Interracial Jazz Recording (#33) Putney Dandridge & Nappy Lamare

Putney Dandridge

                             

Putney Dandridge was a piano player, vocalist and showman, in the style of Cab Calloway.  You can  see him in Harlem is Heaven, as accompanist to Bill Bojangles Robinson. Dandridge gigged on 52nd St. and other venues around town and faded from the scene in the late 1940's, possibly because of ill health. 

Nappy Lamare

Dandridge did some recordings in 1935-36 with a bunch of jazz all-stars. This particular session had two white performers, guitarist Nappy Lamare and bass player Artie Bernstein. Lamare doesn't get much attention, but he was a strong player, who could improvise well. Bernstein is always solid.

Roy Eldridge starts off "Nagasaki" with a "Yankee Doodle" intro (statement on colonialism?) and Dandridge enters with his "jivey" approach to the tune, which around that time was being covered by just about everybody. Harry Grey and Dandridge are both credited as pianists, and I think Grey can be heard while Dandridge does his scat chorus later in the song. Eldridge gets a brief sparkling solo.

Putney Dandridge: Roy Eldridge, t / Chu Berry, ts (where shown) / Putney Dandridge, p (where shown), v / Harry Grey, p (where shown) / Nappy Lamare, g / Artie Bernstein, sb / Bill Beason, d. New York, June 25, 1935.

• Nagasaki- pPD-HG- Voc 3024, Br A-81009, A-86038;
• Chasing Shadows- tsCB / pHG- Voc 2982, Br A-86033;
• When I Grow Too Old To Dream- tsCB / pPD- Voc 2982, S-34, Br A-86033

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”

Interracial Jazz Recording (#32): Seger Ellis, the Dorseys and Louis Armstrong

Seger Ellis

Seger Ellis had an interesting career. He was a piano player and good enough to be recorded as a soloist. He performed on radio and in vaudeville and was encouraged to sing. Although his tenor voice doesn't exactly swing, you can't say he was rhyhmically stiff or stilted. 

When he recorded for Okeh records, Ellis apparently got to choose the small studio groups he played with and looking at the lineup here, he obviously made good choices.                                                              

Satch

Nice clarinet intro by Jimmy Dorsey. The ensemble is active behind Ellis' vocal. Armstrong's solo is an actual improvisation, while Tommy Dorsey's take on the bridge is more of a paraphrase of the melody. Session man Harry Hoffman's ad libbing on violin is actually quite good.

At this point, there wasn't anyone who was called a "jazz singer," per se. Armstrong, Teagarden, Crosby, Ethel Waters and a passel of female blues/vaudeville singers were in the process of creating it. Ellis made his own small contribution to the process.

Seger Ellis (vcl) acc by Louis Armstrong (tp) Tommy Dorsey (tb) Jimmy Dorsey (cl) Harry Hoffman (vln) Justin Ring (p,celeste) Stan King (d) New York, June 4, 1929.

• S’posin’- OKeh 41255, Ariel 4459, Jazum 13, CBS 65251
• To be in love (espesh’lly with you)- Ariel 4460

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”

Interracial Jazz Recording (#31) Fats Waller and Gene Austin

Fats Waller, as I've noted, was a key player in early interracial sessions. On this recording, he's teamed up with a pop singing star of the era Gene Austin, who hit it very big with "My Blue Heaven." Austin sings in a light tenor, with good intonation. Although jazz ears might not love it, I find it pleasant enough. Waller sounds great in any context and excellent guitarist Carl Kress also gets a few moments in the sun. 

                  

"I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling," which became a standard, was co-written by Waller and Harry Link (whose his other big song was "These Foolish Things,") with lyrics by Billy Rose. "Maybe, Who Knows?" is by Johnny Tucker, Joe Schuster and lyrics by singer Ruth Etting.

Gene Austin (vcl) acc by orchestra: Leonard Joy (cond), Mike Mosiello (tp), Andy Sannella (cl,as), Yascha Zayde, Lou Raderman, Murray Kellner (vln), Abe Borodkin (cello), Fats Waller (p), Carl Kress (g), Dick Cherwin (b) William Dorn (d) or Joe Green (d) New York, June 26, 1929.

• I’ve got a feeling I’m falling (*)- RCA Vic VPM6056;
• I’ve got a feeling I’m falling (*)- Vic 22033, Classics (F)689 [CD];
• Maybe - who knows ?- Vic 22033, HMV B-3117, EA-593;
• Note: One take of (*) also on ASV Living Era (E)5217 73[CD], Take Two 414 [CD]. All titles from Vic 22033 also on JSP (E)CD952 [CD] titled “Fats Waller - The Complete Recorded Works, volume 6”; rest of 5CD set by Fats Waller and other leaders.

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”

Interracial Jazz Recording (#30) Bill Bojangles Robinson w. The Dorsey Bros. and Co.

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, dancer of reknown, appears on several early 1930's records with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Don Redman. Here he sings, scats and tap dances with a group of all-star white musicians. No solos, per se, but they all trade phrases and there's a fierce accelerando, leading to a lazy coda

Bill Robinson

Tommy Dorsey

There were other tap dancing jazz records, although the most well known is probably the set recorded by Fred Astaire (also a good piano player) in 1952 with Oscar Peterson.

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (vcl,tap dancer) acc by Manny Klein (tp) Tommy Dorsey (tb,ldr) Jimmy Dorsey (cl) Arthur Schutt (b) Eddie Lang (g) Joe Tarto (tu) Stan King (d) New York, May 27, 1931.

• Just a crazy song (bbr,band vcl)- Br 6134, MCA (Jap)VIM-4634/35, 3519/20, MCA 3520, Br 7705;
• Keep a song in your soul (br vcl)- Br 6134, 7705, Columbia 30183, Rivermont BSW1165 [CD]

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”

Interracial Jazz-Jugband-Blues Recording (#29). Jimmie Rodgers w. Louisville Jug Band

Jimmie Rodgers, called "The Singing Brakeman" and "America's Blue Yodeler" was one of the seminal early country musician-composers. He was known to have truck with black musicians, most famously on "Blue Yodel #9" with Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin Armstrong (I'll post it in the future).

 Earl McDonald on jug, Henry Miles on fiddle in outfits for their sponsors on WHAS-AM,
the Ballard Flour Company

Jimmie Rodgers

Here Rodgers appears with the Louisville Jug Band. Earl McDonald and Clifford Hayes were the leaders of the group, who, with some changes in personnel, were later called the Ballard Chefs and the Dixieland Jug Band.

Clearly, this is not jazz. It's jugband-blues, but you have some improv by George Allen on clarinet, Clifford Hayes on violin and Freddy Smith on guitar-not to mention some staunch jug blowing.

Jimmie Rodgers with Louisville Jug Band: Jimmie Rodgers (vcl) George Allen (cl) Clifford Hayes (vln) Cal Smith (bj) Freddy Smith (g) Earl McDonald (jug) Louisville, Kentucky, June 16, 1931.

• My Good Gal’s Gone Blues: BB B-5942, MW M-5014

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”

This is a pretty well-known session, which features a bunch of jazz musicians at the top of the heap. Bubber Miley is the black representative. He solos on "Rockin' Chair" and, as noted by Prof. Chalfen, probably does not play on "Barnicle Bill"- just Bix. 

Bix

Bubber

On "Rockin Chair," vocals are Hoagy and Irving Brodsky. Bubber, growling, and Bix both solo, with good work by Venuti and Lang.

There are three vocalists on Barnicle Bill: Hoagy takes the female part, Carson Robison the male, and at the very end, master practical joker Joe Venudi. Listen closely, as Venuti does not say "Barnicle Bill the Sailor," but Barnicle Bill the ______.

Hoagy Carmichael, v, dir: Bix Beiderbecke, c / Bubber Miley, t/ Tommy Dorsey, tb / Benny Goodman, cl / as / Bud Freeman, ts/ Joe Venuti, vn, v / Irving Brodsky, p, v / Eddie Lang, g / Harry Goodman, bb / Gene Krupa, d / Carson Robison, v. New York, May 21, 1930.

• Rockin’ chair (hc,ib vcl)- Vic 25494, V38139, LSA3180, Phontastic (Swd)NOST7618;
• Barnacle Bill the sailor (hc,cr,jv vcl)- Vic V38139, LPM2329, LEJ-2, Camden CAL383, Stash ST116

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”