Post 563: 'OVER IN THE GLORYLAND' - FROM SAM MORGAN TO MARLA DIXON

Over in the Gloryland is one of the most famous tunes in our repertoire. It is a spiritual and is said to have been written by James Acuff and Emmett Dean in 1905. The reason why we all play it today is that we have been influenced by the recording of it made by the great Sam Morgan Band in 1927.

You can hear that recording:

BY CLICKING HERE.

The song has a Verse of 16 Bars (often sung with words beginning 'If you get to heaven before I do,...') and then a Chorus of 24 bars (usually beginning 'Over in the Gloryland,....').

I used to play this song with a band that went through Verse and Chorus every time. This felt right to me because the Verse is like a declamation by one person and then the Chorus is a chance for other people to join in.

However, guesting with another band, I found their tactic was to play the Verse only once and then stick on the Chorus - over and over. I was not very happy with this, as the effect is so limited and repetitive, harmonically as well as melodically.

So I checked the original Sam Morgan recording. He plays: Verse → Chorus → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus. In other words, the Chorus four times and the Verse three times. This works well and provides variety.

I decided also to check out the storming version from March 2015, when The Shotgun Jazz Band got together with Tuba Skinny. You can enjoy this memorable and historic performance

BY CLICKING HERE.

This runs for almost seven and a half minutes, and yet it is always exciting, even though it is a tune some musicians don't enjoy playing. They complain that its melody is so repetitive and that it uses essentially only the three most common chords.

But these two great bands show what can be fashioned from such simple material.

You will find they play Verse → Chorus every time.

That's good enough for me. So that's how I think we should all play it.

Specifically, here's what they do:

Verse (ensemble) → Chorus (ensemble) → Verse (vocal) → Chorus (vocal) →Verse (trombones) → Chorus (trombones) → Verse (reeds) → Chorus (reeds) → Verse (percussion) → Chorus (percussion) → Verse (piano) → Chorus (piano) → Verse (basses) → Chorus (basses) → Verse (vocal) → Chorus (vocal) → Verse (ensemble) → Chorus (ensemble).

By the way, if you need a lead-sheet for this song, you may find one on the site of the great and generous Lasse Collin:

http://cjam.lassecollin.se/songs2/overinthegloryland.html

Post 466: SAM MORGAN - AND HIS NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BAND IN 1927

Some very important recordings were made in 1927 by Sam Morgan. His Band played not only in New Orleans, but also in other towns, such as Galveston, along the Gulf Coast.

While Armand Piron's Orchestra was at the same time playing sophisticated, genteel jazz, Morgan's style was just a little more gutzy, pulsating and robust, though still melodic. The band took great care with establishing and maintaining the right tempos - notably for dancing.

That's Sam seated behind the cymbal; with big Jim Robinson and his trombone.

Sam Morgan, born in 1895, was the trumpeter/leader; and his brothers Isaiah (also on trumpet) and Andrew (tenor sax and clarinet) played in his band. On trombone he had the great Jim Robinson, whose fame spread further when he played in bands well after Sam Morgan had died at the age of only 41 (poor Sam suffered a stroke in 1925 and another in 1932). Earle Fouché played clarinet and alto sax. Robinson's cousin Sidney Brown was on bass. Tinke Baptiste and Walter Decou were at various times on piano. Johnny Dave was on banjo. The drummers over the years were Roy Evans and Nolan Williams.

Today Sam Morgan is best remembered for the eight tunes his band recorded in New Orleans over two sessions in 1927. Three of these were spirituals (Over in the Gloryland, Down By The Riverside and Sing On); but the credited composer for all the other five was Sam himself:

Bogalusa Strut

Everybody's Talking About Sammy

Mobile Stomp

Short Dress Gal

Steppin' On The Gas

Have a listen to Morgan's band playing Mobile Stomp:

CLICK HERE.

And now hear it played by one of today's best jazz bands:

CLICK HERE.

Bogalusa Strut, by the way, is said to be a re-interpretation of the first two themes of Scott Joplin's Rose Leaf Rag. If you listen to that rag, you will hear at once that the harmonic progressions are indeed the same.

Mobile Stomp, though in 4/4 time, is said to use the melody of  The Waltz You Saved For Me; and indeed the two melodies are almost identical. But according to my researches so far, it seems The Waltz You Saved for Me was composed in 1930 - after Mobile Stomp, so it is probably unfair to suggest that Morgan 'lifted' his tune from the song.

Most traditional jazz bands in the 21st Century not only show influences of the Sam Morgan Band in their playing and musical arrangements but also still have at least a couple of Morgan's tunes in their repertoire.

And the fact that the Morgan Band recorded the three spirituals seems to have set the precedent that traditional jazz bands must now include spirituals in their programmes. (It is believed the band would never have played spirituals for dances but recorded some only because the recording engineer requested them.) Similarly, the band demonstrated (as in Mobile Stomp) - I think for one of the first times on record - the excitement generated when you play stop-time choruses.

So we all owe a great deal to Sam Morgan. And we are also indebted to Jim Robinson who, in later years, revived and perpetuated his music, and also made us aware of other tunes Morgan's band liked to play. (See the comments from John Dixon below). 

Sam Morgan's House in New Orleans

---------------

John Dixon (of The Shotgun Jazz Band in New Orleans) has kindly sent me the following information:

It’s worth noting that more can be learned from the interview with Andrew Morgan from the book ‘The End of the Beginning’ (by Barry Martyn [Jazzology Books, 1998]). Morgan speaks at length about the recording of those cuts (most of the tunes were not in their regular repertoire prior to the recording).

Also, Jim Robinson’s Riverside Living Legends LP ‘Jim Robinson’s New Orleans Band’ is an important record because it was the re-recording of Mobile Stomp and Bogalusa Strut that brought those tunes out of retirement and made them traditional New Orleans jazz standards. When they recorded that album, Jim didn’t even remember how they went. The producers went to Tulane to the archives, got the old SMJB records and played them for the band. The takes you hear recorded on Jim’s record were done just moments after they learned the songs. That record is also chock full of other Sam Morgan band tunes that they regularly played but didn’t record; Apple Tree, Yearning, Whenever You’re Lonely. Also featured on that Riverside LP are George Guesnon and Alfred Williams - both Sam Morgan Jazz Band alumni (though not in the lineup that was recorded). Guesnon is especially well-recorded on Jim’s record. It’s one of my favorite records. 

I’ve attached an image of the backside of the LP I took with my phone, perhaps you can read the album notes.

Thanks!

John

It is possible to read the liner notes. Click on and enlarge.
================

Post 398: MARLA DIXON AND 'OVER IN THE GLORYLAND'

One of the most exciting bands playing traditional jazz anywhere in the world at the moment is The Shotgun Jazz Band, led in New Orleans by Marla Dixon, who moved to New Orleans from Toronto in Canada. Examples of their work on YouTube have been truly thrilling. The band has been in existence and evolving for about six years but I think with the house style and personnel it arrived at by 2015, it achieved new heights. As their own website says:
With an emphasis on ensemble playing, a stomping rhythm section, and a genuine love of the hot, bluesy, no-frills melodies that once poured forth from New Orleans’ dance halls, Shotgun Jazz Band makes music that is both immediate in its influences and timeless in its appeal.

One of the videos on YouTube shows them playing Over In The Gloryland, the 1920 song by Acuff and Dean.

You can watch it by clicking on here. Some musicians are not keen on this tune because they say it has a 'dreary' chord structure, with an over-dependence on the home chord of Ab. But Marla and her team show how thrilling it can be. In Marla's playing we experience 'raw' New Orleans jazz at its best.

One of the devices that helps create this 'rawness' is the use of flattened thirds above the chords. (By the way, a banjo-playing friend tells me it might be better to think of these flattened thirds as 'flattened 10ths', as this conveys the fact that they are played above the chord.)

Notice the wonderful effect these notes have at precisely 4 mins 49 seconds and at 6 minutes 56 seconds. In both cases, during an Eb7 chord, Marla plays (and bends) a high Gb. I guess she does this instinctively and does not have think 'I'll put in a flattened third here and see how it sounds.'

There's a 2016 video (of The Girls Go Crazy) in which Marla may be seen using the flattened third to thrilling effect. She plays Db dozens of times on top of a Bb chord. Note the moment at 1 minute 14 seconds where she lingers on it, and see how many times you can count it thereafter. Click on here to watch it.

And Marla uses many flattened thirds in this video - click on to view of Canal Street Blues (a special thrill, this one, because when she introduces the tune she dedicates it to ME!).

And, by the way, if you would like to see another exhilarating video of The Shotgun Jazz Band - one I personally filmed when I was in New Orleans in April, 2015, CLICK ON HERE.

Post 295: LEARN FROM LOUIS DUMAINE, ARMAND PIRON AND SAM MORGAN

If you want to know what the authentic New Orleans bands sounded like in the 1920s, it's easy to study some fine examples. We must be grateful to the original sound recordists and to all who have perpetuated their work by means of various technologies over the decades and - more recently - those who have put the music on to YouTube.

I'm thinking at the moment of three bands in particular. Their total recorded output is not huge; but there is plenty from which we can learn, with careful study.

Louis Dumaine's Jazzola Eight recorded only four tunes. The pieces themselves don't get much attention these days, but the recordings are a lesson to all traditional jazz musicians in how their instrument should contribute to an effective ensemble. These repay close scrutiny. For an example,

CLICKHERE.

Next, think of Armand Piron (violinist) and his classy orchestra. They gave us lovely performances of such numbers as these (mostly composed by the band members):

Bouncing Around

I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate

Mamma's Gone, Goodbye

Kiss Me Sweet

Bright Star Blues

Louisiana Swing

Red Man Blues

Sud Bustin' Blues

For an example of a typical well-arranged piece (with great ensemble work) that many of us still try to emulate,

CLICK HERE.

Then there's the eight-piece Sam Morgan's Band (with big Jim Robinson on trombone). It recorded just eight tunes in 1927. They included Bogalusa Strut, Mobile Stomp and Short Dress Girl (all composed by Morgan) as well as three spirituals, notably Over in the Gloryland, which is still very popular. These recordings powerfully influenced the repertoire and drive of many of today's bands. For a stomping performance that gives you the full flavour of this band,

CLICK HERE.

Post 280: FROM GEORGIA WHITE TO ERIKA LEWIS

Erika Lewis is fond of the recordings made in the 1930s by Georgia White.

There seem to have been several tunes with the title 'Blue and Lonesome'; but the one Tuba Skinny have featured, with Erika Lewis singing, is the song composed in the late 1930s by Georgia White and her pianist Richard M. Jones.

It is a fine song to add to the repertoire of any band with a good singer. And it is somewhat unusual in being a 24-bar tune, so it makes a welcome change from those with a conventional 32-bar a-a-b-a structure.

In fact, I am struggling at the moment to think of any other 24-bar tune performed by traditional jazz bands (apart from 12-bar blues with two themes, and Midnight in Moscow, which is really a 16-bar tune with the second eight repeated). The Chorus of Over in the Gloryland also comprises 24 bars. So does the Chorus of Sing On - and the Chorus of Tailgate Ramble. Also there was a fashion in the first two decades of the Twentieth Century for songs that had VERSES of 24 bars, even though the better-known CHORUS had a conventional 32 bar-structure. Examples are San and I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles.

You can see and hear Tuba Skinny perform I'm Blue and Lonesome on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39L71aPAKk

Or, if you prefer an indoor performance (this is quite something!), with Shaye on piano rather than cornet, go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aysNlCeW50

Post 278: WHY ARE HYMNS AND SPIRITUALS IN OUR REPERTOIRE?

We take it for granted that hymns and spirituals have a place in our repertoires. But they still occasionally take people by surprise. For example, some weeks ago, friends and I were playing in Oakham, a market town in Central England. One of our tunes was The Old Rugged Cross. An elderly gentleman came up afterwards to tell us how much he had enjoyed it. He said he had never realised that a hymn could work well when played by a jazz band.

Marla Dixon, with all-star support, singing 'Over in the Gloryland'

You hardly ever hear a traditional jazz concert in which there is not at least one hymn or spiritual. Also, audiences no longer feel uncomfortable (as English people would have done a hundred years ago) about dancing to such religious music.

Among the most popular titles are:

Amazing Grace

At The Cross
By and By

Does Jesus Care?

Down By The Riverside

God Will Take Care of Me
Higher Ground

His Eye is on the Sparrow

How Great Thou Art

In the Garden

In the Sweet By and By

In the Upper Garden

It's Nobody's Fault But Mine

Just a Closer Walk With Thee

Just a Little While To Stay Here

Lead Me Saviour

Let the Light from the Lighthouse Shine on Me

Lily of the Valley

Lonesome Road

Lord, Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good to Me

Man from Galilee

The Old Rugged Cross

This Little Light of Mine

Old-Time Religion

Only a Look
On Revival Day

Over in the Gloryland

Precious Lord, Lead Me On

Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Saviour

Peace in the Valley

Rock Me

Roll Jordan Roll

Royal Telephone

Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down

Sometimes My Burden is Too Hard to Bear

Walking With the King

We Shall Walk Through the Streets of the City

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

When I Move to the Sky

When the Saints Go Marching In
Where He Leads Me

I began to wonder how it came about that such tunes have a place alongside the old pop songs, blues and rags in our repertoire.

It's easy to believe the myth that spirituals were sung in the cotton fields by toiling slaves in the mid-Nineteenth Century and that - when jazz bands came into being - they would have played them and from about 1910 would have 'jazzed them up'.

But I'm not sure it's that simple. I have found no evidence that this happened. For example, can somebody please let me know of any recordings of spirituals or hymns by jazz bands before 1927? I think there's nothing in the early recordings of the ODJB, King Oliver, Kid Ory and so on.

Until somebody does, I prefer the following explanation.

In 1927, Columbia Records twice recorded the great Sam Morgan Band in New Orleans. The recordings were made in the Godchaux Building, 527, Canal Street. Four tunes were recorded on each occasion. The resulting eight recordings are still considered a hugely important part of the history of traditional jazz and have influenced hundreds of bands over the decades.

The legend is that - like other jazz bands - the Sam Morgan Band played mostly for dancing and did not include religious music in its dance hall repertoire. However, one of the recording engineers was very keen on such tunes as Down By The Riverside and suggested that Sam's band should record them.

So the Band included three 'spirituals' in the eight recordings - and the rest is history: if Sam could do it, why not the rest of us?

Apparently trumpet-player Isaiah Morgan (Sam's brother) in a later interview made the point that jazz bands such as theirs might have played hymns and spirituals at funerals but would not have used religious music for dancing.

By 1940, it became commonplace for the most influential traditional jazz musicians to record spirituals. Think of George Lewis, Bunk Johnson, Louis Armstrong.

Quite a few spirituals we play - including some in my list above - were composed not in the days of slavery but in the days when jazz bands were already well established.

Here's a stirring modern example of a spiritual in a jazz band performance. In this video, we see two of the best bands in the world joining together to perform Over in the Gloryland - one of those spirituals made famous in 1927 by Sam Morgan: CLICK HERE.

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Post 257: 'YEARNING' - A GREAT CD FROM THE SHOTGUN JAZZ BAND

Many people seem to have enjoyed the video I made of The Shotgun Jazz Band giving a pulsating performance of Climax Rag. I filmed it when I saw them at The Spotted Cat, New Orleans, in April 2015. If you would like to watch it, CLICK HERE.

But may I also remind you that late in 2014 this great jazz band released a CD that is well worth listening to? It is packed with riches. If you would like to buy it, go to 

https://shotgunjazzband.bandcamp.com/album/yearning and follow the instructions.

All sixteen tracks of the CD (entitled 'Yearning') were recorded in one session without an audience in the building that used to be Luthjen's Dance Hall in New Orleans. For bands with less stamina, it would have been an exhausting undertaking. The acoustics are terrific but obviously the emptiness of the building meant that it lacked the atmosphere that comes from having an audience. The recording is well balanced: you hear all instruments and vocals clearly.

The Band on the day comprised Marla Dixon (trumpet), John Dixon (banjo), Tyler Thomson (string bass), Justin Peake (percussion), Ben Polcer (piano), Charlie Halloran (trombone) and James Evans (reeds).

As well as playing the trumpet in a bold, forthright manner, Marla also delivers lusty, emotional vocals, in which one of her specialities is the thrilling rising glissando.

The rock-steady rhythm section, which is responsible for much of the band's distinctive house style, is on superb form throughout. The combination of Justin Peake (one of my favourite drummers), Tyler Thomson and John Dixon would be hard to beat. What a joy it must be for any 'front-line' players to be pumped along by them.

Here are the tunes on the CD:

I Believe I Can Make It By Myself

Sammy Penn with the Kid Thomas Band used to make a big feature of this 12-bar tune in Bb. The Shotgun Band gives it a raw treatment, with much trumpet growling and flattened thirds as well as a lusty vocal from Marla.

You Always Hurt The One You Love

This sets a great foot-tapping tempo. The rhythm section shines. Note the unusual key change - after a start in Bb, Marla sings the vocal gently in Eb and later more powerfully in Bb.

Get A Working Man (a.k.a. Pinchbacks, Take 'Em Away)

Marla offers a vocal with a message for the ladies: it's better to have a hard-working man than one who is good-looking but idle. My thanks to blog-reader Phil in the USA for telling me it was originally recorded in 1924 by Bessie Smith under the title Pinchbacks, Take 'Em Away. It has a 16-bar verse and a 32-bar chorus (harmonically identical to It's a Long Way to Tipperary). James' fluid solo (backed so well by Charlie and the Rhythm Section) distinctly demonstrates the Shotgun house style.

Tears

This raggy number which I think Lil Hardin composed for King Oliver's Band in 1923 (when they recorded it) is technically challenging but the Shotguns make light work of it. The tune is played fast (as by King Oliver) and, although it's full ensemble all the way, there are some nice 'breaks' for James.

Dream

Marla delivers a pleasant vocal (complete with Verse) right from the start, with solid backing from Ben, John, Tyler and Justin. Then there's a nice relaxed chorus featuring the clarinet and trombone again, with the chosen key (F) suited very well to James' higher register.

Yearning

This standard from 1925 seems to be a favourite with the Shotgun players. They played it in the great Abita Springs video. (Click here to see it.) Marla offers a punchy trumpet and vocal and there is a pleasant 16-bars-each chorus shared by James and Charlie.

Hindustan

Every band plays this tune from 1918. So how do the Shotguns make it fresh? With terrific front-line interplay; some Kid Thomas-style attack; and a vocal from Marla.

He'll Have To Go

This is one of two tunes in waltz time on the CD. Imagine Careless Love played slowly in 3/4. It's harmonically similar. Composed by Joe and Audrey Allison, it was a hit for Jim Reeves in 1959. Much of the performance consists of a gentle vocal from Marla, well supported by Ben. There are a few bars of special beauty when James leads with the melody in the ensemble. 

Over In The Gloryland

This spiritual is another tune that most bands play. Some musicians don't like it because of its very limited harmonic pattern. But the Shotguns make it last for over six minutes and leave you wanting more. There is hearty singing and great collective improvisation.

I Love You So Much It Hurts

This is a country and western number recorded (and probably written) by Floyd Tillman in 1948. The Shotguns give a no-frills straight-ahead performance of the 32-bar simple tune. They choose not to offer a vocal.

Kentucky Blues

I don't know the origin of this tune. (There are at least two other different tunes with this title). It seems to have two themes (16-bar and a standard 12-bar). The arrangement is the most sophisticated on this CD - from a band that normally does not bother with very sophisticated arrangements. The lovely clarinet of James Evans is well featured.

Love In Bloom

James is singing this one a great deal recently at the band's performances. He is no mean vocalist. It's a very nice song composed in 1934 by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. James also plays some lovely fluid clarinet with Marla (for once using a standard mute) in the background. It's one of two tunes played in Ab. The other is Gloryland, of course.

Mobile Stomp

This famous number (written and recorded by the Sam Morgan Band in 1927) is also on the Abita Springs video. I like the rock-steady work from all members of the band, especially at its more delicate moments. Note the saxophone's second chorus against offbeats; and the amusing 'quadruple' ending.

You Broke Your Promise

This 1949 pop song by Wyle, Taylor and Pole was a favourite with the early Preservation Hall bands. In an unpretentious performance of this 32-bar tune, Marla offers a nice clear vocal - a help to those of us who want to learn the words. As in You Always Hurt The One You Love, above, she drops the key (to C) for her first vocal but sings her second vocal higher - in F - the key in which the rest of the performance is played. This must be a device she enjoys. It certainly is effective in setting the two vocals in contrast.

Tennessee Waltz

This is the second tune in 3/4 time. It's also the most touching tune on the CD. Marla sings the sad words about lost love, with good instrumental support from James and Charlie. A beautiful melody, gently presented.

I'll See You In My Dreams

The famous Isham Jones and Sammy Kahn song from 1924. No vocal is offered; and they do not make the mistake of taking it too slowly. Charlie's trombone gives a melodious lead; and there is some lovely ensemble playing.