Sorry--that's the best title I could come up with at this time. I'll probably think of something better later, at which point I might revise the post. Or not. I do not know.
I'm in a sinus-med daze. I tried to go without an antihistamine for a few days, but I found myself in an allergy-induced daze. So I traded one dazed state for another.
So, this is Thursday, right? On Jupiter? I thought so. Just checking.
So, what we've got here are eight shellac rips (I've always wanted to type "eight shellac rips") dating from 1934 to 1938. We're always being told that mood music showed up around 1951 or so, which I'd be perfectly willing to agree with--but only if, by "1951 or so," the claimants meant the early 1930s. But I don't think they mean the early 1930s. I think they mean 1951 or so.
I hope I cleared that up.
Anyway, I'm re-re-rerunning Andre Kostelanetz' marvelous 1935 version of Don Redman's Chant of the Weed (no, nothing to with the kind you smoke; sorry) in my latest and best version thereof. I even got the final loud chord (where the grooves poop out altogether) to sound halfway O.K. It seems that I've mastered the art of making sound out of little to no sound. Believe me, the grooves simply give out at the end--major tracking error and a worn gramophone needle probably combined to produce this area of non-record.
And I threw in its flip, Rumba Medley. As you'll hear, mood music was in full mood by the mid-1930s. And it could do the Rumba.
I'm also re-rerunning (or maybe simply rerunning) three 1938 Kostelanetz goodies from the Vocalion label. As you'll hear, the "Kostelanetz strings" were already there, though they weren't operating at Music of Jerome Kern force yet.
We also have Paul Whiteman and Nat Shilkret in concert pop mode, which is pretty much what mood music is (concert pop, that is). Concert pop that evolved from the dance music of the 1920s. There, I typed it, and I'm glad.
Here, as early as 1935, we hear mood maturing:
Chant of the Weed (Redman)--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1935.
Rumba Medley--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1935.
Swamp Fire (Moody)--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1938.
The Man on the Flying Trapeze (O'Keefe)--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1938.
Bugle Call Rag--Andre Kostelanetz Presents, 1938.
Gems from "Lady Be Good" and "Tip Toes"--Nat Shilkret and the Victor Salon Group, 1938. With Jane Froman, Sonny Schuyler, Felix Knight.
Medley of Gershwin Tunes--Nat Shilkret and the Victor Salon Group, 1938. Featuring Jane Froman, vocal.
Deep Purple (Peter De Rose)--Paul Whiteman and His Concert Orch., 1934.
Lee
8 comments:
You surprise me with Jane Froman songs! (and more Whiteman!).
And they sound fantastic! Like new!
I’m an avid Froman collector. She had a marvellous voice (and great courage too).
She is one of my favorites (I have so many favorites…).
Hoping it may make more people discover her.
These pieces are from 12” Victor 78rpm, aren’t they? I have the Oh Kay! Medley.
Jazz going towards mood music. It is still very good, and never as worse than “elevator” music (I know, I own a few 16 rpm of that. Plain dull. Did people fell asleep in elevators or grocery stores?).
Thanx, Lee. & Take good care of your health Sir. Your sinuses are taking care of you…
Ravel,
Glad you enjoyed the sound of the 78s--I put a lot of work into those. Yes, I got the Froman tracks from a 12" Victor Red Seal 78. My copy is fairy worn, but I was able to smooth out the distorted spots. Froman had a terrific voice, to be sure.
Yes, the early, pre-hi-fi mood music is a lot livelier than we'd expect. Maybe because it wasn't functioning strictly as "background" music. That, or maybe people had a different concept of background music. That is, after all, an idea that changes with each era. Take, for instance, the relentlessly thumping jazz-Disco that plays on the Weather Channel, presumably to relax people. The opposite of, say, Ray Conniff. It relaxes me to the same degree that a portable sander on concrete puts me at ease.
Yes, my sinuses are taking care of me, all right! I talked to another allergy sufferer, and she confirmed that these last few days have been unusually bad. Thanks for the good wishes. I'm definitely doing better after a couple rounds of antibiotics for the infection.
In my next life, maybe I'll have normal sinuses!
Lee
As usual, great stuff! And nice restoration job on the Froman disc.
Hope your sinuses are recovering, mine are whacked out from the weather changes in colorado, but the rain is nice, especially when it washes the pollen out of the air into the street :)
BTW, the shanty has fresh meat....MATERIAL on it, and I even did a Mantovani pair!
Cheers and feel better!
Brad
A good crop today. "Swamp Fire" isn't all that far away from Raymond Scott. And I think Kostelanetz's version of "Chant of the Weed" is genius. "Bugle Call Rag" seems more of a mis-fire. But, all in all, and always, Andre is a man of great imagination and taste. Thanks for being the only man in cyberspace to be making the case for him.
Brad,
Thanks for the words of hope. However, one thing my sinuses never do is recover. They're either better or worse than average (THEIR average). I'm a victim of chronic sinusitus, which, of course, doctors call "allergic rhinitis," which means I'm allergic to rhinos. Cats must be part of the rhino family.
Great stuff at the Shanty--especially the Monty sides. 1953 is the year for those. I'm always hoping to run into some of Monty's early-40s stuff, which I used to have a few examples of. I had Monty with Hildegarde.
David,
Yes, I thought of Raymond Scott, too, but we could be shot for suggesting such a thing. After all, Raymond Scott, according to widely accepted legend, was utterly unique. No one sounded like Scott except Scott. For either of us to suggest otherwise is... Scottrilegious.
Yes, Andre was a very important force in popular music, though in his bio he writes mainly about his live appearances and not very much on his recordings. He claimed the the "Kostelanetz sound" was a result of applying radio-broadcast recording techniques in the studio--especially, having the microphone(s) some distance from the musicians. Which resulted in a natural echo, a general flattening-out of the dynamics, a soupy sound to the midrange, etc. A sound that was treated like something new when Monty started hitting the U.S. pop charts in the early 1950s.
Lee
Lee, I have more Mant O'Vani sides from that lot, I'll work on getting them up soon :)
Cool!
A few posts back, I put up Monty's late-40's classic "Skyscraper Fantasy." It's still there, if you haven't heard it.
Lee
I'll only say Excuse Me for my silly question about the label for Froman. I just saw the picture...
(and they said glasses would help me see better!)
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