August 2002

 
Georgia On My Mind
Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra          1931
(Okeh 41541 mx 405063)

Here is a record that I almost didn't feature because of its not so great condition.  My audio restoration software, however, surprised me and did a fine job cleaning it up.  Despite the audio blemishes, it is a very enjoyable performance.
 

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August 22, 2002
 
 

Audio File Updated September 11, 2004
In The Still Of The Night
Will Osborne and His Orchestra                          Joan Whitney, vocal                                1937
(Decca 1467 mx 62614)

I think Will Osborne had one of the nicer sounding bands of the big band era.  In the late 1930s, he adopted a style that he called "Slide Music" based on its emphasis of slide trombone glissandos.  Also note the "wah wah" effects at the beginning of the selection.   Unlike other bands that employed various musical gimmicks in order to set themselves apart from the pack,  Osborne's is one that I don't tire of listening to for a length of time.

Osborne himelf did a lot of the band's vocals and was one of the early "crooners." For a while in the early 1930s he was engaged in much publicized rivalry with Rudy Vallee.  The above Osborne photo was taken from a 1929 sheet music cover.  In the early 1940s, Osborne's group became the house band of radio's Abbot and Costello program.
 

August 15, 2002
 
 

Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet
Casa Loma Orchestra                           1931
(Brunswick 6100 mx E36499)

I had announced that this week's selection would be one by Will Osborne and His Orchestra.  Unfortunately, because of other time demands, it will have to wait until I have a chance to process it through my audio restoration software.  In the meanwhile, here is a selection that I restored a few weeks ago for inclusion in my Internet radio station.

The Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the more popular bands of the 1930s.  It was formed in 1929 around the remnants of a band called the Orange Blossoms which  was part of the dance band empire of Jean Goldkette.  The band was unusual in that it was a cooperative endeavor owned by the members of the band.   Sax player Glen Gray was the band's president. While the band began recording under the name of "Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra" at least as early as 1933,  the band was actually led by Mel Jenssen until 1937 when Gray started fronting the band.  The band was versatile and played both "hot" and "sweet" arrangements.  This rather staccato sounding selection is typical of the bands early 1930s jazz efforts.
 

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August 8, 2002
 
 

 
Saxarella
Rudy Wiedoeft, saxophone
Frank Banta, piano                              1923
(Victor 19167)

This week's selection goes back to the acoustical  (i.e. pre-microphone) era of recording.

Though largely forgotten today, Rudy Wiedoeft was a phenomenally successful saxophone player in the late 1910s and early 1920s.  Many of the charming late ragtime and early jazz tunes that he performed were of his own composition.  He was especially fond of giving his songs names that ended with the letter "a" such as this week's selection as well as others like  "Saxophobia," "Saxema," "Velma," "Gloria," "Valse Erika" etc.   By the end of the 1920s, Wiedoeft's popularity in the United States started to wane and he spent the early part of the 1930s in Europe where he was still very much in demand.  After he returned to America, Wiedoeft lost what was left of the fortune he had earned through his music in an ill-fated gold mining venture.  In 1937, he survived a butcher knife stab wound inflicted by his wife during a quarrel over financial issues.  Rudy Wiedoeft died in 1940 of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 47.

Wiedoeft has been credited by some as being largely responsible for the saxophone's later popularity as a jazz instrument.   He left his mark in other areas as well.  In the early 1920s, a young saxophone player and student at the University of Maine named Herbert was so enamored of Wiedoeft's playing that his friends started calling him "Rudy."  The name stuck and that student, now remembered as Rudy Vellee, went on to become one of the early stars of network radio.

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August 1, 2002
 
 

 
Roses of Yesterday
Ben Bernie & His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra
Scrappy Lambert & Billy Hillpot, vocal       1928
(Brunswick 4058)

This week's selection is from the flip side of  the Colonial Club Orchestra selection from a few weeks back.   It is a rather charming song that I was not familiar with until I came across the record.

This selection provides a good illustration of both the success and the frustrations I am having while trying to improve my skills with the audio restoration software.  Some of the passages sound absolutely incredible.  On the other hand,  I find that I often have difficulty with high pitched instruments - especially in louder passages.  Observe that some of the louder passages after the vocal are rather grating and seem a bit too high pitched.  What confuses me about it is that it is precisely the high pitched end of the sound spectrum that is most most heavily filtered during the noise reduction process.  You will also hear a few subtle "pops" in the recording that I could easily have removed had I spent more time on it.  Every time I use the software, I usually end up having to strike a balance between quality and time efficiency.