B-6504

Edmond Hall - Original Blue Note Jazz Volume 1

Released - 1969

Recording and Session Information

WOR Studios, NYC, November 29, 1943
Sidney DeParis, trumpet; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Edmond Hall, clarinet; James P. Johnson, piano; Jimmy Shirley, guitar; Israel Crosby, bass; Sidney Catlett, drums.

BN901-2 High Society (alternate take 2)
BN901-3 High Society
BN903-2 Blues At Blue Note
BN905-2 Night Shift Blues
BN907-2 Royal Garden Blues

WOR Studios, NYC, June 1, 1944
Max Kaminsky, trumpet; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Edmond Hall, clarinet; Art Hodes, piano; Jimmy Shirley, guitar; Sid Weiss, bass; Danny Alvin, drums.

BN977-0 Sweet Georgia Brown
BN978-1 Squeeze Me (alternate take)
BN979-0 Sugar Foot Stomp (alternate take)
BN980-0 Bugle Call Rag (alternate take 1)
BN980-2 Bugle Call Rag (alternate take 2)

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
High Society	C. Williams-A.J Piron	November 29 1943
High Society	C. Williams-A.J Piron	November 29 1943
Blues At Blue Note	Edmond Hall	November 29 1943
Night Shift Blues	Edmond Hall	November 29 1943
Royal Garden Blues	C. Williams-S. Williams	November 29 1943
Side Two
Sweet Georgia Brown	Bernie-Casey-Pinkard	June 1 1944
Squeeze Me	C. Williams-T. Waller	June 1 1944
Sugar Foot Stomp	J. Oliver-W. Melrose	June 1 1944
Bugle Call Rag	Pettis-Meyers-Schoebel	June 1 1944
Bugle Call Rag	Pettis-Meyers-Schoebel	June 1 1944

Liner Notes

They came from everywhere: Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago. Some hung on to their home town a bit longer, I remember I stayed with the Windy City 'til '38. Eventually we gave if up and hit New York. Not that anybody was making it that big but at least you were making it, and you could play your jazz. You know, you couldn't play it home. "Stop that noise; I'll call the law." And they did; but that's another story.

In New York you could do somethin' about this music you loved. You could operate. The union wasn't always on your tail. Condon went into TV and eventually got his own nightclub. "Always wanted to be a saloon-keeper." I had a radio show until The Little Flower (Mayor La Guardia) heard it the second time. I was mentioning names and labels and that were "commercial" on a city-owned station. The non-players who dug "le jazz hot" put out periodicals. Other jazz-loving buffs got into the recording end of it. Alfred Lion and Frank Wolff were Blue Note Records and what we're about to spin is a 1944-45 cutting. That was a jazz-productive time. No one talked color; it was the music that had a dark tinge.

Paul Whiteman used to say, "You take an old chestnut," and certainly "Sweet Georgia Brown" can qualify. The Harlem Globe Trotters have been warming up to that melodic bit for years. You can groove with that tune and that's exactly what we did on this date. Starting with Maxie Kaminsky's lyrical lead, into Vic Dickenson's "tell your story" chorus, which is followed by Edmond Hall's clarinet solo, the whole bit moves—an "all-together" effort. Then Max blows one and you'll hear Alvin backing the piano with the kind of drumming that's become a rarity. Nothing frantic happens, just some of the best in two-beat.

I'm sure Fats Waller never expected to hear his tune "Squeeze Me" played as slowly as we tackle it, That's the way it hit us that day at that particular moment. Our group, Kaminsky, Alvin, Hall, Dickenson, Shirley and Weiss take it on down real slow. Wait 'til you hear Vic's chorus. Man, that cat grooves. Now you'll hear some of the best Kaminsky horn you're liable to run in to. I dug the Amen ending. "Sugar Foot Stomp" goes back to the Oliver King days. This band is rolling. As I re-listen, I notice myself toe-tapping. If memory serves me right, this has to be a previously unissued track (at least it's new to me). Vic Dickenson shows you time and again why musicians rate him so highly. And listening to Maxie, you get another slant on his playing. "Play the blues, Art," and you know I'm not goin' to be left out. The rhythm section gets a relaxed feel and then everybody's back in for the "out" chorus.

"Bugle Call Rag" is a tune I've heard and played so many Sunday afternoons at Jimmy Ryan's sessions. Let me tell you, this was the social event of the week (if you happened to be a hot jazz player or fan). I'll never forget my first visit to this session and how I waited for a chance to play. In front of you were Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Jess Stacy, Joe Sullivan, etc. Boy, when you got a turn you'd better be ready. "Bugle Call Rag" was the big closing number and sometimes as many as 15 players would assemble on and around that small stand. You play through the first part and into the "Ole Miss" strain. It's every tub...Man, that felt so good let's play it again. Another version. The tempo is picked up a bit. We're swingin'. The 'two-bar' statements and then ensemble. "Ole Miss" could be a tune in itself. Dig the rhythm chorus. Take it out; give Danny (Alvin) four (4-bar break). Gone...

Back to side one, it's a new band — same era. A couple of the same cats you just heard. In fact Edmond Hall is leader-man. Dickenson is on trombone; Sidney DeParis takes over the trumpet seat. It's Israel Crosby on bass; Arthur Shirley, guitar; James P. Johnson, piano; and Big Sid Catlett, drums. I submit that's one fine organization. "High Society" is given a four-beat treatment, although the tune itself is cut from 2-beat thread. Where does one begin passing out credits? Big Sid is too much. Man, he had a beat that wouldn't quit. Then the DeParis horn hits you and you realize there actually was a time when such music was played and trumpet players were something to listen to, not to figure out. Edmond handles the traditional clarinet (Picou) chorus with ease. You'll love the way Catlett walks this on down to the finish.

"Blues At Blue Note" follows the two "High Society" versions. Now it's Sidney's muted style stating the blues. He sets the mood. Man, I feel his "depth." This isn't surface talk. The growling Dickenson trombone adds the earthy touch. James P. takes a chorus. I regard Jimmy with reverence. He was Big Daddy (although this tempo blues isn't his bag), and if you listen there's always somethin' you can learn when he's playing. "Night Shift Blues" begins with "rhythm" talk and it's Shirley and his guitar that sets the mood. One by one (trombone, trumpet, clarinet) the players take their choruses and you hear some good riff backgrounds cooked up by Dickenson and DeParis. They sound especially good together on this blues.

"Royal Garden Blues" has been jazz band material since the Bix days. Each band that tackles it sticks pretty close to standard format. This group is no exception. What I really noticed was how they kept the ensemble playing going long enough so that when the first soloist came in (it was Vic Dickenson) the thing was off the ground. You call the jazz this band produced like "down-the-middle." We used to say "it's tight like that," and it is. Don't nobody move. Now you hear a bit of the Johnson piano live been hearing for years. And towards the close you hear some of the best drummin' ever, but no "I'm takin' over" style. The drummer is still a part of the whole. Man, this is music.

Somehow I'm reminded of a piece the late George Wettling wrote in Jazz Record Magazine, which I once co-owned. Drummer-man George was remembering the late drummer-man Baby Dodds. Let me quote "Yes, it is probably pretty hard to believe, but there really was a time when a fellow had to know how to drum in order to play in a jazz band. Of course it was 'way back there, but there really was a time like that" (February, 1945). You know, I'm a lucky guy. I came up in that time; I played me some jazz in that time. Yeh, some of it got glued on shellac. Hearing this is like reliving a bit of the past. Turn it on...

Notes by Art Hodes Blue Note Records