Unreissued American Music II: Charles Thompson

Way back in 2014 I promised some more 78s from the American Music label that had not been reissued. It took me awhile, but here is some prime piano ragtime and blues from Charles Thompson.

Charles Thompson (1891-1964), not to be confused with jazz pianist Sir Charles Thompson, was a formidable ragtime pianist and composer. Born in ragtime's "capital," St. Louis, Thompson is probably best known for his composition "The Lily Rag," and for winning the massive 1916 ragtime competition at the Booker T. Washington Theater in his hometown, where he emerged triumphant over Tom Turpin and 66 other pianists.

Bill Russell, the jazz historian who owned the American Music label, moved back to his hometown of Canton, Missouri in 1947. Canton was only 150 miles north of St. Louis, and in December of that year, Russell met Charles Thompson and decided to record him. His attempts to get Thompson on wax were seemingly jinxed. They got four good takes at Technisonic Recording Laboratories in St. Louis on December 30, 1947, but when the engineer dubbed the chosen takes onto a single disc for processing, they were overcut and distorted. Russell did not get the master discs back for many years.

Russell tried again on August 4, 1948, again at Technisonic, but was apparently disappointed with the quality of the performances. He wrote "no good" in his log beside most of the takes. Two tracks from this session were later issued on CD, however.


Finally, on August 2, 1949, Russell and Thompson successfully re-recorded the same four sides that Russell had planned to issue from the 1947 session. This time drummer Bill McCall was added, providing some fairly unobtrusive accompaniments. Russell issued two records on American Music, each featuring a rag backed with a blues.

By the time the revived American Music label issued a CD which paired Thompson with New Orleans/California pianist Dink Johnson, the long-lost 1947 master discs had been returned to Russell. So those were used for the CD issue. That means the 1949 78s have never been reissued. I seldom use the term "mint" to describe the condition of 78s, but these pretty much fit that description.

AM 527: The Lily Rag
                Derby Stomp

AM 528: Delmar Rag
                Lingering Blues

Two James Scott Rags on Edison

James Scott (1885-1938) was part of the triumvirate of great ragtime composers, along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb. The title of one of his most famous compositions, "Grace and Beauty," is a good description of his music - it has a personal melodic lilt that gives it a different flavor than Joplin's music. Several of Scott's rags were quite popular in the early decades of the 20th century, and "Climax Rag" became something of a jazz standard. In later years however, Scott and his music were somewhat neglected until the ragtime revival of the 1970s.

Fred Van Eps (1878-1960) was an incredibly prolific banjo player in the early days of the record industry, recording for all the major labels and many of the smaller ones. Although he recorded much pop/dance music, he specialized in ragtime, recording dozens of examples of the genre early in the 20th century.

Van Eps turned to two James Scott rags, "Grace and Beauty" and "Ragtime Oriole," rather late in the day for ragtime. He recorded these two pieces for Pathe in September, 1923 and again for Edison the following February. Ragtime was no longer the revolutionary music it had seemed two decades earlier; jazz was now the latest thing. And the influence of jazz seems to have affected Van Eps' performance style: he has replaced the straight 16th notes in the sheet music with a slightly jerky attempt at a jazz "swing." One guesses that the composer would have admonished Van Eps with the title and subtitle of one of his later rags: "Don't Jazz Me - I'm Music."

In any case, it's interesting to hear these performances of Scott's rags performed during his lifetime. Accompanied by John Burckhardt on piano, here is Fred Van Eps, from Edison 51514, recorded in New York City on February 6, 1924:

Grace and Beauty

Ragtime Oriole

James Reese Europe Follow-Up

My February 12 post, with all of James Reese Europe's 1913-14 Victor records, attracted lots of attention from record collectors. This is a follow-up post, responding to several requests and comments.

It was requested that I post pictures of all the labels, so I have done so below. And for those who prefer a lossless audio format, I have uploaded flac files.


Flac files:

Too Much Mustard

Down Home Rag

Irresistible

Amapa

Castle's Lame Duck

Castle House Rag

Castle Walk

You're Here and I'm Here

James Reese Europe's Victor Records

James Reese Europe (1880-1919), although largely forgotten today, is an important figure in the history of black American music. In the second decade of the 20th century, Europe took the New York (and beyond) dancing and music worlds by storm. In 1910 he formed the Clef Club, an organization to promote the black orchestras and composers of New York, and by 1912 he had attracted the attention of Vernon and Irene Castle, the most influential dance team of their time. Europe's dance orchestra became the Castles' "official" accompanists, which led to the Europe band's appearance in a Broadway show; they were the first black band to be featured on Broadway.

Europe's Society Orchestra recorded eight sides for Victor in late 1913 and early 1914. These records were state-of-the-art dance music of the time; the ragtime sides in particular must have been tremendously exciting for dancers and listeners used to more sedate sounds. Six of the sides were longer than the three-minute capacity of a 10" 78, and so were issued on 12" records. The ragtime sides have been reissued here and there over the years, but as far as I can tell, the others (a tango, a maxixe, and a waltz) have never been reissued.

When the United States entered World War I, Europe enlisted and took a band to France, where he served with distinction, with some front-line combat duty mixed in with bandleading. After the war he made a series of interesting recordings for Pathe; the best of these at least touched on jazz. Backstage at a concert, a disagreement with one of his drummers led to the latter stabbing Europe with a small knife. Although the wound seemed superficial, he died of internal bleeding a few hours later.

Since these were dance records (each label announces, "For Dancing"), the type of dance for each selection is listed after the title. The headlong rush of the one-steps, driven by the energetic playing of ragtime drummer Buddy Gilmore, is heady stuff, even over a century later. Here, at last, are all the Victor recordings by Europe's band. The usual caveats apply - these are acoustical recordings, and some sides are in better condition than others.

James Reese Europe conducting Europe's Society Orchestra, including Cricket Smith (cornet), Edgar Campbell (clarinet), Tracy Cooper, George Smith, and Walter Scott (violin), Leonard Smith and Ford Dabney (piano), Buddy Gilmore (drums) and five (!) banjo-mandolins. December 29, 1913; New York:

Victor 35359 (12")
Too Much Mustard - One Step or Turkey Trot (Cecil Macklin)
Down Home Rag - One Step or Turkey Trot (Wilbur Sweatman)

Victor 35360 (12")
Irresistible - Tango Argentine (L. Logatti)
Amapa - Maxixe Bresilien (J. Storoni)

Add Chandler Ford (cello), baritone horn and flute; omit banjo-mandolins. February 10, 1914; New York:

Victor 35372 (12")
Castle House Rag - One-Step (Europe)
Castle's Lame Duck - Waltz (Europe)

Victor 17553 (10"):
Castle Walk - One-Step or Trot (Europe/Dabney)
You're Here and I'm Here - One-Step (Jerome Kern)

An early Zonophone Rag - Creole Belles

Here is one of the oldest records in my collection - probably the second oldest, in fact. It's Hager's Orchestra playing my favorite "cakewalk" rag, "Creole Belles." (The cakewalk rhythm, eighth note/quarter note/eighth/quarter/quarter, can be heard at the beginning of the first strain, just after the introduction.) This is an early Zonophone record with an embossed label, partially highlighted with white paint. The recording was probably made in 1900 or 1901, the record issued in 1901 or 1902.

Like early Berliner records, early Zonophones were recorded at around 71 RPM. J. Bodewalt Lampe's fine composition was published for piano in the key of G, but is and was usually arranged in the more wind instrument-friendly key of F for bands. (And this is a wind band, no matter what the label implies.) This one-sided, nine-inch record pitches in F when played just faster than 71 RPM. The playing surface is not in good shape; the announcement at the beginning of the record is mostly unintelligible. But the music is intact, and quite listenable above the surface noise; the sound even improves as the record progresses.

Fred Hager, who served as music director and what we would now call "producer" at Zonophone, was still in his twenties when he conducted this spirited rendition. He went on to serve in similar capacities at Columbia and Okeh, and for the latter company produced the early Mamie Smith records which led to the "blues craze" of the 1920s. Zonophone also issued a seven-inch record of Hager's Orchestra playing "Creole Belles."

Enjoy a favorite of mine, "Creole Belles," from Zonophone 651.

Creole Belles