Top 50 Jazz Blog

Top 50 Jazz Blog

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Interracial Jazz Recording (#41) Bing and the Mills Brothers

You get both sides of Bing here-the crooner and the scatting hipster. The Mills Brothers do their thing, including close harmony and vocalisms of instruments-tuba and muted trumpet. A nice hot track.

Bing

Mills Bros.

Bing Crosby Vocal, acc. by the Mills Brothers (q.v. for personnel) / Frank Guarente, t /Will Bradley, tb / Les Dreyer, Bennie Krueger, as / Max Farley, ts / Fred Glickman, Max Solowsky, vn / Joe Meresco, p / Eddie Lang, g / Hank Stern, bb / Larry Gomar, d. New York, December 16, 1931.

  • Dinah- Br 6240, Hist H-622, AoH (E)AH40, Col C2L43, Jonzo (E)JZ-12, Masters of Jazz (F)MJCD802 [CD]; Dinah-Jonzo (E)JZ-12



Sunday, July 20, 2025

Interracial Jazz Recording (#40): Fletcher Henderson and Dick Robertson

We've seen white vocalist Dick Robertson a couple of times with black orchestras. Here he does his usual peppy performance with a Fletcher Henderson outfit. 

Dick Robertson

                                         

  

Fletcher Henderson

"Oh, It Looks Like Rain" is the choice tune from this recording session. It was written by Y.P Harburg, known for his collaborations with Harold Arlen and Milton Ager, composer of more confectionary tunes like this one, as well as "Ain't She Sweet" and "Happy Days Are Here Again." Coleman Hawkins often carries the heaviest solo load for Henderson, but there's nice solo work here by Russell Procope on alto, Edgar Sampson on violin, Rex Stewart on cornet and Claude Jones on trombone.

Fletcher Henderson and His Connie’s Inn Orchestra: Rex Stewart (cnt) Bobby Stark (tp) Claude Jones (tb) Russell Procope (cl,as) Edgar Sampson (as, vln) Coleman Hawkins (ts) Fletcher Henderson (p,arr) Clarence Holiday (g) John Kirby (tu) Walter Johnson (d,bells) Dick Robertson (vcl) July 31, 1931.

  • Oh, It Looks Like Rain– vDR-Vic 22786, Zon EE-275;
  • Sweet Music– vDR: Vic 22775, HMV K-6390;
  • My Sweet Tooth Says I Wanna (But My Wisdom Tooth Says No) – vDR: Vic 22786, HMV B-4911;
  • Malinda’s Weddin’ Day– vDR: Vic 22775, HMV B-4911, BB B-5518

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


Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Interracial Jazz Recording (#39) Sidney Arodin and the Astoria Hot 8.

This was the house band in the Astoria Hotel in New Orleans in 1928/1929-hence the name. Most of the players in the group have impressive jazz resumes. For example, cornettist Lee Collins took over when Louis Armstrong left King Oliver. Al Morgan, powerhouse bassist, played with everyone. 

Sidney Arodin


Lee Collins

Sidney Arodin is our racial "odd man out" in this otherwise black group. He wrote the song "Up A Lazy River" with Hoagy Carmichael and also played with, among others, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Wingy Manone and Louis Prima. Arodin is a simplification of either the name Arnandan or Arnondrin and Sidney's family was French (not Creole). Arodin may or may not have played with the rest of the group at the Astoria, as a mixed-race group sharing a stage would have been pretty much unheard of at that time. 

This is the group's only recording. "Damp Weather" has a few more traces of ragtime than the other tracks, but all have the propulsive, bluesy polyphonic sound characteristic of New Orleans.

Jones and Collins Astoria Hot 8: Lee Collins, c / Sidney Arodin, cl / Theodore Purnell, as / David Jones, ts / Joe Robechaux, p / Emmanuel Sayles, bj / Al Morgan, sb, v / Joe Strode-Raphael, d. New Orleans, November 15, 1929.

  • Astoria Strut- Vic V-38576, BB B-8168, Bm 100;
  • Duet Stomp – vAM Vic V-38576, BB B-8168, Bm 1001;
  • Damp Weather- BB B-10952, Bm 1002, Magnolia 9;
  • Damp Weather- Merritt 1 (LP);
  • Tip Easy Blues- BB B-10952, Bm 1002.

All recordings drawn from my book As Long As They Can BlowInterracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.



Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Interracial Jazz Recording (#38): Annette Hanshaw and James P. Johnson

Annette Hanshaw came from a vaudeville family and rose to the top of the pop-jazz heap in the late 1920's-to 30's. She recorded about 250 sides and sold millions of records. Later in life, she spoke of how nervous she was performing and recording, but she knew how to sell a tune and was dubbed "The Personality Girl." Some of her renditions can be too cutesy, but she does a nice job here on "I'm a Dreamer," by the successful songwriting team of Ray Henderson, Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown. 

Annette Henshaw





 

James P. Johnson

It's an unusual instrumentation. Manny Klein seems the likely trumpet player and two pianos-James P. Johnson on "lead" and Clarence Williams on 'backup.'

Annette Hanshaw acc by The Three Blue Streaks: Annette Hanshaw (vcl) acc by prob Manny Klein (tp) James P. Johnson,Clarence Williams (p), New York, December 4, 1929.

  • I’m a dreamer - Aren’t we all ?- Har 1066-H, Phontastic (Swd)NOST7608;
  • If I had a talking picture of you- Har 1066-H