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

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

Interracial Jazz Session (#23) Waller, Williams, Justin Ring

Call it jugband jazz. We have the prolific pianist, composer, singer, producer Clarence Williams and Clarence Todd, a vocalist who also played ukulele, piano, and on these recordings, kazoo. Then, we have Fats Waller, just a couple of years after his first recordings.

Justin Ring and Fred Hagar

  

Clarence Williams

                                          

The last performer is Justin Ring-not a well-known name. Ring was associated with hundreds of recordings, from around 1900, mostly as an arranger, also as a pianist and "percussionist." Here, he plays woodblock.

Waller always works, of course, and there are also some nice solos and polyphonic kazoos.

Jamaica Jazzers: Clarence Williams, Clarence Todd (kazoo) Fats Waller (p) Justin Ring (perc) New York, c. May 10, 1924.

• You don’t know my mind blues- OKeh 40117, Classics (F)664 [CD];
• West Indies blues- OK 40117, Od 03196;
• Note: Classics 664 [CD] titled “Fats Waller 1922-1926”; rest of this CD by Waller and others, Both above titles also on JSP (E)CD927 [CD] titled “Fats Waller - The Complete Recorded Works, volume 1”

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

Interracial Jazz Recording (#21) Bessie Smith & Eddie Lang

Bessie Smith earned her title as Empress of the Blues. She managed to be both powerful and able to express a wide range of emotion. Clarence Williams was a whirlwind-pianist, songwriter, producer, promoter, singer and publisher. As noted on previous posts, white guitarist Eddie Lang shows up on many mixed sessions. 

Suggestive doesn't really cover the "blue-ness" of the lyrics in all these tunes. 

Bessie Smith (vcl) acc by Clarence Williams (p) Eddie Lang (g) New York, May 8, 1929.

• I’m wild about that thing- Col 14427-D, CG30126, Swag (Aus)JCS3374, CBS(G)LSP14100, Jass 5;
• You’ve got to give me some- Col 14427-D, CG30126, Swag (Aus)JCS3374, BBC (E)602;
• Kitchen man- Col 14435-D, CG30126, Bilt 1040, HJCA 613, Murray Hill P315996;
• Note: Mx 148486 misprinted on some labels as “You’e got to give me some”
• All above titles also on Roots (Eu) RTS43015 [Cass], Columbia C2K-52838 [CD]

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

Interracial Sessions (#12): James P., Smeck (?) and Robertson

Today's entry is a bit controversial. This is a group put together by composer, pianist, musical entrepreneur Clarence Williams. There's no doubt that he used a white singer-Dick Robertson. There is a question whether or not the guitar/banjoist is Roy Smeck, also white. It may be Jimmy McLin. 

Clarence Williams

Roy Smeck

Robertson was on inumerable sessions during this era, many of which were black groups with him on vocals. Even if Roy Smeck was not on this session, he was on many other interracial recordings. As early as 1924, Smeck recorded with black musicians under the name of Alabama Joe. 

The discography lists Smeck as playing guitar and steel guitar (stg), but I hear the musician playing guitar and banjo.

"Jimmy Had a Nickel" has a slightly "older" feel for 1934 jazz. There's washtub a la jugband, and it's a two-beat with a heavy tuba line, but it still swings. Allen plays nice cornet lead and a short muted solo, James P. Johnson rocks on piano and Scott plays a wailing solo on clarinet.

Clarence Williams and His Orchestra: Ed Allen, c / Cecil Scott, cl / James P. Johnson, p / Roy Smeck, g, stg / Cyrus St. Clair, bb (tuba) / Floyd Casey, wb (washboard)/ Dick Robertson, Clarence Williams, v, New York, January 17, 1934.

• Jimmy Had A Nickel– vDR- Voc 2629;
• He’s A Colonel From Kentucky– vDR- Voc 2629, EBW W-121;
• Pretty Baby, Is It Yes Or No?– vCW- Voc 2718;
• Mister, Will You Serenade?– vCW: Voc 2676, Br A-86050

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