Casper Reardon - The First Jazz Harp Player

Casper Reardon (1907-41) didn't start out to become the first jazz harp player. He was a trained classical musician who had performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony.

But after a few of his Cincinnati students introduced him to the delights of popular music, he became interested enough that he began appearing on local radio playing jazz as "Arpeggio Glissando."

Eventually his avocation became a vocation, and he ended up in New York, in a recording studio with Red McKenzie and his group. That's where this story of Reardon's brief but eventful jazz odyssey begins.

This post covers 25 of the harpist's commercial recordings, including almost all of his output. Most of the other recordings, some airchecks and one film appearance are linked below. The recording used for this post are mainly remastered from Internet Archive transfers.

A biography of Reardon can be found on IMDb, written by Peter Mintun.

Early Recordings as a Sideman

Reardon's first recording session was in 1933, and involved musicians who have appeared several times on this blog - Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, and Eddie Condon. Three songs were set down, none of them issued at the time, but "Mean to Me" appeared on a private compilation a number of years ago in noisy but listenable shape.

The leading light is trombonist Teagarden, who immediately makes apparent the similarity of Fred Ahlert's melody to the "St. Louis Blues." McKenzie is the serviceable vocalist.

Red McKenzie and Jack Teagarden

Teagarden must have liked what be heard from Reardon, for he had the harpist in the studio the following year for a session that included the trombonist's brother Charlie, Benny Goodman and Frankie Trumbauer.

From the downbeat of the blues "Junk Man," Reardon is front and center of the ensemble, keeping up with some of the finest musicians of the time. His rhythm and phrasing fit beautifully with the other musicians. 

The harpist is not as central to "Stars Fell on Alabama" and the generic "Your Guess Is Just as Good as Mine," but still makes his presence known. The songs are mainly showcases for Teagarden, who is in excellent voice.

Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden,
who looks like he may have swallowed his mouthpiece

Next, Paul Whiteman engaged Reardon for a two-day session in December 1934. The first two sides were devoted to compositions by the English pianist Reginald Foresythe, whose works were the type of high-toned popular music that Whiteman favored. The harpist does not play a pivotal role in these recordings, but they are interesting regardless.

The more ambitious is "Deep Forest (A Hymn to Darkness)," which Foresythe wrote with Andy Razaf and Earl Hines. (This performance does not include Razaf's lyrics. You can hear them in Foresythe's recording on YouTube.)

Reginald Foresythe

"Serenade to a Wealthy Widow" is a lively and memorable piece that is perhaps the best known of Foresythe's compositions. Its jaunty melody and irreverent title would seem to have inspired Raymond Scott's works.

The final Whiteman piece is "When I Grow Too Old to Dream." Vocally, the King's Men were a throwback to the 20s. Their singing is too impersonal for the lyrics; Kenny Sargent with Glen Gray is better. Both versions came out in 1935, timed to the release of the film The Night Is Young, with songs by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II. The studio was trying (and failing) to turn Evelyn Laye and silent-era vet Ramon Novarro into a second Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

In early 1936, Reardon made four sides with the obscure Bob Terry for the Champion label. This collection includes two of them, both highly enjoyable although not well recorded. "It's Been So Long" is a Walter Donaldson-Harold Adamson song written for the film The Great Ziegfeld. "Sing an Old-Fashioned Song (To a Young Sophisticated Lady)" is by Fred Ahlert and Joe Young. Reardon has accomplished solos in both, albeit dimly reproduced. Bunny Berigan is the assertive trumpeter; Wayne Gregg the vocalist.

The 1936 Liberty Music Shop Recordings

The invaluable Liberty Music Shop label gave Reardon a chance to step out on his own, starting with an April 1936 date. He is the focus on the recordings, with anonymous backing that at least on these first songs includes the strings from Lud Gluskin's orchestra.

For his first number, the harpist chose one of Duke Ellington's best songs, "In a Sentimental Mood." It gets a lush treatment, with Reardon providing an obbligato accompaniment to a low-register clarinet and the string ensemble. This is followed by an up-tempo interlude where he swings the tune and the ensemble is the accompaniment. The song ends with flourishes from the harp player.

Will Hudson's "Tormented" is a nice complement to the Ellington song (and may have been influenced by it). Again, there are both slow and quick sections.

For his second Liberty Music Shop session that same year, Reardon was accompanied by a similar ensemble, this time with oboe and bass clarinet. For "Summertime," the instruments of the ensemble again take the main melody line, with the harp providing both secondary melodies and obbligato accompaniment. It's effective.

For "If You Can't Sing It (You'll Have to Swing It)" (aka "Mr. Paganini") Reardon essentially accompanies uncredited vocalist Bea Gierdorf. Presumably this song was chosen because it combines something approaching jazz with a nod to classical music. Introduced by Martha Raye in the film Rhythm on the Range, it was a hit for Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb's band.

In late 1936, Reardon appeared live with a group called the Three T's (Jack and Charlie Teagarden, Frankie Trumbauer). An aircheck of a few of their numbers can be found on YouTube.

1937-8: A Film Appearance, LMS and Master Sessions

Reardon's only film role was in 1937's You're a Sweetheart, which starred Alice Faye. The harpist was cast as "Cousin Caspar" (sic), who had a featured spot where he played "Ain't Misbehavin'" and the "St. Louis Blues." He's introduced as "the only man living who can play hot music on a harp." The clip can be seen on YouTube.

'Cousin Caspar'

Another version of "Junk Man" was recorded for the film, but is not in the final release. It can be heard from a playback disc, also on YouTube.

Reardon's final session for Liberty Music Shop was in May 1937. His first selection was "Washboard Blues," a 1925 Hoagy Carmichael song. For contrast the harpist chose Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?", a 1929 song that was influential with jazz artists. For these songs, his backing musicians are mainly limited to accompaniment in the former song, but make themselves known in the Porter tune.

Reardon's next record date was with the small Master label, which had a well-chosen array of artists, including Duke Ellington, Raymond Scott, Willard Robison and Adrian Rollini. Even so, it didn't last long.

There is some dispute about when the sessions took place - 1937 or 1938 - and even which ones involved Reardon. But we do have one disc that combined his recording of Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" with his second of Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood." Both are with a large band playing busy arrangements by Franklyn Marks, who worked for Charlie Barnet and others. Reardon's harp is a bit under-recorded, unfortunately.

One source I consulted suggested that Reardon also appears on two songs recorded at the time time, one issued by Master under Marks' name (another "Washboard Blues") and another apparently led by Lou Raderman ("A Blues Serenade") that may not have been issued. I haven't been able to locate either.

In 1938, Reardon appeared in Rodgers and Hart's I Married an Angel. He is not heard on any of the commercial recordings associated with the show, such as the ones I posted a year ago, but Peter Mintun has found airchecks of him playing the title song on two occasions, plus an interview and a performance of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," all of which can be found on his Soundcloud site. Peter has a 1935 radio interview as well.

The Final Recordings

Reardon made some of his finest recordings for the Schirmer label in 1940. His first Schirmer session, in February 1940, was with a small ensemble and yielded four sides, all standards - "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "I Got Rhythm," "Easy to Love" and "They Didn't Believe Me." The latter two have vocal solos by Loulie Jean Norman, who sounds slightly ill at ease.

Reardon also recorded two classical works for Schirmer - Debussy's "En bateau" and a piece by the harpist's teacher, Carlos Salzedo. The Debussy can be found on Peter Mintun's site.

Casper Reardon and Dana Suesse

Mintun, an authority on Dana Suesse, says that Reardon had met Gus Schirmer in 1939 through Suesse, whose compositions were recently celebrated on this blog. She recalled to Peter, "Casper told me about having an engagement with the Philadelphia Symphony and wanted me to write something for him." She decided to compose a suite with the title, "Young Man with a Harp." The title is a play on the popular 1938 book "Young Man with a Horn," based on Bix Beiderbecke's life.

The session with the Philadelphia Orchestra was at Robin Hood Dell, conducted by Alexander Smallens. There also was a performance by the Rochester Civic Orchestra led by Guy Fraser Harrison.

78 album cover

Schirmer agreed to record the piece in 1940, although not with orchestra. The performers were Reardon, Suesse on piano and Chauncey Morehouse on percussion instruments. The work comes off quite well. The movements pay homage to the instrument's ancient history ("Processional - Thebes 1300 BC"), its historic association with Ireland ("Evensong - Ireland 1300 AD"), and its use in modern popular music ("20th Century Madrigal"). The suite is a brilliant showcase for the harpist.

Casper Reardon died of undiagnosed kidney disease in 1941 at age 33. Dana Suesse wrote a memorial for him, "Coronach," a beautiful work that can be found on Peter Mintun's site. He writes, "It was Dana's musical way of saying farewell to a significant friend and colleague."

LINK 

The Songs of Dana Suesse

Dana Suesse in 1932

For today's post we examine the songs of Dana Suesse (1909-87), who wrote popular works while maintaining an interest in classical music, which her success in pop music later allowed her to pursue.

Suesse was versatile: her best known piece is "You Oughta Be in Pictures," but also popular is the gorgeous, moody "My Silent Love," which began as an instrumental.

We have recordings of both works, along with many more worthy songs in this collection of 21 of her compositions dating from 1929 to 1954.

About Dana Suesse

Like many songwriters, Dana did not start out to compose popular music. Classical music was her inspiration and aspiration. But in the 1930s, there wasn't much of an appetite for her "serious" works.

"I had arrived in New York with a trunk full of instrumental music ... I quickly found that there was no market for them; publishers didn’t want things like that. They were too expensive to publish and they simply were not going to be popular with the public. So I looked around and saw that people were making money writing popular songs."

She found out she was good at it, too, and began working with noted lyricists such as Edward Heyman and Leo Robin. But her initial efforts were focused on instrumental music.

"At that time popular instrumentals were in vogue, sort of a hybrid between a serious piece and a pop tune. Duke Ellington, Lou Alter, and Rube Bloom were writing these kinds of works. There was a very distinctive, certain style and form to this kind of melody."

Our collection starts with just such a composition.

1929-32 Recordings

"A Syncopated Love Song" was the title of the first recording in the set, a 1929 work that is listed as a collaboration between Suesse and Nathaniel Shilkret, although it's not clear how much of it was Shilkret's work. Even so, he was an proficient musician who was director of light music for Victor and a prolific recording artist.

It's a strikingly well-wrought piece, with a memorable main strain. Dana presumably wrote that melody, for the credit to Shilket was nowhere to be found a few years later when it was turned into the torch song "Have You Forgotten?" with lyrics by Leo Robin and recorded by Ruth Etting.

Rudy Vallée

Also from 1931, "Whistling in the Dark" has another catchy melody and words by Allen Boretz, whose later claim to fame was writing the hit farce Room Service. Presenting the song was bandleader Rudy Vallée, who hadn't much of a voice, but did have a polished band, fine taste in music and a record contract. He must have liked Dana's songs - he appears later in the collection as well.

George Gershwin, Paul Whiteman and Dana Suesse

Suesse continued to compose works that were the classical-jazz hybrid that George Gershwin favored. In 1932, Gershwin champion Paul Whiteman commissioned her to write a "Concerto in Three Rhythms" for one of his concerts. The New Yorker proceeded to dub her the "girl Gershwin.” You can hear the piece on YouTube.

Loyce Whiteman

With "Ho Hum!" Dana attracted the attention of another important figure, bandleader Gus Arnheim, who engaged vocalists Loyce Whiteman and Bing Crosby for the record. Whiteman was then 19; it was her first record. This is the first song in this collection with lyrics by the young Edward Heyman, a distinguished figure with whom Suesse would work extensively. 

"Jazz Nocturne" is a second instrumental that would become a popular song. Nathaniel Shilkret is again the leader but does not share the songwriting credits for this one. With Heyman's lyrics, the work turned into "My Silent Love," an exceptional song. We will get to it later in this collection.

Edward Heyman

1933-35 Recordings

For our first selection from 1933, Rudy Vallée returns with "Free," a good pop song with one of the bandleader's better vocals. Heyman was again the lyricist.

Also from 1933, we have a recording of "Moon about Town," written for the Ziegfeld Follies production that opened in early 1934. It's not one of lyricist Yip Harburg's best efforts, although the song is occasionally revived. 

Another song from the same show, introduced by the same singer, Jane Froman, is "You Oughta Be in Pictures." An irresistible combination of clever words and cheerful music, it became a huge hit.

As far as I can tell, Froman did not record either song. Our version of "Moon about Town" is the one for Columbia by society bandleader Emil Coleman with a vocal by Jerry Cooper. 

For "You Oughta Be in Pictures," we return to Rudy Vallée for his popular recording. One oddity is that Vallée's Victor label says the song is from a film called New York Town. I can't find evidence of such a film from that year, nor of the song being used in another movie of the time. Also, IBDB does not list "You Oughta Be in Pictures" as being part of the 1934 Follies, which may mean it was added after the opening. In any case, Vallée's disc was not recorded until March 5, 1934, a few months into the run of the 1934 Follies.

"Missouri Misery" from the Dorsey Brothers is much different. Pianist Peter Mintun, who edited a collection of the composer's works, said that "Suesse preferred this over any other commercial recording of 'Missouri Misery.' She liked the bluesy treatment rather than the danceable versions." Singer Bob Crosby, who was working with the Dorseys at the time, did not care for the record; he thought the key was too low for him. Harburg was the lyricist.

Another miniature concert piece is next, with Dana on piano accompanied by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. It's the highly enjoyable, Gershwinesque "Blue Moonlight."

The next two songs come from a 1935 film called Sweet Surrender, filmed in Astoria, New York, and featuring radio and stage personalities such as Frank Parker and Tamara. It's a shipboard musical with a labyrinthine story line and seven numbers from Suesse and Heyman.

First we have the Jan Garber band and singer Lee Bennett with "The Day You Were Born," a predictable song in a grainy pressing. Much better, musically and technically, is "Love Makes the World Go Round," which may not have been the first time that was used for a title and certainly wasn't the last.

The Al Donahue Band; the leader is up front with violin

Even so, it's a pleasing song in a creditable performance from the Al Donahue band and singer Tommy Norato.

1936-37 Recordings

In 1936, Suesse spent three months in Fort Worth, Texas, composing the music for impresario Billy Rose's Casa Mañana, an attraction for that city's Frontier Days Celebration, which was designed to compete with Dallas's concurrent Texas Centennial Celebration. Casa Mañana was a 4,000-seat outdoor dinner theater and stage show that turned out to be very popular.

The big hit from the show was one of Dana's greatest songs, "The Night Is Young and You're So Beautiful," with lyrics by Rose and Irving Kahal. The story is told that Rose ran into Kahal in the lobby of his Fort Worth hotel and convinced him to stay and write with him and Suesse.

Our first version of "The Night Is Young and You're So Beautiful" comes from Jan Garber, this time with vocalist Russ Brown. It starts off with a martial cadence, for some reason, but Garber quickly turns things over to the overripe saxophones and choppy brass that were favored by the sweet bands of the time. Brown is a little too ripe himself, but this period piece nonetheless has its charm. We'll have a better performance later in the program.

Jolly Coburn

Also from the Casa Mañana show is "Gone with the Dawn," from the Jolly Coburn band, with a vocal by the pleasant Bill Hawley, who sounds like he could have been from Texas himself. Coburn hailed from New York, where his band played at the Rainbow Room.

There is a 20-minute short with excerpts from the Casa Mañana show on YouTube.

The Aquacade on Lake Erie

Rose next turned his attention to the Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland, where he dreamed up an "Aquacade," another dinner amphitheater, this time with a water show along the shores of Lake Erie. "Happy Birthday to Love" comes from the score, heard here in the version by Tommy Dorsey with the talented Jack Leonard on the vocal. Dana worked with four different lyricists to concoct this number.

Post 1937 Recordings

Bob Allen and Hal Kemp

Rose transported his Aquacade concept to the 1939 New York World's Fair, bringing Suesse along to provide the music. She worked with the impresario and lyricist Ted Fetter on "Yours for a Song," the Aquacade theme, which we have in a recording by Hal Kemp and his orchestra. The vocalist is Bob Allen, who had replaced Skinnay Ennis the year before. Kemp was to die in an auto accident the following year.

Dick Todd

For our next number, we greet the sonorous Dick Todd, "Canada's Bing Crosby," as he was called, with a fine recording of "A Table in a Corner," which Dana wrote with the experienced Sam Coslow. Todd was in the midst of his brief heyday, when he recorded prolifically for Bluebird.

Next is one of Dana's most accomplished songs in one of the standout performances in this set - "Time for Me to Put My Heart Away," in a Liberty Music Shop disc from the esteemed cabaret singer Greta Keller, with backing by a Cy Walter band.

Greta Keller

In addition to the music, Suesse apparently wrote the lyrics for this song, which she seldom did. "Lyrics, I think are very difficult," she once said. "It took me approximately 20 years of apprenticeship to write what I’d term a presentable lyric. What I mean is, a lyric that satisfied me, that was up to the standard I felt a lyric should be. I learned a great deal from Billy Rose, and I worked with some extremely competent and gifted writers such as Yip Harburg, and the wonderful, creative Ira Gershwin."

The Viennese Keller had come to the US in 1938 and was already a feature in some of New York's top locations. Her voice may remind you of Marlene Dietrich; that's because Dietrich based her singing on Keller. Whatever you may think of her voice, her identification with the lyrics is total.

"This Changing World" was one of the composer's own favorites. "In 1940, I wrote a song called 'This Changing World,' with a wonderful lyric by Harold Adamson," she said. "The song is so relevant even today, and the lyric, as well as the melody, was ahead of its time. It had a strong harmonic progression, although simple in structure, but the song didn’t go anyplace. There were several recordings, but it just didn’t hit the charts the way I had hoped." The fluent performance is by Ginny Simms with the Kay Kyser band.

In the 1940s, Dana continued her association with Billy Rose, writing songs for his Diamond Horseshoe club, which operated from 1938-51 in New York's Paramount Hotel. Following the war, she studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris for three years.

Dick Haymes, who appears to be orbiting the moon

I wanted to include two later recordings of Suesse songs that were discussed above. First we have Dick Haymes' disc of "My Silent Love," made in 1947 with the backing of Gordon Jenkins. The second is Ray Anthony's 1950 recording of "The Night Is Young and You're So Beautiful," with a sterling vocal by Ronnie Deauville.

Finally, two recordings of the theme song from the hit stage production of The Seven Year Itch, which opened in late 1952 with incidental music by Suesse. First "The Girl Without a Name," performed by pianist Art Lowry and his orchestra. The published version lists lyrics by Dana and Scott Olsen, but I haven't found a recording of that version. The Lowry record credits "Engvick" presumably lyricist William Engvick, along with Suesse, but it's an instrumental.

There's yet another version of the tune. Eddie Bracken, who had succeeded Tom Ewell in the leading male role on Broadway, wrote his own words for  Suesse's music and recorded it under the name "That Girl" for the R&B label Chance, where he and Barbara Cooke coo to one another. (Update: my friend Geoconno informs me that "Barbara Cooke" is actually the wonderful Barbara Cook, in what must be one of her first recordings.)

Most of these recordings were remastered from Internet Archive 78s.

LINK

More by Dana Suesse

In 1941, Dana contributed to an album of "Modern American Music" put together by then radio conductor Meredith Willson. Her composition was "American Nocturne," a lovely piece somewhat tentatively played by the ensemble. You can hear the work - and the entire album - newly remastered via this post. "American Nocturne" is a different composition from the "Jazz Nocturne" above.

Finally, I am preparing a post of recordings by the short-lived jazz harpist Casper Reardon that will include Suesse's suite "Young Man with a Harp." I hope to finish that project soon. 

A Buster Bonanza: Kay Thompson, Johnny Costa and Paul Whiteman

Because I've been away most of the past two weeks, I wanted to get some new material up on the blog quickly. So I've turned to several items that I've had in the queue for some time, but never posted for one reason or another. Here are some abbreviated thoughts about each.

Kay Thompson Singles

Kay Thompson was one of the strongest influences on 20th century vocal arrangements, especially in her work for vocal groups and in Hollywood musicals. She has appeared here before in a collection of Johnny Green melodies produced in the 1940s, when she and Green were both at M-G-M.

The current collection of 10 songs from singles begins with two early solo sides made in 1937 and attributed to "Kay Thompson and her Rhythm Singers." The backing singers include such well-known names as Bea Wain, Hugh Martin, Al Rinker and Ken Lane. The uncredited orchestra is the band of Jack Jenny, her husband at the time.

We next have a few rare items on the Viking label from 1941. Viking records were notoriously fragile - I think the surface consisted of a thin layer of shellac over cardboard. I have a copy of this single that is in awful shape, so I've used a somewhat better (but still imperfect) transfer found on Internet Archive.

Next are four 1947 selections with her proteges the Williams Brothers - including some repartee with Andy. The final item is her 1956 single on the Cadence label. It's notable because on one side she portrays the heroine of her popular children's books, Eloise, "the little girl who lived on the top floor of the Plaza Hotel in New York."

Johnny Costa - In My Own Quiet Way

Johnny Costa is best known for his many years as the music director of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. He was an immensely talented pianist, who has been featured here twice - for his Savoy LP Introducing Johnny Costa, and his Coral LP Piano Solos, both from 1955.


Those two records were showcases for Costa's Tatum-style improvisations. Today we have his piano with string backing, on a 1959 Dot LP called In My Own Quiet Way. The album does not say who wrote the arrangements, but it seems likely that Costa did so.

Amidst the lush sound of strings, Costa moderates his baroque improvisations, with the result ending up close to the easy listening genre. Still, it's enjoyable, and I recommend it to all who enjoy his other LPs. Please note that there are a few queasy patches where the pitch drops momentarily.

Paul Whiteman - Irving Berlin Songs

Paul Whiteman's legacy has been explored on this blog periodically, primarily via his many Gershwin recordings. In today's post he tackles the songs of Irving Berlin in the form of a album collecting eight sides recorded in 1939.

Six of the eight were made with an orchestra, the other two with "Paul Whiteman's Woodwinds." Vocalist Clark (here "Clarke") Dennis joins him for three of the songs; Joan Edwards for two of the others. Both are competent singers who were on the radio with Whiteman at the time, although Dennis can turn shrill on high notes, and Edwards is bland. Also appearing, uncredited, on some of the songs are the Modernaires. The great accordionist Joe Mooney is in the band on one of the dates.

These are unremarkable records, but well done and vividly recorded. They come via lossless needle-drops found on Internet Archive and restored by me.

Bonus: Blue Stars Singles with Blossom Dearie

Finally, a reup by request of three single sides that the great singer Blossom Dearie made with the Blue Stars of Paris in 1956. I originally prepared these as a tribute to Dearie upon her death a decade ago. She does not solo, but the three songs are nevertheless entertaining. They are "Broadway at Basin Street," "Hernando's Hideaway" (here called "Amour, Castagnettes et Tango") and "Jumpin' at the Woodside."

Please go to the original post for a link to this particular upload, now newly remastered.

Paul Whiteman's 1946 and 1954 Gershwin Recordings

This post brings you yet another Paul Whiteman version of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," adding the Cuban Overture and "'I Got Rhythm' Variations" for good measure.

It's a "Rhapsody in Blue" with a difference, though - Whiteman added a cooing vocal ensemble at several places in the piece. The voices add nothing to the piece,to my ears, but Whiteman told pianist Earl Wild that he had run the idea past Gershwin before the composer's death and received his blessing. The arranger was Glenn Osser, per the pianist.

Earl Wild and Paul Whiteman

Wild himself made something of a specialty of the piece. The young pianist was a staff artist with NBC at the time of the recording, and had broadcast the Rhapsody with Arturo Toscanini in 1942, to much acclaim. He would go on to tape it with the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler for a 1960 RCA release.

Wild and Whiteman recorded the piece in December 1946 for the small Signature label, which had high hopes for the venture. It issued the 78s in an attractive album as number 1 in its "Great Performances" series. The set sold well enough to appear as number three in Billboard's classical chart for 1947. (Number two was another "Rhapsody in Blue" - from Levant and Ormandy. Number one was the Rubinstein-Golschmann Rachmaninoff Second Concerto.)

10-inch LP cover

But apparently the records did not sell well enough for Signature to continue the Great Performances series or offer more recording dates to Pops Whiteman. When the label foundered a few years later, Decca bought its masters. It gave the Wild-Whiteman Rhapsody new life by issuing it on a Coral 10-inch LP in 1952.

Buddy Weed

Decca-Coral invited Whiteman back to the studio in October 1954 to record the additional Gershwin works on offer today - the "Cuban Overture" and "'I Got Rhythm' Variations." The soloist in the latter piece was Buddy Weed, a studio pianist who appeared on dozens of records during the period, and who had been associated with Whiteman since the beginning of his career. This is the only Whiteman recording of the Variations, according to his biographer, Don Rayno. The Overture is presented in a much different arrangement than the 1938 version that featured pianist Rose Linda. I haven't been able to determine who arranged the 1954 recordings.

In 1956, Coral issued the three pieces in a 12-inch LP it dubbed "Great Gershwin" (cover below). This is the source of my transfer. I've moderated Coral's glaringly bright sound. The performances throughout are fluent and enjoyable. The download includes covers for the Signature set, the 10-inch and 12-inch Coral LPs, and a Coral 45, which used the familiar Whiteman caricature.

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Paul Whiteman in the 20s, Plus Robison Collected

Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman has been heard from several times on this blog, mainly in service of George Gershwin's compositions.

Whiteman was an important musical force even outside of his Gershwin advocacy. He was very popular throughout the 1920s, and I thought some of you might enjoy hearing a small selection of his recordings from the Jazz Age, when he was promoted as "the King of Jazz." All transfers come from 78s in my collection.

There is little here that we would recognize as jazz at this late date, but keep in mind that at the time the term "jazz" was merely another word for the pop music that became popular in the wake of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's breakthrough 1917 recordings.

Whiteman made his first recordings in August 1920 with his "Ambassador Orchestra," so named because the bandleader was then appearing at the Ambassador Hotel in Atlantic City. One of the songs Victor took down in those first sessions - "Whispering" - became an immediate sensation, and its flip side - "The Japanese Sandman" - was almost as popular. It's instructive to note that Whiteman, who soon would be earnestly trying to "make a lady out of jazz" had his first success with what amounted to a novelty record. "Whispering" featured what Victor called a "bosun's-pipe-slide-trombone-whistle instrument."

The two sides have a much smoother sound than the raucous ODJB, although "Whispering" does include a bit of the ensemble improvisation that is associated with the ODJB and the Dixieland sound.

By the time of the next record in our selection, "Homesick" from September 1922, Whiteman's ensemble had increased from nine to 12 musicians. They included trumpeter Henry Busse, clarinetist Ross Gorman and pianist Ferde Grofé, who arranged the three songs we have covered so far.

The Whiteman band in 1922. Seated from left: Mike Pingitore, Sam Lewis, Tommy Gott, George Unger, Henry Busse, Ferde Grofé, Hale Byers, Morris Speinson, Donald Clark, Herman Hand, Ross Gorman. Standing: Harold McDonald, Jack Barsby, Paul Whiteman, Phil Ohman.

Our next side is "Sittin' in a Corner" from September 1923, the final acoustically recorded performance in this set. Before 1925, musicians huddled around a recording horn, which fed a recording stylus. Thereafter, an electrical system using microphones came into use. This system's much wider frequency response produced dramatically better fidelity.

The first electrical recordings at hand are "No More Worryin'" and "Valencia" from March 1926. As was common practice, Whiteman used outside vocalists on many of his records of the time. The vocal on "Valencia" is by Franklyn Baur, one of the most prolific recording artists of the time. "No More Worryin'" features Austin "Skin" Young.

Young also appears on "Cheerie Beerie Bee," which was coupled with "Just a Memory," both coming from August 1927 sessions. By this time, the Whiteman ensemble boasted the Dorsey brothers and Matty Malneck, who arranged both of these numbers. You might have guessed that "Cheerie Beerie Bee" is actually "Ciribiribin," which was to become a big hit for Harry James in 1940. "Ciribiribin" was an oldie even in the 1920s - it dated back to 1898. The song was a waltz as written and in Whiteman's version, but James played it in four-four time.

We move on to May 1929, by which time Whiteman had assembled perhaps his most famous band. Its 32 members included cornetists Bix Beiderbecke and Mannie Klein, saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer, and the Rhythm Boys vocal group, starring Bing Crosby. Bill Challis was the arranger. The songs from this period are "I'm in Seventh Heaven" with the Rhythm Boys, and "Little Pal" with Crosby. Both songs were from a soupy Al Jolson talkie called Say It With Songs. Songwriters DeSylva, Brown and Henderson cloned the hyper-sentimental and highly successful "Sonny Boy" of 1928 to come up with "Little Pal."

By the 1929 session, Whiteman had moved from Victor to Columbia, who favored him with the colorful picture label above.

Record historian Tim Gracyk writes of Whiteman, "[His] most impressive records were those of the late 1920s when the orchestra - far larger than that of the early 1920s - included such outstanding musicians as Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, and Bing Crosby. But Whiteman's influence was arguably greatest in the early 1920s when his group helped establish - more so than Victor predecessor Joseph C. Smith - an orchestral sound as standard for the performance of popular tunes for the purpose of dancing." See Gracyk's article if you are interested in this period of Whiteman's recordings.

Finally, just a note that I have collected David Federman's terrific five-part Willard Robison anthology into one file, which includes David's illuminating notes. See the comments for a link.

Historic Gershwin Recordings

I know what you're thinking - what, another Gershwin record? But some of you may not have heard these, the original versions of several famous compositions. So here they are for those who think too much Gershwin is not enough.

This compilation contains the first recordings of the Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris and the Three Preludes. Also included are Gershwin's piano versions of songs from the shows Oh, Kay! and Tip-Toes.

Ferde Grofé, George Gershwin, producer S.L. (Roxy) Rothafel, Paul Whiteman

Gershwin and Paul Whiteman recorded Rhapsody in Blue just a few months after the February 1924 Aeolian Hall concert that introduced the work. (By the way, Aeolian Hall was in a still-existing building on 42nd Street across from Bryant Park. I didn't know that until recently, even though I worked a block away for many years.)

Whiteman called his concert "An Experiment in Modern Music," concocting an unwieldy program starting off with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's "Livery Stable Blues" and ending up with Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1. Gershwin's hurriedly composed Rhapsody stood out for its originality and flair, becoming so famous that Whiteman soon took the whole program on tour.

The recorded version is much abridged, but the Rhapsody's quality is strikingly evident even in this acoustic recording with its constricted frequency response. Ross Gorman's famous opening clarinet glissando is just as outrageous sounding today as it was then. Today's clarinetists use a much smoother tone quality than Gorman produces, and few of them would put forth his braying and laughing effects with the same gusto. It's said that at rehearsal Gorman inserted those effects as a joke on Gershwin. The composer actually liked them and wanted them included in the concert. I wonder if their intent was to mock the "Livery Stable Blues." The point of the concert was to show that the ODJB's style of music had been supplanted by Whiteman's smoother, more dignified type of jazz music. Whiteman had his first hit in 1920, and in a few years had become massively popular. He had already literally been crowned the "King of Jazz." That ceremony had taken place as a publicity stunt upon the the band's return from a 1923 European tour. To the general public, "jazz" had become the modern pop music that Whiteman's dance band purveyed, in succession to the ODJB's raucous sound.

An American in Paris was Gershwin's third major concert success, following the Rhapsody and the Concerto in F. Commissioned in 1928 by conductor Walter Damrosch of the New York Symphony, the first recording was in 1929 with an orchestra led by the immensely prolific Nat Shilkret, then Victor's director of light music. The recording session was not without its difficulties. Supposedly Shilkret banned the meddling Gershwin from the studio until the conductor realized he needed a celeste player for the score. At that point the composer was asked to return. Or so the story goes. It strikes me as a good tale that is highly unlikely.

Several important Gershwin piano solos make up the rest of the selections. The Three Preludes, from a 1928 session in London, are dispatched more briskly (and somewhat less accurately) than the the recording by the composer's acolyte, Oscar Levant, which can be heard via this post. Speaking of brisk, Gershwin hustles through eight songs from his shows Oh, Kay! and Tip-Toes in a bracing fashion - even the torch song "Someone to Watch Over Me" rattles by quickly. In his liner notes, Gershwin expert Edward Jablonski avers that the quick tempos adopted in these 1926 recordings were designed for dancers. (Jablonski must not have tried dancing to them.) Gershwin's metronomic manner likely reflects the ragtime tradition that he grew up with. The young composer's first success in fact was a rag. Still and all, his pianism is winning, even though listening to the eight songs all at once can be tiring. The selection concludes with one of my personal favorites, "When Do We Dance?"

I transferred these items from a indifferently produced LP reissue of variable sound quality. After some refurbishing, Rhapsody in Blue comes up very well considering its acoustic origins. The recording horn did not reproduce any frequencies above 3 kHz, blunting the ring of Gershwin's piano. But the pungent effects produced by Whiteman's fine musicians come through clearly.

The balance of the program was recorded electrically and has a wider range. An American in Paris was not especially well balanced, however. Although Gershwin composed the piece for a full orchestra, and Victor grandly promoted its "Victor Symphony Orchestra" on the label, the recorded evidence is that the string complement is decidedly underpowered. The early going sounds like a concerto for taxi horn and xylophone, with the stringed instruments barely audible. I have added a small amount of convolution reverberation to the mix so as to provide some air to the dead sound and resonance to the strings. The performance is otherwise quite good.

On the solo works, the sound of Gershwin's piano comes across well after some adjustments, although its tone is not entirely clean.

Despite my reservations about the sound, it's wonderful that these historic items are available to us today in such remarkable performances.

Paul Whiteman's 1938 Gershwin Recordings

Paul Whiteman will always be linked with George Gershwin's music. He commissioned Rhapsody in Blue, and introduced it during his famous Aeolian Hall concert in February 1924. The composer himself was the pianist.

George Gershwin

But Gershwin's other major concert works - the Concerto in F, An American in Paris, the Cuban Overture and the Second Rhapsody - were not premiered by Whiteman. They all were introduced by - and scored for - symphony orchestras.

The bandleader still retained a strong interest in the composer, however. For example, in 1928 he made the first recording of the Concerto, with Roy Bargy as the soloist. And he often performed Gershwin's works live with his Concert Orchestra, invariably including one work in his annual concerts of modern American music.

This present album shows what those concert performances must have been like. Whiteman puts aside the symphonic orchestrations that Gershwin himself produced for An American in Paris, the Cuban Overture and the Second Rhapsody. Instead, he employs excellent orchestrations from his staff arrangers. These were tailored to the Concert Orchestra's personnel at the time - a large jazz band plus oboe, seven violins, two violas and one cello. The results are irresistible.

Paul Whiteman

Is it a sacrilege to toss out the composer's own scores? Maybe, but consider that most performances and recordings have not used them either. Gershwin's scores were edited after his death by his publisher, and in one instance (the Second Rhapsody) completely re-orchestrated by composer Robert McBride.

The Whiteman recordings date from October 1938. They were first issued in a 78 set, then transcribed into LP form in 1949. Brief notes about each piece follow.

Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin's most famous work was orchestrated three times by Ferde Grofé, who was Whiteman's chief arranger from 1920-32 - the 1924 version, a revision in 1926 for theater orchestra, and a symphonic orchestration in 1942. It is believed that the 1938 recording uses the original arrangement, with some amendments and additional instruments. The piano soloist is Roy Bargy, who was in Whiteman's employ from 1928-40.

Cuban Overture. This composition, dating from 1932, was initially titled Rumba in honor of the Cuban dance that was then becoming popular in New York. In it, Whiteman's orchestra does a creditable imitation of a rhumba band - certainly far better than the symphonic versions that are often heard. The soloist is Rosa Linda, in her early 20s and already a superb pianist. She is more fluid and produces a more beautiful tone than Bargy. The bandleader had premiered this excellent orchestration by Allan Small in that year's Carnegie Hall concert of American music.

An American in Paris

An American in Paris. This piece, dating from 1931, benefits from another terrific arrangement, this time by Nathan Van Cleave, later a well regarded Hollywood orchestrator.

Second Rhapsody. Perhaps Gershwin's least-loved concert work, the Second Rhapsody (née Rhapsody in Rivets), is nonetheless an enjoyable work that benefits from the strong advocacy of Whiteman and Bargy. It dates from 1931. I haven't been able to determine who did the arrangement here, but it might be Small or Van Cleave.

Roy Bargy in Whiteman's 1930 film The King of Jazz

Now a few words about the sound. I used an original pressing of the LP for my first transfer. It has remarkably vivid sonics that show off Whiteman's terrific ensemble to advantage. However, the pressing is a bit noisy and there is some peak distortion in the louder piano passages. This should not be too distracting if you listen via speakers, but it will be noticeable on headphones.

That being the case, I also did a second transfer from a very clean later pressing. However, this pressing is a re-dub with added reverb, which was entirely unnecessary. The echo blunts the impact of the band's performance. Some of you may prefer this cleaner sound, of course, so I'll make the second transfer available for a limited time.

The caricatures of Whiteman and Gershwin above and the illustration of An American in Paris are by the wonderful artist Miguel Covarrubias, who regularly contributed to Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.

The music of George Gershwin has been a constant presence on this blog - and continuously popular with readers. I hope you enjoy this latest addition to the Gershwin collection.