[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Me News August 2002

[Don Mopsick]

JAZZ ME NEWS
NEWSLETTER FOR THE JIM CULLUM JAZZ BAND AND RIVERWALK, LIVE FROM THE
LANDING PUBLIC RADIO SERIES
August 2002
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RIVERWALK PRESENTS SWINGIN' SUMMER DANCE PARTY NIGHTS IN AUGUST
Riverwalk, Live From The Landing Public Radio series in August features
five fabulous shows meant to get you moving to the big beat:

*Cakewalks & Jitterbugs: The Marriage of Jazz and Dance
*Giants of Swing Jammin' the Boogie
*Last Call Late Night Jam: Live From The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee
*Stompin' at the Savoy
See below for more details.
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EDDIE CONDON ON RECORD 1927-1972, SECOND EDITION 2001 A DISCOGRAPHY
by Giorgio Lombardi, Foreword by Ed Polcer
Paperback 118 pages 8"x11-1/2" Musician Index - Label Index - Title Index @
$15.00 from GHB Jazz Foundation, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA
70116-2608. Ph. (504) 525-5000

Book Review by Floyd Levin

"Eddie Condon on Record is far more than a reference book; it is an active
participant in a living, breathing art-form." --Ed Polcer, Leader and
Sideman, Eddie Condon's 1975-85; Manager, Eddie Condon's 1977-85; Co-owner,
Eddie Condon's 1979-85.

Charles Delaunay, the French artist-writer-producer, created the first Hot
Discography in 1936. Since then, musicologists have been diligently
documenting the tremendous flow of jazz records that continue to appear.
The first edition of Giorgio Lombardi's discographical exploration of Eddie
Condon's work was published fifteen years ago in Italian. This updated
second edition, now in English, is greatly expanded with special attention
to LPs and CDs.

Lombardi lists every Condon studio recording, and also identifies live
sessions, concert performances, TV broadcasts, and tunes heard on a long
series of Condon's weekly Town Hall concerts broadcast over the Blue
Network beginning in 1944. The listings identify personnel, titles, dates,
locations, record labels, etc. This is the most complete compilation of
Eddie Condon's work ever published.

His first recordings, with a group of promising young Chicago musicians,
firmly established the "Chicago Style." The numbers listed on the
discography's first page, recorded in 1927-8, are all definitive versions
of songs that have influenced several generations of jazzmen. An early
reviewer considered them "marvelous recordings of pure improvisation--among
the finest things in all hot music."

A year and a half later, Condon was in a New York studio recording with the
city's most acclaimed players. He never looked back, and, until his death
in 1973, created a legacy of great recordings that are carefully described
in this volume.

The song index lists over 600 titles from "A Good Man is Hard To Find" to
"Zaza." Several were recorded repeatedly over the years; "Blue Lou," "At
the Jazz Band Ball," "Muskrat Ramble," and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue"
all appear in over twenty variations.

The recordings, issued on 160 labels, featured over 300 musicians and
vocalists. The rosters include many hallowed names in jazz history.
Condon's 1944 Decca session of Gershwin tunes, with an all-star group
including Bobby Hackett, Jack Teagarden, Pee Wee Russell, and vocalist Lee
Wiley, appears on page 45. "When Your Lover Has Gone" with Wiley's vocal,
received plaudits in Esquire magazine as "one of the best recordings of the
year!"

When he opened his famous night club at 47 West Third Street in New York
City, Condon's first band included Wild Bill Davison, Bud Freeman, Brad
Gowans, Joe Marsala, Dave Tough, and Joe Sullivan. The careers of young
clarinetist Bob Wilber and pianist Ralph Sutton were jump-started in
Condon's club.

After opening his club in 1945, Condon's recordings became lively
extensions of the improvisational sessions that rocked the West Third
Street bistro nightly. This was hot jazz, tempered with refinement,
technical excellence, and freedom for musical expression. While retaining a
Dixieland flavor, he honored the past, but also added a fresh approach that
extended the music's appeal.

During the initial surge of Condon releases, he faced the highly
competitive bebop era. Despite this strong opposition, his records
continued to sell in large quantities, and still occupy revered space in
private collections around the world. Those collectors will find this
discography a valuable addition to their jazz libraries.
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SONG TITLES, PART 1

By Floyd Levin

What do the following well-known tunes all have in common?

"Maple Leaf Rag"
"Rose Room"
"Royal Garden Blues"
"Kansas City Stomp"
"Savoy Blues
"Apex Blues"
"Casa Loma Stomp"
"Big Bear Stomp"
"Jumpin' at the Woodside"
"Tin Roof Blues"

These are all standard numbers in the repertoire of most Classic Jazz
bands. Each is named after a popular jazz venue.

1. Scott Joplin entertained at The Maple Leaf Club in Sedalia, Missouri,
where he wrote his most important composition, "Maple Leaf Rag" in 1899.

2. Art Hickman, who became one of the first dance band leaders to attract
national attention, began his career at the Rose Room in San Francisco's
St. Francis Hotel. "Rose Room" was introduced by Hickman during the
Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic in New York in 1918.

3. The Royal Gardens, a large dance hall in Chicago, was a residency for
the Original Creole Band in 1918. In 1921, the venue's name was changed to
Lincoln Gardens where King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band made jazz history. The
Clarence and Spencer Williams tune, "Royal Garden Blues," was recorded by
the Original Dixie Jazz Band, Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds, Bix
Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, etc.

4. Jelly Roll Morton wrote "Kansas City Stomp" while he was working at the
Kansas City Bar in Tijuana, Mexico in October 1921. Morton recorded it as a
piano solo in 1923 and with his Red Hot Peppers in 1928.

5. Kid Ory wrote "Savoy Blues" while playing at the Savoy Ballroom in New
York City with King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators in 1926.

6. Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra appeared at the Apex Club in Chicago
from 1926 until the supper club closed in 1928. The band, with Jimmie
Noone, Earl Hines, Joe Poston, Bud Scott, and Johnny Wells, recorded "Apex
Blues " in 1929.

7. "Casa Loma Stomp" was named after the Casa Loma Palace in Toronto,
Canada, an early venue for Glen Gray's newly formed orchestra. The band's
arranger, Eugene Gifford, wrote the number and they recorded it in 1930. It
was their first instrumental hit.

8. Lu Watters formed his Yerba Buena Jazz Band in 1940 at the Big Bear
Tavern, a roadhouse in the hills of Berkeley, California. Watters'
composition, "Big Bear Stomp," is still a staple with trad bands throughout
the world.

9. The Woodside Hotel was a popular jam session spot for New York musicians
during the 30s. It became famous after the release of Count Basie's 1939
recording.

10. Prior to 1910, the Tin Roof Cafe was an early venue for New Orleans
jazzmen. "Tin Roof Blues" was written by members of the New Orleans Rhythm
Kings who recorded it in 1923.

There are scores of additional tunes inspired by venues where jazz
musicians played. Can you name a few? Send them to me at
FloydLevin@aol.com. They might appear in "Song Titles, Part 2," (properly
credited) if our editor can tolerate more of this trivia!
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NEW RIVERWALK LISTENERS POLL
It's time to vote for your favorite Riverwalk shows and performers in our
bi-monthly Riverwalk Listeners Poll.
http://www.misterpoll.com/poll.wga?id=3696458478
To help you remember, here's more information on the shows and guest
performers.
http://www.riverwalk.org/proglist/proglist2002.htm
http://www.riverwalk.org/profiles/rwgalery.htm
Your opinions are very valuable to us. Once again, let your voice be heard!
If you have comments about specific shows or guests, please email them to
me at mophandl@landing.com.
Here is a web page containing previous poll winners:
http://www.riverwalk.org/JMN/Archive/html/JMN8_01_02.htm
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UPCOMING TRAVELS:  The Jim Cullum Jazz Band appears Monday through Saturday
nights beginning at 8:30 PM at the Landing in San Antonio except for
highlighted dates below.
August Events
5-6 The JCJB is off tonight.

11 JCJB Jazz Mass: First Presbyterian Church, Kerrville, TX, 7:00 PM.

September Events

15 JCJB Concert: Woodlands Auditorium, Hot Springs Village, AR
501-922-6373.
27-29 Summit Jazz Weekend, Denver, CO.

30 The JCJB is off tonight!

To find out when the JCJB is coming to your town in 2002, go to the JCJB
Touring Itinerary page:
http://www.riverwalk.org/events/calendar/itinery.htm
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UPCOMING ON RIVERWALK, LIVE FROM THE LANDING

31 8/1 Cakewalks & Jitterbugs: The Marriage of Jazz and Dance
Ragtime introduced the Cakewalk. The 1920s roared with the Charleston. And
the Jitterbug was the thing in the 30s. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band honors
this marriage between jazz and dance with distinctive style.

32 8/8 Giants of Swing
Join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band for a celebration of the swing giants who
started it all; and take a trip to the Palladium, the Savoy and the
Roseland ballrooms.

33 8/15 Jammin' the Boogie
Boogie Woogie brings to mind visions of honky tonks and juke joints.
Riverwalk and The Jim Cullum Jazz Band take you there for a Boogie Woogie
and Blues celebration.

34 8/22 Last Call Late Night Jam: Live From The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee
Roll back the rug and jam with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. It's last call and
time for the best jazz of the night!

35 8/29 Stompin' at the Savoy
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band is throwing a dance party! Tune into the Swing era
sounds of Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald.
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READ THE JAZZ ME NEWS ARCHIVES:
http://www.riverwalk.org/JMN/jmn_index.htm
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The Riverwalk public radio series is sponsored by See's Candies, Inc. Visit
the See's site at http://www.sees.com
Entire contents © 2002 Pacific Vista Productions