Varèse's Ionisation

The visionary composer Edgard Varèse completed "Ionisation," perhaps the first masterpiece of percussion ensemble literature, in 1931. It was premiered in 1933 and recorded the following year, making it the first Varèse composition to be issued on records. It's a fiendishly difficult piece, especially so for the orchestral percussionists of the time. Conductor Nicolas Slonimsky recalled, "We engaged the percussion players from the New York Philharmonic, but it soon became clear that they could never master the rhythms. In desperation, we appealed to fellow composers to take over the task; to them the Varèsian asymmetry was child’s play." So Henry Cowell, Paul Creston, Wallingford Reigger, William Schuman, and Varèse himself (on sirens) were among the percussionists in the Columbia studios.

Recording technology and record manufacturing techniques of the time couldn't do justice to the subtleties of "Ionisation." In addition, my copy of the original Columbia "royal blue" record is somewhat worn. I've cleaned up clicks, pops, and surface noise to the extent I could without compromising the sound of the instruments. The six-minute piece was split across two sides of the original record; I've joined them, but the "seam" is apparent. While I have heard more precise and eloquent performances of this groundbreaking piece, I love the spirit of this first recording, which shines through the limitations of the record.

Ionisation

The Wolverines on Claxtonola

 

I recently acquired a rare record by Bix Beiderbecke and the Wolverines, that midwestern jazz band that recorded for Gennett in 1924.  When I became interested in jazz as a teenager, the first jazz record I remember buying was a Milestone LP collection which had all of the Wolverines' sides with Bix. Over 40 years later, I still love this music.

Claxtonola was a small Iowa City label that operated from 1922 to 1925 or so. It drew material from Paramount and Gennett, and like many small labels that leased material from larger companies, they often used pseudonyms to disguise the artists. Thus Gennett 5454, with "Riverboat Shuffle" and "Susie" played by the Wolverine Orchestra, has as its equivalent Claxtonola 40339, by The Jazz Harmonizers.

The Ebay seller who listed this record was apparently not aware of its true nature - there was no mention of Bix or the Wolverines - so I was able to buy it for a very reasonable price, considering its rarity. It's a fairly worn record, with lots of surface noise, but the music is still quite audible and enjoyable. I won't post a transfer here, because anyone interested can find the music in much better sound elsewhere on the web. But I'm happy to have this rarity by one of my favorite early jazz musicians.