[Dixielandjazz] Lotte Lenya & Mack the knife

[Harry Callaghan]

While on the subject of Kurt Weill compositions, who is familiar with his
"Alabama Song" (sub-titled "The Whiskey Bar") from his opera "Mahoggany?-

I first became acquainted with it being song by the Doors during the closing
credits of
a documentary covering their European tour and then came to discover that I
had it all along on one of their LPs.

Among those MP3s available for downloading at Amazon I see a recording of it
by Lotte Lenya as well as the Doors, but am wondering if anyone knows of any
version that could be described as jazz.

I've got the "Threepenny Opera" revival album from the late 50s with Lotte
Lenya but for my money, the best recording of "Pirate Jenny" is by far that
of Nina Simone.

Tides
HC


On 8/12/10, Anton Crouch <anton.crouch at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>
> Hello all
>
> Many thanks to Steve B for bringing to attention the Moritat ("Mack the
> knife") as it was in the original Threepenny Opera.
>
> Even though Lotte Lenya made the song "hers", it was not so at the start -
> how could it be? Lenya sang the role of Jenny and the Moritat is sung by a
> male street singer. At the premiere (31 August 1928) Kurt Gerron sang it and
> doubled in the role of Tiger Brown, the police chief.
>
> Today it is commonly thought that the principal character, Macheath (Mack
> the knife), sings the Moritat and this mistake was codified at the
> beginning, when Harald Paulsen (the original Macheath) made the first
> recording of the piece in December 1928. Paulsen's recording is
> non-authentic in that he is accompanied by a studio orchestra, not the
> Ludwig Rüth (Lewis Ruth) band of the stage performances.
>
> It wasn't until 1929 that "original cast" recordings were made and people
> outside Berlin were able to hear Kurt Gerron singing the Moritat.
>
> For DJMLers, the main interest in this period would be the performances of
> music from the Threepenny Opera by German dance bands. The a-for mentioned
> Lewis Ruth band (called Die Dreigroschenband in the theatre) recorded with
> original cast members and in orchestral performances and we can now
> appreciate its attack and swing. My favorite performance of the Moritat is
> that by Marek Weber and his orchestra (May 1929) - it includes a brief
> violin/trombone chase chorus. You haven't lived until you've heard the
> Moritat as a pulsating slow foxtrot.
>
> The impression that the Threepenny Opera made in 1928-29 was very great and
> it resulted in a "crossover" to classical music. The General Music Director
> of the Berlin State Opera (Otto Klemperer - yes, that Otto Klemperer)
> commissioned Kurt Weill to arrange a suite for wind orchestra. Klemperer
> recorded the suite twice - with the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera in
> 1931 and with the Philharmonia in 1961.
>
> To stir things up a bit - when Lotte Lenya and Louis Armstrong couldn't
> agree on how "Mack the knife" should be sung at their recording session, who
> had the problem? Lotte Lenya for maintaining a specific tradition or Louis
> Armstrong for his "nobody ever went broke by underestimating public taste"
> approach? When it comes to "Mack the knife", I prefer Bobby Darrin to
> Armstrong  :-)
>
> All the best,
> Anton
>
>
>
>
>
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