Post 224: 'DODO BLUES' ('NOTHING! NOTHING CAN BE RIGHT....)

An unusual song in the Tuba Skinny repertoire is Dodo Blues. For a performance,

CLICK HERE.

However, for the existence of this song we must thank not some obscure hill-billy of the 1920s but rather the Australian blues singer and composer C. W. Stoneking. Born in Katherine, Australia, in 1974, this gentleman, of American parentage, became addicted to the raw blues as played in the 1920s and 1930s by such performers as Leroy Carr. Now, in the 21st Century, he writes, performs and sings in just that 1920s manner, together with his unusual backing group, The Primitive Horn Orchestra (who have more than a passing resemblance to Tuba Skinny).

C. W. Stoneking wrote Dodo Blues in about 2005 and you can hear him performing it on YouTube:

CLICK HERE.

You will note that he performs it in the key of Ab. Tuba Skinny go for Eb, to suit Erika's voice.

If you want to add the tune to your repertoire or play along with it, you will find it easy to pick up. The main eight bars use the Four-Leaf Clover Chord Progression; and the Middle Eight chords are the same as those of dozens of other tunes (Yes, Sir, That's My Baby, We'll Meet Again, On the Sunny Side of the Street, for example).
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Correspondent Tom Corcoran has sent me this comment:

I've been listening to and watching a lot of jazz tenor banjo recently and your post today reminded me about CW Stoneking. I saw him perform  in Dublin and he puts on a fantastic show. His performance is a series of crazy stories interspersed with songs. and his banjo playing is an absolute delight.

Eddy Davis has a great series of posts on BanjoHangout that highlight his banjo style and skill and there are lead sheets and videos available for some of the tunes. His version of the Louis Armstong tune, "Wild Man Blues" is worth a listen (with "Memories of You" tagged on for good measure).

Post 223: 'SMOKY MOKES'

In my ongoing quest to keep alive some of the good old jazz numbers that are so rarely heard and so hard to obtain, I have worked on Smoky Mokes - a raggy tune with three 16-bar themes and including a key change. It dates from 1898 and was written by Abe Holzmann, though I don't know of any shop where I could buy the sheet music (below) today.

Australian correspondent Brian Hutchinson, who is also interested in the wonderful old tunes, has informed me that - with some internet research - you  can find such help as a YouTube video of a piano player version with a 'bouncing ball' play-along visual cue. And on Classic Banjo UK he found a downloadable arrangement for two banjos and piano. Perhaps best of all in the Duke University Digital Collection he discovered 'for educational purposes' the full original piano sheet music.

So, especially if you are a pianist and you want to learn the tune accurately, I would recommend you check out those sources.

I believe traditional jazz bands 'edited' the original composition - as so often happened with such piano originals. The essence and spirit of the piece were captured; but some of the trickier runs - easy enough on the piano - were simplified for the cornet player.

So it ended up with a lead-sheet something like this, which I have tried on both my keyboard and my cornet. It sounds fine.

Post 222: MUCH 'MESSING AROUND'

Composers and bands in the 1920s and 1930s were obviously keen on tunes with titles about 'messing around'.

There was 'Come on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around'. This was recorded (in 1926) by Blind Blake, who presumably also wrote it..

You can hear his performance BY CLICKING HERE.

It's no surprise that Tuba Skinny took up this tune, with Greg Sherman taking the vocal. You can enjoy one of their performances of the song BY CLICKING HERE.

Also in 1926, we find 'Messin' Around', composed by Charles 'Doc' Cooke, with lyrics by Johnny St. Cyr. It was recorded that year by Cooke's band Cookie's Gingersnaps. Freddie Keppard and Jimmie Noone were among the players. To hear the recording, CLICK HERE. Several other bands were quick to record it over the following couple of years.

Again, Tuba Skinny gave it a new life almost a century later. They replaced the piano-with-voices Introduction with an eight-bar instrumental Introduction, but they faithfully copied the order of events and the melody from Cooke's original, including playing the Chorus before using the Verse as an interlude. Listen BY CLICKING HERE.

Then there was 'Fourth Street Mess Around', composed by Will Shade for the Memphis Jug Band in 1930. You can enjoy the original recording BY CLICKING HERE.

Once again, eight decades later, we find Tuba Skinny reviving the number and producing their version. Very entertaining it is, even keeping the amusing sung Coda ('Here we come, all drunk again. Ooooo-oooooo.'). Listen BY CLICKING HERE.

We are all deeply indebted to the six generous folk who have made these videos available to us on YouTube:

RagtimeDorianHenry;

RaoulDuke504;

Resurgam1901;

James Sterling;

Orchard Enterprises;

jazzbo43.

There was also in 1926 'That Dance Called Messin' Around' recorded by Sara Martin; and 'Everybody Mess Around' by the Georgia Strutters (and others, including Ethel Waters) in 1926; and in 1927, there was also a 'Messin' Around With The Blues' recorded by Fats Waller and 'Beale Street Mess Around' from The Memphis Jug Band (four years before their 'Fourth Street Mess Around').

And of course Louis Armstrong in 1926 famously recorded 'Don't Forget to Mess Around'.

Post 221: 'SATURDAY NIGHT FUNCTION'

One of the leaders in whose band I 'dep' has taken a fancy to Saturday Night Function - the Duke Ellington tune. He wants to add it to his band's repertoire.

I remember that Ken Colyer made an impressive recording of it long ago.

I have listened to it and note that it's essentially a 16-bar tune with some lovelier-than-usual harmonies. It's a useful tune because you can play it at slow-to-medium tempo, thereby creating a contrast with some of the quick numbers we all love to play.

This is how I've worked it out and this is how I shall try to play it, unless anyone supplies me with a more accurate version.

I'm not certain about the Ebdim in Bar 12, though it sounds like a strong possibility. An alternative could be B major or B major 7th. What do you think?

(Insertion: Henry - banjo from Germany - has just told me it should be B7. I think he's right.)

In some performances on record, free-style solos on a straightforward 12-bar blues progression are played after the above, before returning to the 16-bar theme to finish.

What exactly was a 'Saturday Night Function'? Most probably it was a means of paying the rent. You invited people to buy tickets for a Saturday-night party at your house; and the admission charges covered the cost of your rent.

There's another Duke Ellington tune with the same sociological background - Rent Party Blues.