way (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #26 – Tea for Two – Vincent Youmans’ ingenious tune with clever words by Irving Caesar has been interpreted by many. I like, among others, a well-arranged version by Don Redman’s Orchestra from the thirties. The changes are a bit too difficult to (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #227 – Miss Hannah – This record that I bought second-hand has Coleman Hawkins signature on the back of the sleeve. Thus, I feel like choosing a tune where he is featured on the record that otherwise has two different sides. On the first (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #188 – Beedle Um Bum – This is one of the first LPs that I bought in my life, and it is still one of the best. I had seen it in a shop, and when I had saved up the money I went back. This was in the 1960s, and I was naive when I was shocked because (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #173 – 31st Street Blues – When I started to listen to jazz, I learned many things from the books. One often repeated “truth” was that Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra was nothing but a common dance orchestra until Louis (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #172 – Parlor Social Stomp – Once, when I was in Paris, I heard that the attendants of the museums held a wild one-day strike, so you could enter without paying. I made a quick visit to the Louvre to have a new look at Mona Lisa (…) read more and listenread more and listen