Jazz in the Public Domain

Original Dixieland Jazz Band: Palesteena, Tell Me, Skeleton Jungle, Dixie Jazz One-Step, Mournin', Dangerous Blues (Al Bernard Voc.), Bow Wow My Mama Treats Me Like a Dog, Jazz Me Blues, Home Again, St. Louis Blues (Al Bernard voc.), Alice Blue Gown, The Sphinx, Look at 'em Doin' It.This is the third compilation after the Season 1 episode 8 tribute and Season 2 episode 46. Here is a mix that does not duplicate the last episode and is delivered without interruption. Some hits omitted in these twin episodes are found in the first show.

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band with intermittent piano by Clarence Williams. Royal Garden Blues (Al Bernard voc.), Darktown Strutters Ball, At the Jazz Band Ball, Clarinet Marmalade, Some of These Days. C. Williams: My Own Blues. OJDB: Soudan, Toddlin’ Blues, Sensation Rag, Lazy Daddy, Fidgety Feet, Indiana, Lasses Candy. C. Williams: Gravier St. Blues. ODJB:Tiger Rag, Satanic Blues. C. Williams: Weary Blues.Tony Sbarbaro’s percussion is evident particularly in Sensation Rag. LaRocca apparently taught younger people like Bix indirectly by phonograph, who had a worn out ODJB collection of otherwise durable shellac and covered the tunes on his own recordings. Armstrong in one of his books lavishes praise on the Dixieland. Edwards on trombone, Larry Shields clarinet, Henry Ragas and later J. Russel Robinson on piano. A quintet with sometimes the addition of a saxophone like Benny Krueger. Included for intermission is the house pianist here, the gifted Clarence Williams.

Clara Smith: Freight Train Blues, Cold Weather Papa, The Basement Blues, The Clearing House Blues. Clarence Williams: Gravier St. Blues. Clara Smith: War Horse Mama (Pig Meat Sweetie), 31st St. Blues. Clarence Williams: My Own Blues. C. Williams Blue Five (Armstrong and Bechet): Texas Moaner Blues. C. Williams: Weary Blues, C. Williams Blue Five (Thomas Morris with Bechet): House Rent Blues. Atlantic Dance Orchestra: Lime House Blues, Henderson (Billy Fowler bass sax): Doo Doodle Oom, C. Williams: Mixing the Blues.Clarence Williams composed Texas Moaner Blues with Fay Barnes, and Charlie Irvis is on trombone. Don Redman is on Clearing House Blues, War Horse Mama and Cold Weather Papa. Charlie Dixon is on banjo and Don Redman plays the goofus on Freight Train Blues. Fletcher Henderson played on several tunes including Freight Train Blues, War Horse Mama and Cold Weather Papa, on which he also plays the whistle. Smith’s vocal with Ernest Elliott and Charles Mattson in WC Handy’s Basement Blues is among the higher points of 1924.Comparable high points were reached by Clarence Williams on his solo piano records and with the Blue Five and also by Henderson’s Orchestra who are included here. Limehouse Blues fits in as one of the hits of 1924 bringing more orientalism or chinoiserie to the fox trot.Henderson played a big role in some of these recordings of Clara and gave her a modicum of the special production support Bessie Smith received in 1924. Clara was at home anywhere but particularly in Henderson’s special world of Redman, goofus and whistle and she makes brrrr noises of her own on Cold Weather Papa. “My razor and your neck are going to connect” in War Horse Mama delivered without losing her usual smoothness, illustrates Clara’s brand: transcendent beauty and calm in the face of anything life deals out. There is much more to her 1924 catalogue and these are some favorites.

Clara Smith, vocals with varied artists: Waitin’ for the Evenin’ Mail, I Never Miss the Sunshine, I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down, You Don’t Know My Mind. Clarence Williams with Bechet: Mean Blues. Clara Smith: Don’t Advertise Your Man, Good Lookin’ Papa Blues, I Don’t Love Nobody Blues. Clarence Williams: My Own Blues. Clara Smith with Coleman Hawkins: Texas Moaner Blues, Deep Blue Sea Blues.Clara Smith is popular in any era. It is not a stretch to imagine her singing jazz in the 1950s if she had lived that long. Which came first: her perfect voice or the lengthy performance career that developed that perfection? C. Williams and Bechet are included for support alongside the ubiquitous Fletcher Henderson.

Coleman Hawkins with Clara Smith: Texas Moaner Blues, Deep Blue Sea Blues. Fletcher Henderson Orchestra: Sudbustin’ Blues, He’s the Hottest Man in Town, Doo Doodle Oom, West Indian Blues, You’ve Got to Get Hot, Old Black Joe’s Blues, Charleston Crazy, Houston Blues, Jealous, I Can’t Get The One I Want, My Papa Doesn’t Two-Time No Time, 31st St. Blues.Listening for Hawkins you also hear Redman, Fowler, Chambers. In 1924 Hawkins was still nineteen, in 1944 he was 39 playing bop, in 1964 he charted popular jazz albums. With Clara Smith here he solos at length in his blues style and also with Henderson plays more of a blues attack than of the orthodox straight melodic tone. Billy Fowler is on bass sax on several tunes.Although Prez represented a new direction from the Hawkins style, the opposite is also true. Hawkins developed a unique rhythm-based style distinct from the customary tenor leads of Pettis and Krueger or lead c melody. Prez developed the c melody lead style taken from Tram. Possibly for the reason that a dance band tenor lead didn’t give as much excitement at that time. Hawk’s explosive approach led to Rollins and Roland Kirk.No sax section had better trained musicians than Redman and Hawkins. But neither messed with the fox trot orthodoxy at this point. Together they created a parade of hits. The Redman/Hawkins reed section -supplemented by Billy Fowler - by the results obtained, was among the most successful in highly competitive 1924.Prez from the Tram c melody approach started with the free floating popular dance band alto lead melodic line style heard early in Loren McMurray. But he drenched this high melodic line in rhythm with the band riffing behind him polyphonically. We are left rocking and rolling. Hawkins started from within the rhythm section as a basso foundation bouncing the beat but shaped by melody, like a bassist soloing. He brought a bass sax style to the tenor. Hawk and Prez both went off the beaten track, Hawk went low and Prez went high.

Loren McMurray (saxophone) with the orchestras of Eddie Kuhn (1920): You’re Just Like a Rose. Mike Markel (1921): I Wonder If You Still Care For Me, I Wonder Who You’re Calling Sweetheart, Say Persianna Say!, Idola, Blue Eyes Blues, Alabama Blues, Two Wooden Shoes. The Virginians (1922): I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate. Bailey’s Lucky Seven: Homesick. Lanin’s Southern Serenaders: Doo Dah Blues, Shake It and Break It, Eddie Leonard Blues. Eddie Davis: Hot Lips. Mike Markel (1922): Lonesome Mama Blues.This starts in 1920 with a KC band where Mac got his launch. Seven tunes from Markel is maybe a slog but this music is interesting and well recorded for 1921 from a talented society orchestra, McMurray being featured. In the second half the jazz tunes from 1922 pick up the pace. That’s Cliff Edwards eefing on Doo Dah Blues, a sample of what would become widespread two years later. McMurray helped expand the paradigm for the alto as the dominant melodic instrument (as did Bechet for soprano) plus low register slap tongue in rhythm support. McMurray had a busy recording career for about three years 1920-1922 and then he was gone at age 25, leaving the legacy of the alto as a star lead instrument.