[Dixielandjazz] Personnel for the 1929 Red Nichols Vitaphone

[Marvin Ipswich]

Dear Bill,
>From what I've just read, it seems Eddie played a "lute-shaped" tenor
guitar. From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenor_guitar

*"Tenor guitars are four stringed instruments normally made in the shape of
a guitar, or sometimes with a lute <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lute>-like
pear shaped body or, more rarely, with a round
banjo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo>-like
wooden body. They can be acoustic and/or electric and they can come in the
form of flat top, archtop <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archtop_guitar>,
wood-bodied or metal-bodied resonator or solid-bodied instruments. Tenor
guitars normally have a scale
length<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_length>(from bridge to nut)
of between 21 and 23 inches."
*

Here's another interesting link: http://www.dulcimers.com/guitar.html - this
one looks very similar to the one Eddie played, only his had a pick guard.

And some more info from: http://www.tenorguitar.com/what.html

*"One transitional instrument also tuned CGDA and closely related to the
development of the tenor guitar is the tenor lute, a wooden instrument with
a teardrop shaped body and a tenor banjo neck. They were made by several
manufacturers, including Lyon and Healy, Paramount and
Gibson<http://www.gibson.com/>,
who brought out their model in 1924. It was not a successful instrument and
not many were made, although examples can still be seen. Paramount also made
what was essentially a banjo with a wooden body and called it a 'tenor
harp'.**"

*Regards,
Marvin



On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 3:06 PM, Bill Haesler <bhaesler at bigpond.net.au>wrote:

>  Marvin Ipswich provided:
> > ......the personnel for the video, courtesy of Albert Haim and the
> Bixography website:
> > Red Nichols, Tommy Thunan#, John Egan# cornet
> > Herb Taylor trombone
> > Pee Wee Russell clarinet
> > Irving Brodsky piano
> > George Beebe drums
> > Eddie Condon banjo, guitar, vocal
> > # Tommy Thunan and John Egan appear on "Whispering" and "China Boy "
> only.
>
> Dear Marvin,
> I've seen that clip quite a few times over the years and assumed that Eddie
> Condon was using his special lute (not guitar).
> Very kind regards,
> Bill.
>
>