[Dixielandjazz] profitable insider joke

[Steve Voce]

Harry James became incandescent with rage when I asked him about 'some of the more commercial things.' 'Whadda ya mean, commercial?' he roared, saying that he was proud of every record he ever made. The whole conversation is detailed on page 251 of Peter J Levinson's excellent biography 'Trumpet Blues - The Life Of Harry James'.

Steve Voce

Sent from my iPad

> On 2 Jul 2015, at 03:33, Charles Suhor <csuhor at zebra.net> wrote:
> 
> I like your distinction between the "obscene saccharinity [nice word] of some non-jazz James:" and "his heat when he's hot." Some young be-boppers I knew in the 50s had a habit of dismissing James because of his schmaltzy performances. One of them, Jerry St. Amant, though, said, "He mastered his horn long ago." Some of James's work with Goodman and later his own band was burnin' good jazz. Too bad that the sentimental stuff is often what's remembered. Dig his muted 75rpm, so boppish, on Limehouse Blues from the early 50s, as I recall.
> 
> Charlie
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvFqN7uVP3g
> 
> 
>> On Jul 1, 2015, at 4:33 PM, ROBERT R. CALDER wrote:
>> 
>> I did like the thought that the trumpeter was delivering a copy of Harry James -- amusing footnotes ever welcome!
>> (a guitarist friend of mine used to tell his audience to watch his left hand, which didn't move as he delivered several pop-songs of the day on one chord) 
>> imitation can be the best way of demonstrating lack of uniqueness -- James's technique was not in doubt, or his heat when he was hot, but 
>> I hope Frank Beach was unable to match the obscene saccharinity of some non-jazz James,  which lie around some actual musical performances on CDs I bought for literally a few cents in Germany some time ago.  Some lovely Willie Smith on the musical numbers, but the Schmaltz items horrified me. 
>> 
>> of  course the MD of the JITTERBUGS film had composed "That's a Plenty"  long before it appeared in presumably his arrangement in this film. 
>> Oh, the blue rinsed virgins of Montana 
>> are so lonesome and prone to pine... 
>> 
>> Robert R. Calder 
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