[Dixielandjazz] "Oriental" jazz?

[David Richoux]

Thanks, everybody for all of the suggestions - I did find a lot of them 
(and more) in my library but Craig's list is super! (don't have most of 
these... yet ;-)

I guess everything East of Italy counted as "Oriental" to the 
songwriters - I have songs about real and mythical Turkey, Egypt, 
Persia, Araby,India, Borneo, Siam, China, Japan, Philippines and Hawaii 
and even more than 2 hours worth of "Hindustan" and "Limehouse" each!  
(I did about 4 hours of "Caravan" and another show with only "Shiek of 
Araby" last year, so I will probably only play a few versions of those 
songs.)

I probably won't play  "Winky, Blinky Chinatown,"  but I do have it.

Dave Richoux

On Mar 14, 2005, at 8:01 PM, Craig I. Johnson wrote:

> Well,  given the 20's concept of what the "Orient" was:
> there also are the following titles which jump to my mind:
>  
> "Constantinople"
> "Give Me The Sultan's Harem"
> "Cleopatra Had A Jazz Band"
> Old King Tut (Tut tut tut)
>  King Tut Blues
> Harem Eyes
> Lock Me In Your Harem & Throw Away The Key (Berlin)
> Pearl Of The Harem
> Please Don't Take My Harem Away
> "Afghanistan"
> "Bagdad" (sic)
> "Egyptian Fantasy"
> "Sahara"
> "Sahara Moon"
> "Soudan" or "Sudan" (Lew Pollack)
> "Suez"  (Grofe'/deRose)
> "Desert Blues"
> "Egyptian Ella"
> and that old Chris Smith Favorite: "Irish Were Egyptians Long Ago"
> "Oriental Man"
> "Oriental Strut"
> "Palesteena"
> One of my old favorites (heard in the 1950's I think)
> was "The RIch Maharajah of Magadore" 
> eee-ee-ee--ee--ee-eeee-ee-ee-ee-eeee-ee)
> ("Y0u can take my money and take my pearls,--- something something,--- 
> but don't take my girls")
> (If you run out of songs, fake it and play something by "Turk" 
> Murphy...)
>  
> You might search for words on Diz Swift's site listing
> the songs in the Chas Anderson Fake "Book"**
> www.diz.swift.ukgateway.net/anderson/
> **( A true 'book' can be carried by one person without a baggage 
> cart.) 
>   
>  
> Actually my understanding of "The Orient" would place place it a bit
> further to the east and would therefor include tunes about Shanghai,
> Hong Kong, Inda etc.  - but then I are a engineer, not a geographer.)
>  
> Hong Kong Blues (Carmichael), Hong Kong Dream Girl etc."Moonlight on 
> the Ganges, etc. China Jumps (Waller)
> or "Big Crash from China"  (Bauduc), Original Chinese Blues
> and a bunch of real non-pc things about China, Chinese and variations 
> on those words.
>  
>  
> The composers had a similar problem as the musical motifs and
> totally confused far eastern and near eastern harmonies and rhythms.
> Their concepts of the local customs were equally erroneous...
> Note the lyrics to one tune I read recently which referred to either
> Egypt or some other moslem country and referred to the sounds of
> the "temple bells" HUH? (Maybe he didn't have a good rhyme for 
> "minaret".)
>  
> Regards,
> Craig Johnson