[Dixielandjazz] Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street (was Name This Band & Vocalist, Please)

Anton Crouch anton.crouch at optusnet.com.au
Thu Jul 23 18:13:26 PDT 2015


Hey, Bill

You left out the most famous of Henry Levine's guests - JELLY ROLL MORTON.

Morton was featured on the programme on Sunday 14 July 1940 and the 
acetates made are his last recordings. He played "Winin' boy blues" and 
"King Porter stomp" and talked so much that a song by Dinah Shore had to 
be dropped.

Laurie Wright's "Mr Jelly Lord" (1980) gives the band members as Henry 
Levine (trumpet), Jack Epstein (trombone), Alfie Evans (alto sax), 
Rudolph Adler (tenor sax), Tony Colucca (guitar), Harry Patent (string 
bass) and Nat Levine (drums).

Geriatrically yours,
Anton


On 23/07/2015 19:36, Bill Haesler wrote:
> Dear Charlie, The Henry Levine Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin 
> Street was a studio group and had basically the same personnel as the 
> Linda Keene sessions. Others who played with the band included Jack 
> Epstein (trombone), Harry Stitman (drums), Bob Burns (clarinet), Gene 
> Traxler (bass), Sam Weiss (drums) and Murray Cohen (tenor). It was the 
> guests who were the attraction: Sidney, Bechet, Dinah Shore, Linda 
> Keene, Paul Laval,Benny Carter and WC Handy. Our young mob in the 40s 
> never considered the music jazz, notwithstanding its 'Dixieland' tag. 
> Not when Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier Wild Bill Davison et were 
> playing the real stuff at the same time. Henry Levine knew what jazz 
> was about, but the program producers obviously had didn't. OK, the 
> bland non-swinging Chamber Music Society records are in my collection, 
> but that does not mean that I like them. Kind regards, Bill. 



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