From the Record Shelves #229 - That Da Da StrainFrom the Record Shelves #229 – That Da Da Strain – In June 1929, Red Nichols led another session under the name of Louisiana Rhythm Kings. The distinct New York style of his Five Pennies is here in this sextet, but it’s loosened up after about one minute with (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #157 - SugarFrom the Record Shelves #157 – Sugar – In Eddie Condon’s book We Called It music (1947) it’s said, not by him but by his co-author Thomas Sugrue: “the white musicians that went to the Lincoln Gardens, the Sunset Café or the Nest knew that however (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #95 - Don’t Give Me SympathyFrom the Record Shelves #95 – Don’t Give Me Sympathy. According to Edmond Hall himself, this nice little song was one that they often sang and played at home when he was small, and it stems from the 1890s. Home was in Reserve, Louisiana but Edmond (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #87 - The EelFrom the Record Shelves #87 – The Eel. There is a lot of good music on the LP especially among the 1933 recordings, but I simply can’t pass over Bud Freeman’s “pièce de résistance”. The title is good, if you never saw the action of the slippery creature (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #85 - IndianaFrom the Record Shelves #85 – Indiana. When I hear this I can’t help thinking about a passus from Eddie Condon’s book We Called It Music. In a chapter called “Young Man with a Cap” it reads: “The next day we got up as the train came into Cleveland (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #48 - Bugle Call RagFrom the Record Shelves #48 – Bugle Call Rag. As I remember it, it was quite a shock when I put on this record for the first time. I didn’t expect such playing in 1932 with a small group playing a free improvised ensemble. I suppose that Eddie Condon plays (…) read more and listenread more and listen