"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

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

Punch Miller in 1944

Ernest "Punch" Miller (1894-1971) was one of those New Orleans trumpet players of around Louis Armstrong's age who were only a step or two behind Armstrong in terms of technique and improvising ability. (Others were Red Allen, Lee Collins, reportedly Kid Rena, who only recorded when past his prime, and supposedly Buddy Petit, who never recorded at all.) Punch (so nicknamed because his sister was Judy) left New Orleans in 1926 and made Chicago his home base for the next 30 years, although he frequently performed with traveling shows. He was no stranger to the Chicago recording studios in the 1920s, appearing on records with Albert Wynn, Tiny Parham, Jimmy Wade, and others. The Chicago nightclub scene kept him busy, and he made a few more recordings in the next couple of decades before returning to New Orleans in 1956.

With the second "New Orleans revival" of the 1960s and the opening of Preservation Hall, Miller became a much-loved elder statesman of traditional jazz, although his trumpet playing during this period was no match for his more youthful performances. His session for the 1962 Atlantic Jazz at Preservation Hall series is a lovely recording, but the trumpeting is far from the fiery near-Armstrong style Miller exhibited earlier in his career.

One mid-career session by Punch has proved to be elusive on reissues - his 1944 date for the Session label. I remember seeing these tracks on a CD at the Louisiana Music Factory in New Orleans, but I was confused about what session they came from, and thought that I already had them. By the time I realized that I "needed" those tracks, the CD was gone. But a year or so ago I got the two 78s from the session at a very reasonable price, so I'm able to present the music here.

Session was a small Chicago jazz label that operated from 1943 to about 1946. (The definitive website about the label is here.) The surfaces of my records are pretty quiet, but the Miller session is not well recorded. The sound is thin and pinched, and there is hardly any low end. I worked on the sound and boosted the bass a little, but you can't boost frequencies that just aren't there. The records have noticeable inner groove distortion, and one of my records has a slight warp which causes an audible "bump" for a few revolutions at the beginning of "West End Blues."

But it's a nice little session, with a quintet made up of mostly fellow New Orleanians. (I've always assumed clarinetist Artie Starks was from Louisiana, but I can find little information about him - surprisingly, since he recorded so frequently.) Miller's playing is strong without being spectacular, the rhythm section is solid, and Artie Starks is, well, himself - his playing always had at least a touch of what they used to call "gaspipe" style. I'm presenting the music in the order in which it was recorded, but "West End Blues" and "Boy in the Boat" were paired on Session 12-014, and "Sugar Foot Stomp" and "Muscle Shoals Blues" were on Session 12-015 - both 12" records. As noted earlier, Artie Starks (spelled wrong on the labels) is on clarinet, Richard M. Jones plays piano, John Lindsay is the bassist, and the drummer is Clifford "Snag" Jones. These sides were recorded in Chicago on June 12, 1944.

West End Blues

Sugar Foot Stomp

Muscle Shoals Blues

Boy in the Boat

Freddie Webster with Sonny Boy Williams

Trumpeter Freddie Webster (1916-1947) was a "musician's musician" - mostly forgotten now, but revered by his fellow trumpet players at the time. Dizzy Gillespie said of him, "Freddie Webster probably had the best sound on a trumpet since it was invented." Miles Davis once stated, "Freddie Webster is the trumpeter I tried to imitate," and Webster's influence is apparent in Davis' early recordings - hear Miles' "Now's the Time" solo with Charlie Parker. Webster combined his full, beautiful sound with a searching modernism; his unusual note choices revealed an advanced harmonic sophistication.

Unfortunately, Webster had a short life and didn't leave behind that many recordings. Most of the recordings he did make were as a big-band section player; there are only a few on which he was featured as a soloist. Here is a complete session from July 26, 1942, with Webster as part of a small band backing up singer Sonny Boy Williams. Besides Webster and Williams, the personnel is not known.

And not much is known about Enoch Williams, whose stage name is (perhaps intentionally) confusingly similar to that of blues singer John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. (The other Sonny Boy Williamson, Rice Miller, had not yet recorded at the time.) No one would mistake Sonny Boy Williams for Williamson, though - John Lee's music was downhome blues, and Enoch Williams was a light, smooth, swinging crooner. The songs on this session tend toward novelty, and except for Webster's composition "Reverse the Charges," don't have much musical or lyrical value. But the unknown tenor saxophone soloist is quite good, and the alto saxist and pianist are solid enough. Webster's playing is fascinating, although he doesn't get any more solo space than anyone else. He doesn't solo at all on "Savoy is Jumpin'," but I've included it for completeness' sake.

Here are the four tunes in recording order. "Savoy is Jumpin'" and "Honey It Must be Love" were originally issued on Decca 8643; "Rubber Bounce" and "Reverse the Charges" on Decca 8651.

Savoy is Jumpin'

Reverse the Charges

Rubber Bounce

Honey It Must be Love

An Early "High Society"

"High Society" began life as a march composed by Porter Steele, who copyrighted it in 1901. Probably through performances by New Orleans brass bands, it became a traditional jazz standard. King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band made the first jazz recording of the piece in 1923. Here is an early recording of the march - possibly the first "High Society" on record.

The American Record Company was formed in 1904, and made records until the early days of 1907, when a court ruled that they operating in violation of the lateral recording patents shared by Columbia and Victor. But while they were in business, they produced records that were striking in appearance and of high quality for the time. The records were pressed on blue-grey shellac and featured an attractive, attention-getting label, even if it is somewhat condescending by today's standards. American made records in various sizes; many are ten and three-fourths inches in diameter, like this one.

The house band at the American studio was called the Regimental Band of the Republic; based on the record's catalog number, they probably recorded this version of "High Society" in 1905. An orchestral version of Steele's piece was recorded for the Leeds & Catlin label in 1906, but I have not been able to find any reference to a recording earlier than the American disc.

Jazz bands traditionally play "High Society" in B flat, modulating to E flat for the last strain. This recording sounds natural when played back at approximately 71 RPM, like many records from the first few years of the 20th century. At that speed, this version reveals itself to be in C/F, and the announcer at the beginning sounds normal.

When performed by jazz bands, a clarinet solo devised by early jazzman Alphonse Picou is considered an essential part of the last strain. It is usually said that he adapted that part from the piccolo part of the original, but that part is not present in this recording. The piccolo part in that strain is much simpler than Picou's solo, although with a little imagination, one can hear this piccolo part as a skeletal outline of what Picou came up with.

Enjoy this early recording of "High Society" - most probably the first.

High Society

1924 Brunswick Flyer

I haven't posted here in a while, so here's a quick post, with a promise of more to come. Here's a very interesting Brunswick Records flyer from 1924, of a type I haven't really seen elsewhere. It's eleven inches by six and a quarter inches, and is folded into thirds, although I don't know whether the folds were original or made by someone later. A previous owner has written lightly in pencil, "c. 5/24," and mid-1924 seems about right - the records touted here were waxed in late 1923 and early 1924.

Ray Miller had a fine dance band indeed, although these sides were recorded just before the great trombonist Miff Mole joined the band, and several years before Muggsy Spanier's hot cornet became part of the mix. The blurb promoting the two blues records mostly avoids the condescending tone record companies usually took when writing about their "race" records. "Rosa Henderson and Viola McCoy tell their stories in positive terms. They sing to the Beale Streets of the world...."

Mitchell's Christian Singers

Mitchell's Christian Singers is my favorite gospel group - this quartet's loose, raw, rural style is unlike that of any other group. The Singers were farmers and laborers in and around Kingston, North Carolina, and they recorded extensively between 1934 and 1940; their earlier recordings appeared on the ARC (American Record Corporation) family of labels - Romeo, Melotone, Oriole, Perfect, and Vocalion, as well as Sears' Conqueror label. Later issues appeared on Columbia and their Okeh subsidiary.

By the time they began making records, the group consisted of tenors Julius Davis and William Brown, baritone Louis Panella Davis, and bass Lewis Herring (replaced a year or so into their recording career by Sam Bryant). The "Mitchell" in their name was their manager,
Willie Mitchell. The Christian Singers remained
a local group, performing almost exclusively in
eastern North Carolina, although they did perform in John Hammond's 1938 "Spirituals to Swing" concert in Carnegie Hall. The group traveled to New York and Chicago to record, but otherwise stayed close to home.

Today Mitchell's Christian Singers are mostly remembered for the "Spirituals to Swing" appearance, if they are remembered at all. Like a lot of rural early-20th-century artists, their recordings have become more accessible in the digital age while paradoxically still being somewhat hard to find. Their complete output (nearly, anyway) has been reissued on several CDs on the Document label, but Document is not exactly well-distributed.

In any case, I have chosen to present transfers of three of my favorite  records, as well as pictures of all the different labels I have in my collection - so the pictures won't necessarily match the recordings.  The Conqueror is not in great condition, but the quality of the performance makes the flaws unimportant.

Conqueror 8769  - recorded April 28, 1936
Standing by the Bedside
What Kinda Shoes Do the Angels Wear

Vocalion 03180 - recorded August 10/11, 1937
I'm Praying Humble
I Don't Care Where You Bury My Body

Columbia 37479 - recorded August 6, 1940
Take My Hand
Don't You Want That Stone