"Little" Records by Wilbur Sweatman

Pioneering jazz clarinetist Wilbur Sweatman (1882-1961) often gets a bad rap, in my opinion. Almost every mention of him in the jazz literature points out that part of his act involved playing three clarinets at once. (Yes, that's hokey, but it was probably pretty entertaining.) In recent years there has been more recognition of his many recordings, though. From 1918 to 1920 Sweatman's Original Jazz Band was Columbia's answer to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Columbia released 24 sides by Sweatman during this period; they all appear on the archival label Archeophone's CD Jazzin' Straight Through Paradise.

Before the Columbia period, Sweatman recorded for Emerson and Pathe, and after 1920 for Gennett, Edison, Grey Gull, Victor, and Vocalion, making for an impressive recording career which lasted from 1916 to 1935. (And that's not counting a possible cylinder recording made for a Minneapolis department store in 1903 or 1904.) And during many of Sweatman's Columbia sessions, he also made sides for the Little Wonder label - more on that later.

Besides the three-clarinet trick, the other thing usually mentioned about Wilbur Sweatman is that he wrote "Down Home Rag," a popular and much-recorded composition, covered by everyone from James Reese Europe to Benny Goodman. "Down Home Rag" was one of the two titles recorded by Sweatman in 1916 for the Emerson label. Emerson issued records in all sorts of sizes, and "Down Home Rag" was issued on five-and-a-half-inch and seven-inch discs. The seven-inch version can be found below. Sweatman is accompanied by the oddly-named "Emerson String Trio," which includes Nathan Glantz on saxophone and Malvin Franklin on piano, along with an anonymous violinist. The flip side of the record, not included here, is "Broadway Chicken Walk" by the Emerson Symphony Orchestra. Sweatman's rendition of his composition is an engaging example of hot ragtime.

In a previous post, I mentioned the Little Wonder label's shadowy relationship to Columbia Records. Columbia pressed these little records for Henry Waterson when he established the discount label in 1914, and the larger label took over Little Wonder completely by 1917. Columbia took care to hide its relationship to Little Wonder, though, and kept the public in the dark about its connection to the low-priced, five-and-a-half-inch discs. But Little Wonder's performers, whose names were almost never listed on the record labels, came exclusively from Columbia's artist roster. Artists were often offered a small amount of money to record shorter versions of the songs they had just recorded at Columbia sessions. Wilbur Sweatman's eight (or nine - one is uncertain) Little Wonder records came about less scrupulously: he was asked to record short "test" versions of his pieces, and expressed surprise when he learned, 35 years later, that these were issued on Little Wonder.

"Jazz Band" is the only artist identification on the labels of Sweatman's Little Wonder records. One record is particularly interesting: "Lonesome Road." This is a song by Will Nash, not the more familiar quasi-spiritual composed by Nat Shilkret and Gene Austin. Sweatman recorded three takes of the song for Columbia on February 5, 1919, but for whatever reason none were ever issued. The one-and-a-half-minute version was issued on Little Wonder, though, making #1092 the only one of Sweatman's Little Wonders that is a unique title without a longer Columbia equivalent. For that reason, "Lonesome Road" is the only Little Wonder side included on the Archeophone CD mentioned above. But Little Wonder issued two takes of the tune, and my copy is a different take from that on the CD.

"Lonesome Road" can be found below, along with a couple of other Sweatman Little Wonder sides. The label was not known for the quality of its pressings and there is wear and groove damage to be found on these recordings. But they are wonderful examples of early New York proto-jazz, and not easy to find on reissues. In addition, Little Wonder issued a record of a studio band (probably Prince's Band) playing a Sweatman composition, "Boogie Rag," in 1917 or so. It's another nice, hot rag, with a forward-looking title - the terms "boogie" or "boogie woogie" would not start becoming common until a decade or so later. This dance-band version of Sweatman's piece is well worth hearing.

I'm not going to list the personnel for the "Jazz Band" sides in detail, because those details are uncertain, and some of the personnel listings I've seen don't match what my ears are telling me in terms of instrumentation. But Cricket Smith, Arthur Briggs, or William Hicks are possibilities for the trumpet chair; John Reeves or Major Smith are likely trombonists, and Dan Parrish is probably the pianist. All were recorded in New York City. Enjoy these scarce Wilbur Sweatman "little" records.

Down Home Rag - Emerson 7161; c. December, 1916

Lonesome Road - Little Wonder 1092; February, 1919

Ev'rybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues - Little Wonder 851; March, 1918

Kansas City Man Blues - Little Wonder 1192; March, 1919

Boogie Rag - Little Wonder 706; c. 1917

A "New" Casals Record?

I may have uncovered a previously unknown recording of the great cellist Pablo Casals, but I would like cellists and Casals experts to weigh in.

From 1915 to 1924, Casals recorded for Columbia Records. Interestingly, this period largely overlaps with the 1914-1923 lifespan of the Little Wonder record label. In brief, Little Wonder was the first discount record label; their records were one-sided, five inches in diameter, and sold for ten cents in an era when most records sold for 65 or 75 cents. (Celebrity classical recordings often sold for much more than that.) Little Wonders look like children's records, but they were aimed at a general audience. The repertoire consists mostly of pop hits of the day, but there were also jazz sides, classical selections, marches, and examples of other genres among their releases. There was no artist credit on the vast majority of Little Wonders - just a generic "Tenor Solo," "Band," "Vocal Trio," etc. Record collectors and specialists in early recorded sound have identified many of the artists, although many Little Wonders remain anonymous.

Without going into too much detail here, Little Wonder had a shadowy relationship with Columbia Records. All identified Little Wonder artists also recorded for Columbia - which is not to imply that they all had exclusive contracts with that label. In some cases the artists at Columbia sessions were offered a little extra money to record minute-and-a-half versions (the duration of a LW record) of the same selections they were recording for Columbia. In at least one case, a Columbia artist didn't know that he was making records for Little Wonder. Clarinetist Wilbur Sweatman's band was asked to make short "test" recordings at several of his sessions; Sweatman was later shocked when someone played him some of those "tests," which Little Wonder released as "Jazz Band" records.

Which brings us to Little Wonder 649, labeled "Tannhauser - The Evening Star; Violincello Solo." Knowing the Columbia connection, I have long wondered if the anonymous cellist could be Pablo Casals, the most prominent cellist recording for Columbia at the time. No company files have been discovered, but according to Tim Brooks and Merle Sprinzen's book about the label (see below), LW 649 would have come out around 1917. Casals recorded "The Evening Star" for a twelve-inch Columbia record on April 21, 1916 - the first of several times he recorded Wagner's aria. I've had the Little Wonder record for years, but just managed to track down a copy of the 1916 Columbia - a nice French issue, with the title listed as "O Star of Eve" on the label.

On first listen, I was struck by how much it seemed to be the same orchestra, the same conductor, and even the same studio on both records. I was less convinced that it was the same cellist - the player on the Little Wonder played more dramatic glissandos in a few places - a characteristic I've never associated with Casals. But on listening more carefully, I found that the glissandos are there on the Columbia recording; they're just more subtle. If it's the same player, it's easy to imagine him having a little fun and "schmaltzing" up the short version more.

And I do think that it's the same player on both records. Below I have linked to the full Columbia version, the Little Wonder version, a one-and-a-half-minute excerpt (starting at 2:13) from the Columbia that corresponds to the portion of the piece recorded for Little Wonder, and a composite on which the Columbia excerpt is immediately followed by the Little Wonder.

Some caveats are in order for those unfamiliar with early 20th century recording techniques and records. These recordings were made acoustically, with the musicians playing into large horns that fed the sound to a membrane, which in turn vibrated the cutting needle. Microphones wouldn't come into play for recording for almost ten more years. And surface noise is always present on 78 RPM records. Furthermore, the razor-thin profit margin of the Little Wonder company required that the records be made as cheaply as possible, so they are made of cheaper and noisier material than the standard records of the time. I have applied a little bit of noise reduction on the Columbia and a little more on the Little Wonder. But since noise reduction can affect the sound of the instruments, I tried to stop at the point at which I heard just a little change in the cello sound.

I think that Little Wonder 649 is played by Pablo Casals. Cellists and other experts, what do you think?

Evening Star - Columbia version, April 21, 1916; Columbia matrix 48716; French Columbia 7360; also issued on American Columbia A5953

The Evening Star - Little Wonder 649

Columbia Evening Star excerpt

Columbia excerpt and Little Wonder 649 in succession

More information about the Little Wonder label can be found at this website, by Merle Sprinzen, the dean of Little Wonder collectors. She is the coauthor (with Tim Brooks) of Little Wonder Records and Bubble Books, published in 2011 by Mainspring Press. It's an essential volume for Little Wonder collectors.