Post 430: 'BABY, I'D LOVE TO STEAL YOU' FROM BUNK JOHNSON TO TUBA SKINNY

Baby, I'd Love To Steal You is a lovely, simple 16-bar tune. So why are bands not playing it? Why have very few people even heard of it?

It's one of those tunes with an interesting and obscure history and it seems it has never been published in sheet music form.

Here's the story behind it.

The great composer, researcher and record producer Bill Russell (1905 - 1992) was the most important force in the revival of New Orleans jazz in the early 1940s. He founded his company, American Music Records, and set about finding and recording forgotten New Orleans performers. Among them was, of course, Bunk Johnson. Russell's recordings are still available on over 100 CDs.

In one of the recording sessions, Bunk tells him a story about pianist Tony Jackson composing Baby, I'd Love to Steal You in the back room of Dago Tony's club in Storyville. (This must have been about 1910.) Bunk goes on to play the tune on the piano.

Bunk's band probably played it at gigs but it was never sold to a music publisher.

Another great reviver of past glories, cornet-player Chris Tyle, picked up the tune from Bunk's piano version and arranged it for his Silver Leaf Jazz Band. They recorded it, together with nineteen other fine old tunes, on their CD The Smiler in 1993 (Stomp Off Records). In Chris Tyle's band at the time were such players as Lars Edegran, Tom Saunders, Tom Fischer and (on piano) Steve Pistorius. These players are still around and I am sure they remember this tune. So it is not surprising that Steve Pistorius included it in his own 2014 CD New Orleans Shuffle.

So the tune has been brought back to life yet again.

More recently, it has been taken up by a band led by Twerk Thomson and also by Tuba Skinny, who play it in the key of Eb, like Chris Tyle, and closely follow his arrangement:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

As a self-taught musician, I struggle when trying to write out tunes and chord sequences by ear. But here is the best I can do with Baby, I'd Love to Steal You. I have entered this in my Moleskine pocket music book. As you can see, I have put it in F rather than Eb, because that suits me better.

Post 429: 'VIPER MAD'

Trying out 'Viper Mad' at Foxton Locks.

My friends and I added Viper Mad (sometimes called Pleasure Mad) to the tunes we regularly play. I believe it was written by Sidney Bechet and Rousseau Simmons as long ago as 1924.

It is great fun to play and improvise upon, especially if taken at a pretty fast speed.

It has a 12-bar introduction, followed by a 32-bar chorus (16 + 16 pattern, rather than with a middle eight). Here's our version.

In my view, the A7ths followed by the D minor in the Chorus are what give the tune its special flavour.

The original words are politically incorrect and are usually changed when sung these days. But they are full of youthful exuberance (I'm twenty-one, I've just begun, I'm far from done) and I like that aspect. It's a happy song that is both fun and effective to play.

If you wish to listen to this tune on YouTube, it is easy enough to find it played by Sidney Bechet himself. But if you would like an easy-paced more recent version (by The California Feetwarmers - with Chloe Feoranzo no less on clarinet) CLICK HERE.

Post 428: 'OLD AGE BLUES'

As at 31 August 2016, according to the survey released by the NWG Institute, the average age of active traditional jazz musicians in the United Kingdom was 76 years and 10 months. I think the situation in many other countries must be similar.

So it's high time we revived a fine tune from 1921 - Old Age Blues. The music was composed by Jess Williams and the words were written by Pete Curtis. Not much is known about Jess (Jesse?) Williams, except that he was born in 1892 and died in 1977. He was a fine piano player and composer of ragtime music and he ran an automotive parts business in Nebraska. We can see from the cover of Old Age Blues that Williams and Curtis were partners in publishing music, too, apparently.

It's a good tune, merry and well worth playing. But I have been unable to find any example on YouTube of a jazz band playing it. (There is an Old Age Blues on YouTube but it's a different tune from the one of which I am speaking.) So I have produced on my computer a Band-in-a-Box version of it. This is far from an ideal way of hearing it, but it gives some idea of the nature of the tune. You can listen to my attempt by clicking here.

Take a look at the structure of Old Age Blues. It has a 16-bar Verse and then a 16-bar Chorus. Players could use the Chorus as the basis for improvisations. The Verse is virtually A-A-B-A in structure, whereas the Chorus is A1 (8 bars) + A2 (8 bars)  

And here it is in F (for Bb instruments).

The words are worth using too:

VERSE
Folks, there's a man that's made me sad.
That ain't all. He's made me mad.
Since I was born, we've been good friends
But this very day our friendship ends. I'll
Tell you what he's done and
Give you his name for
If you live long he'll
Treat you the same.
We all call him 'Father'
Father Time and he
Gave me some blues I
Wish wasn't mine! (Those)

CHORUS
Old age Blues, those Dotage Blues:
They haunt you night and day. They
Come to you seems all at once
And never go away. They're
In your dreams and in your wake and
Do just what they choose. There's
No way beating them
No way cheating them - Those
Old Age Blues.

If you care to study the original piano sheet music, here it is.

Post 427: 'OH BABY' CONFUSION

You may not know what to expect when the leader announces that the band is going to play Oh Baby. This is because two tunes with that title appeared in the 1920s and they are both good numbers, well worth their place in the repertoire.

The first Oh Baby was composed in 1924 by Walter Donaldson, with Buddy G. Da Sylva providing the lyrics.

The second Oh Baby was written for the 1928 Broadway Musical 'Rain or Shine'. The principal composer of both the words and the music seems to have been Owen Murphy, though Jack Yellen and Milton Ager were also often credited (they were responsible for the music of the entire show and also seem to have run the company that published it).

Donaldson's Oh Baby has to be played briskly. It has a sprightly Verse of 16 bars which should not be omitted: it rattles along and lends itself to some good rhythmic effects. The Chorus that follows comprises 32 bars in an AABA structure. This Chorus has two distinctive features. First, all four of the eights begin with a chord sequence of I : VII7. I can think of no other tune in which all four eights do this. The second distinguishing feature is the use of bars in which the first melody 'note' is a silent crotchet; and this is followed by three sounded crotchets. This first-note-rest happens in no fewer than 14 of the 32 bars, giving syncopated and staccato effects. All this makes it an interesting instrumental number, very good to play. The vocal (with the words matching those rest-crotchet-crotchet-crotchet patterns) begins: Oh Baby! Oh Baby! Don't say 'No'. Say 'Maybe'.That's just as good as 'yes' to me...

The other Oh Baby (Owen Murphy's) catches the attention as it has a good bright melody and also lyrics that are worth singing: It's a funny little thing but I never knew I could ever feel the way I do.. . Although this tune is merry enough, I think it is best played slightly more slowly than Donaldson's Oh Baby, to give time for its lilting melody to be appreciated and also for the vocalist to fit in comfortably the many words of the lyrics. This Owen Murphy 32-bar tune, like Donaldson's, is structured AABA; and the Middle Eight (the B part) is harmonically fairly distinctive. The A sections use the I : II7 : V7 : I chord sequence, which is reassuringly familiar. This tune is usually played without the Verse. But my expert friend John Whitehorn informed me that it had one - and quite pleasant it is. John has kindly supplied me with photo-copies of the sheet music for the Verse, in case you wish to know how it goes:

You can hear a recording of Murphy's  Oh Baby in a fine Ted Lewis version by clicking here, and Donaldson's Oh Baby, played by Bix Beiderbecke and The Wolverines, by clicking here.

I have made aide-mémoires (see below) of both songs for my mini-Filofax collection. Donaldson's tune is probably best in Eb and Owen Murphy's in F but I have written them out in the keys suited to my Bb trumpet. These are useful enough for me but I can't guarantee their accuracy.

Murphy:

Donaldson:

By the way, making matters even more confusing, there have been yet more tunes composed since the 1920s with the title Oh Baby!

Footnote

On 12 February 2024, I received the following email:

Re" song "Oh Baby!" although it's said that the original is from 1924 (it 
must be an adaptation). A burlesque theatre circuit act (with the Morette 
Sisters) for the 1919-20 season had a sold out performance engagement's for 
their show "Oh Baby!" "Oh Baby!" must have carried over to the 'All Jazz 
Revue' showcase. It featured a Jazz Quartet with the Morette Sisters 
(violinists, alto viola and duet singers). My grandma, Pearl Hamilton was 
the pianist for this group. She later performed in the 1928 show "Rain or 
Shine."
Regards,
Glenn Santos

Post 426: THE BALKAN BRASS BAND INFLUENCE IN TRADITIONAL JAZZ

My American friend and frequent correspondent Phil is very keen on a band called The California Feetwarmers.

He has kept me informed about their Summer 2016 tour in the U.K., Germany and Switzerland. You can hear this band of very proficient musicians by clicking here, where they play slick arrangements of Aunt Hagar's Blues, San and Bill Bailey.

Phil tells me some of the players previously played as a 'Balkan brass band' and there is still a great influence of the disciplines of Balkan brass band music in their playing.

This set me thinking, because Balkan Brass Band Music is something about which I knew virtually nothing. So I spent a couple of hours reading about it. I discovered it seems to have arisen from the folk music mainly of Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Much of the music supports vigorous dancing. It has repetitive insistent melodies and very strong rhythms.

Picture a village square. We see a group of colourfully-dressed dancers in a circle, hands linked, dancing in a manner that involves fast-paced complicated foot movements while the upper bodies remain statuesque. They are accompanied by a sousaphone heavily stamping the first and third beats of the bars, an accordion playing rapid sequences of notes, a violin, trumpets and other horns, as well as sundry busy percussion instruments. The band plays with technical precision. The harmonies sound simple – largely involving the three main chords (but perhaps this is deceptive, since it seems likely also that they using some uncommon scales); and the melodies, mostly rapid, contain some acrobatic twists and turns. In some tunes, there are compound time signatures, notably 9/8 and 7/8.

A 'Balkan Brass Band' in New Orleans!

I learned that there are various song forms of which the two commonest are the Kolo and the Čoček. The Kolo is often a group dance as described above and sometimes in 9/8 rhythmic form. The Čoček may also be in 9/8 time.

To get an immediate feel for what Balkan brass band music at its brassiest sounds like, click here.

The Balkan influence has spread among some of the very best traditional jazz musicians of today. Think of Jenavieve Cooke. In her years of nomadic living, she picked up Balkan music at its source. In April 2016 she told me 'I'm a traditional Balkan music and dance freak!'

Years before she formed the famous Royal Street Winding Boys, Jenavieve founded in New Orleans a Balkan brass band called Backyard Belladonna.

And there's Ben Schenk (mainly playing clarinet), now in his 50s, who spent years evolving the kind of band that seemed just right for him. He ended up with The Panorama Jazz Band, which is quite capable of playing traditional jazz in familiar style, but also has in its programmes doses of influence from Balkan brass band music and Klezmer music, not to mention a considerable Caribbean element! Panorama has been a truly great band since Aurora Nealand (who, by the way, has toured in the Balkans) joined it. She - one of the world's greatest reed players - has a heart full of the joys of music of all cultures. She perfectly complements Ben's work. There are plenty of videos of the band on YouTube but I will mention this one, where you catch them in Big Band Mardi Gras format: CLICK HERE.

And think of Matt Schreiber. This fine accordion player and Balkan music specialist not only plays with Ben in the Panorama Jazz Band but also works in the specialist Mahala Trio (Balkan music in New Orleans). Try watching a video of him and his two colleagues by clicking here. It's not a brass band but it certainly gives novices such as myself a good insight into the nature of Balkan music.

And now we have The Wit's End Brass Band. They have produced a remarkable CD that you can find on Bandcamp.

The Wit's End Brass Band 2016.
It includes some familiar faces!

You must watch THIS VIDEO OF THEM. CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

I discovered there are very many 'Balkan Bands' all over the world, even in such unlikely places as England, Australia and the Netherlands. In the USA there are dozens of them, and Balkan Band Summer Camps are held on both the East and West Coasts. For a terrific Balkan SuperBand playing in our beloved Royal Street, New Orleans: CLICK HERE.

Balkan Brass Bands:
Above and Below

In spirit, instrumentation and rhythmic excitement, it seems to me this Balkan music has a lot in common with Klezmer music, which has also had a permeating influence on New Orleans jazz in the 21st Century. Add to these influences that of Caribbean calypso music – much associated in recent years with The Panorama Jazz Band and with Madeleine Reidy and later with The Rhythm Wizards in New Orleans and Wow! We observe some very interesting developments in the music we love.

Post 425: 'FAREWELL BLUES' AND 'WEARY BLUES'

King Oliver and His Dixie Syncopators

James Sterling of Florida has established himself since 2015 as one of the leading video-historians of the contemporary New Orleans scene. One of his videos, filmed in June 2016, is of Tuba Skinny playing Farewell Blues (CLICK HERE TO ENJOY IT).

This tune was composed in 1922 by Elmer Schoebel, Leon Rappollo and Paul Mares for The New Orleans Rhythm Kings, who recorded it that year; but Tuba Skinny have modelled their version very closely on the 1927 recording by King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators (which you may hear BY CLICKING HERE). Oliver's version, in its turn, fairly closely followed the NORK original.

Watching it, I was reminded of the very simple and yet rewarding chord progression on which Farewell Blues is based. It is essentially a 16-bar A-A-B-A structure that goes like this:

I      | V⁷  |  I      | I
I      | V⁷  |    I    | I

VI⁷ | VI⁷ |  II^m  | I^o

I      | V⁷   |    I   | I

It is pretty well the same as the final theme of Weary Blues. This is not surprising because it is said that The New Orleans Rhythm Kings had the 1915 composition Weary Blues in their repertoire and developed Farewell Blues from that final theme. 

One reason why it is so attractive to play around with and improvise on is that the 'A' part is so simple; and the other reason is that the  chord and melody note in Bar 12 are nerve-tinglers. This is the most striking chord in the sequence. (By the way, some chord books give it as VI^b7 rather than 1^o; but this makes no great difference. Think about it: they are virtually the same.)

Farewell Blues is normally played at a steady and stately pace, whereas Weary Blues tends to be performed a good deal faster. But in all other respects, over these 16 bars, the chords you play and the improvisations you invent could be interchangeable.

Although Farewell Blues is little more than a simple 16-bar theme, the melody can be given some interesting treatments. For example, King Oliver (and Shaye in Tuba Skinny) both play the tune through first starting on the dominant (F in the key of Bb). It is as if they are harmonising a third above the melody. In later choruses, they do indeed start the chorus on the D. Later still, Shaye (just like  King Oliver) plays flattened 7ths at the start of all the 'A' Sections (another device that many bands employ effectively with Weary Blues).

So it's amazing what can be done (and what fun a band can have), even when starting out with a very simple blueprint.

Here's the 16 bars of Farewell Blues twice through - first starting on the F, and then in the D.

And here is the comparable theme from Weary Blues:

Post 424: 'ROYAL TELEPHONE'

F M Lehman

Royal Telephone is a gospel song often played by traditional jazz bands. It appears to have been first recorded by a jazz band in 1946.

It is attractive because it has a simple, pleasant tune on which it is easy to improvise.

I have noticed that most bands play it comfortably in the key of Bb and that they seem to treat it as a sixteen-bar melody. At its simplest, they follow this chord sequence:-

Bb  |  Bb  |  Bb  |  F7  |  F7  |  F7  |  F7  |  Bb

Bb  |  Bb  |  Bb7 | Eb  |  Eb  |  Bb  | F7 |  Bb

I doubt whether many musicians today know that Royal Telephone was written in 1919 by Frederick Martin Lehman, an America immigrant from Germany. His piano music is available on the internet.

I noticed that it is really necessary to treat the song as a 32-bar, with 16 as 'Verse' and 16 as 'Chorus'. There were originally five verses (The first beginning 'Central's never busy - always on the line') and the Chorus - repeated after each verse - comprises the 16 bars always beginning with the words 'Telephone to Glory, Oh what joy divine!'

The chords I have printed above match the Chorus (and that is probably why they are followed so rigidly by most traditional jazz bands). However, if you want to play the tune correctly and include a verse or two, you need to use the following VERY slightly different chord sequence for the verses.

Bb  |  Bb  |  Eb  |  Bb  |  F7  |  F7  |  F7  |  Bb

Bb  |  Bb  |  Bb7 | Eb  |  Eb  |  Bb  | F7 |  Bb

To see what I mean and to hear a really clear performance of the song, complete with vocal, listen to the version by Burl Ives on YouTube by clicking here. But note that he begins with the Chorus before singing the First Verse.

Footnote: Curiously, if you play Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You Think, you may find a remarkable similarity with Royal Telephone, at least in the chord progression.

Post 423: 'WORKING MAN BLUES'

In 1923 the 37-year-old cornet-playing band-leader Joe 'King' Oliver and his 25-year-old pianist Lil Hardin (who had a music diploma from Fisk University, Nashville, and who later became Mrs. Louis Armstrong) composed Working Man Blues - sometimes written as Workingman's Blues.

At the time, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band had a residency at Lincoln Gardens, 459, East 31st Street, Chicago - not far from the Lake. (As far as I can tell, there is today a glass office block on the site.) The band made a recording of Working Man Blues for the Gennett label in Richmond, Indiana, on 3 October 1923. You may listen to it BY CLICKING HERE.

It's a really good piece for the repertoire of our bands and easy to master. 

As you see, there are just three short and simple sections. The first (A) is only a 12-bar blues, using a pretty riff. The second (B) is a 16-bar theme using The Four-Leaf Clover chord progression. (You can read about that progression BY CLICKING HERE.)

Section (B) is structured to include three opportunities for 2-bar breaks. Johnny Dodds makes the most of those in that 1923 recording.

The third 'theme' (C) involves free-style improvising over another 12-bar blues structure, but this time allowing a 'break' in bars 7 and 8. Oliver's band had the clarinet, cornet and trombone (Honoré Dutrey) respectively taking these breaks.

The tune is rounded off by a neat 2-bar CODA.

Some bands today, unlike Oliver himself, make more of Themes (A) and (B), staying on them for longer, or even dropping Theme (C) altogether.

Oliver chooses to devote the whole of the second half of the performance to three choruses of Theme (C).

He was constrained by the limited amount of time for which a 78 rpm record could play. Bands today are freed from such constraint and - with more choruses - tend to make the tune last much longer. However, as I have said elsewhere, a short performance can often be more effective than a longer one (especially if the musicians have nothing special to 'say'). For me, Oliver's original recorded version feels just right.

On the choice of key, some bands today play the piece in F. It sounds fine in that key and is perhaps for some musicians a little easier than Lil Hardin and Oliver's choice of Ab.

To watch a clear and reverential performance of Working Man Blues by a much later band (The Peruna Jazzmen) CLICK HERE.

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The book Playing Traditional Jazz by Pops Coffee is available from Amazon.