[Dixielandjazz] correct pitch, Ory, Savoy Blues

[Daniel Barrett]

Dear All,
 
I really didn't want to enter into this fracas, and just want to say that I was pleased to read John Gill's clear and informative contribution. I have to say I agree with everything John wrote, including his high opinion of trombonist Mike Owens's playing. (Gill himself is no slouch in the sliphorn department!)
 
Yes, the Hot Five recording of Savoy Blues in in the key of G. Yes, the idea that the Creole Jazz Band played Dippermouth Blues in G is--well, silly.  Yes, Mike Owens is one of the best traditional trombonists I ever heard, too.
 
Carry on,
 
--Dan Barrett (Itinerant Jazz Trombonist)
Costa Mesa, CA
 
> Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2011 14:29:55 -0800
> From: smokewagon at yahoo.com
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] correct pitch, Ory, Savoy Blues
> CC: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> To: danpbarrett at hotmail.com
> 
> If I may say something about all this correct pitch, and all. For years we have known that recording speeds and playback speeds have been a little funky over the years. So very simply, if you take Oliver's Dippermouth Blues which was recorded in "C" and play the record back at the speed that puts it in tune with concert C, then you have the correct tempo that Oliver played it in. You will notice that all 3 of Oliver's versions of Dippermouth are a little different tempo wise. Thew notion that the proper playback speed would be 58 rpm is silly, as is the notion that they played it in "G". I remember researching that the proper playback speed for Columbia Records was 80 rpm! And I believe all the record companies had differen playback speeds, all slightly off from one another. You will find that a lot of the keys were different then played today, although many are the same like Dixielannd One Step, Clarinet Marmalade, etc.
> As fo Ory and the trombone glissandi in Savoy blues. First of all the key is G. The tune was put together to feature the guitars of Lonnie Johnson and Johnny St. Cyr and they have the prominent solos. However both Armstrong's and Ory's solos were memorable. Ory does not slide from the 6th position to first position, a common mistake. If you listen to The Hot Five Record he glissandis from 4th position F natural to 2nd position G every time except the last one where he glisses from the 4th position F natural to 3rd position F sharp for the D7th chord. He does not gliss up to A which is the 5th of the D7chord and is not as pleasing a tone as the third,F#
> Later on after Ory claimed the tune he changed the key to F. But his gliss work then goes from 3rd position Eflat to first position F natural and the last one from around 4 th position D natural to E natural in the 2nd position. I'm not sure if he did it excactly this way on every recording he did of it in F, but he does on the early ones.
> Check it out. By the way Mike Owen was mentioned in one of the posts. He's one of the best traditional trombone players I ever heard. I worked with him a lot in New Orleans.
> Regards
> John Gill
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
> 
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
> 
> 
> 
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com