Interracial Jazz Recording (#45): Mound City Blue Blowers w. Hawkins and Foster

Red McKenzie and Eddie Condon were two of the great organizers of combinations for recording in the late 20-'s-early 30's. Often putting together interracial sessions.  

Pops Foster

Red Mackenzie

This Victor session features great playing by several players. McKenzie is always convincingly hot playing his comb-and-paper, a comb with a piece of paper, often newspaper, placed over it. Russell and Hawkins are great as usual and even Glenn Miller takes a convincing turn. Apart from Hawkins, the other black performer was New Orleans stalwart Pops Foster on bass.

Mound City Blue Blowers: Glenn Miller (tb) Pee Wee Russell (cl) Coleman Hawkins (ts) Eddie Condon (bj) Jack Bland (g) Pops Foster (b) Gene Krupa (d) Red McKenzie (comb,vcl) New York, November 14, 1929.

• Hello, Lola- Vic V38100, RCA (F)FXM1-73245, 741103;
• If I could be with you one hour tonight- Vic V38100, LPV501, (G)LPM501, RCA (F)FXM1-7325, 741103

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

Interracial Jazz Recording (#43) Bud Freeman and Sid Catlett

This group, organized by Eddie Condon, is white except for drummer Sid Catlett, who leads a rhythm section that cooks. Black arranger Alex Hill provided the arrangement for the tune I'm featuring here, "The Eel." 

Bud Freeman

Sid Catlett

                                              

"The Eel," written by Bud Freeman, is an interesting tune. Although the solos are over blues changes, the actual tune is very different harmonically. The changes are stepwise or static and the modal implications are obvious. There's good trombone work by Floyd O'Brien, a typically idiosyncratic Pee Wee Russell solo and a nice muted Kaminsky solo. But the recording is known as a showcase for the fine tenor work of Bud Freeman.

Eddie Condon and his Orchestra: Max Kaminsky, t / Floyd O’Brien, tb / Pee Wee Russell, cl / Bud Freeman, ts / Joe Sullivan, p, a / Eddie Condon, bj / Artie Bernstein, sb / Sid Catlett, d. New York, October 21, 1933.

• The Eel: Br 02006, Col 35680, Dec M-30368;
• The Eel: Br (E)02006, Philips (Eu)436008A-JE, Family (It)DP697;
• Tennessee Twilight– aAH: Br 01690, A-500406, Col 36009, DS-1574;
• Tennessee Twilight– aAH: Col 36000;
• Madame Dynamite: Br 01690, A-500406, Col DS-1574, UHCA 64, Par R-2938;
• Madame Dynamite- Col 36009; Home Cooking- Col 35680, JZ1, Family (It)DP697, Tax (Swd)m-8019

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

Interracial Recording (#18) Billy Banks and Company

Billy Banks

Billy Banks is a singular character. He sang and entertained as a male and as a female impersonator, in jazz, cabaret and vaudeville settings. He was working in Cleveland when the ubiquitous Irving Mills, on a business trip to Cleveland, caught Banks' act and signed him to a contract. He brought him to New York to headline at Connie's Inn in Harlem. Mills hired guitarist-bandleader (and equally ubiquitous) Eddie Condon to put together a band for what turned out to be 4 recording sessions. 

Of course, as a mixed band, they could not perform publically. Billy Banks worked around New York for a short while, then went on tour in Europe, eventually settling in Tokyo, Japan.

The lyrics of this track, "Oh Peter," fairly reek with subtext.  It's a great performance and there's an excellent solo by Sullivan. Red and Pee Wee's playing, as always, is great. Eddie Condon and Jack Bland play lutes with plectrum necks made by the Vega Banjo Company. 

Billy Banks and his Orchestra (known on other sessions as The Rhythmakers): (Mixed Group) Henry Allen, t, v / Pee Wee Russell, cl, ts / Joe Sullivan, p / Eddie Condon, bj / Jack Bland, g / Al Morgan, sb / Zutty Singleton, d/Billy Banks, v. New York, April 18, 1932.

• Bugle Call Rag: Ban 32459, Or 2483, Per 15615, Ro 1856, UHCA 109, Br 01590;
• Oh Peter (You’re So Nice) – vHA: Col 35841;
• Margie– vBB: Ban 32462, Or 2487, Per 15620, Ro 1861, UHCA 110, Br 01561,
• A-500199;
• Spider Crawl– vBB: ARC unissued. NOTE: Columbia 35841 as The Rhythmakers

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