Post 530: LOTS OF SUGAR

Maceo Pinkard
He also composed 'Sweet Georgia Brown'
and 'Them There Eyes'

Robert Duis, who frequently emails me and is a band-leader in Holland, discovered that there is more than one song called Sugar that traditional jazz bands play.

I suppose it's not surprising that composers used this word as a title at a time when it was very fashionable to call your sweetheart 'Sugar'.

And, if you think about it, you recall that 'sugar' appears frequently in titles and lyrics, for example, Sugar Blues, Sugar Babe, When I Take My Sugar To Tea, When My Sugar Walks Down The Street and 'You're My Sugar' (in Honeysuckle Rose).

With my interest aroused by Robert's email, I explored this topic.

The tune I have always thought of as Sugar was composed by Maceo Pinkard, Sidney D. Mitchell, and Edna Alexander and was recorded by Ethel Waters in 1926. It has a pleasant story-telling Verse and then a 32-bar Chorus beginning with the words The name is 'Sugar'. I call my baby my 'Sugar'. It is a song with a Middle Eight and an aaba structure. You can hear Ethel singing it BY CLICKING HERE.

But, as Robert discovered, there is a different Sugar recorded by Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra the following year (1927). It seems that this one was composed by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager. Its bouncy Chorus begins with the words Don't you know who she is? Looking right at me is 'Sugar'.  You can hear this song BY CLICKING HERE. It is another 32-bar (but this time 16 + 16), very pleasant and easy to improvise on. In the recording it has no Verse and I do not know whether it ever had one. You can also hear the Red Nichols' Stompers playing it in 1927 BY CLICKING HERE.

And - would you believe it? - there was yet another Sugar. This was composed by George W. Meyer and Joe Young. It was recorded by Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra in 1931. It is a bright up-tempo tune and includes a Verse. The distinguishing first words of the Chorus are Sugar, that's what I'll name you, Sugar. I'll come and claim you, Sugar. This is probably the easiest of the three to play. It has a very simple chord sequence. Enjoy this one BY CLICKING HERE.
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Finally, wow! Almost as soon as this post appeared, I received this email from friend and frequent correspondent David Withers in New Zealand:-

Hi Ivan,
The Temperance Seven recorded all of these versions of Sugar and called it 'The Tate & Lyle Suite.' A very English title no doubt. I have it somewhere in my CD collection, but since the earthquakes when we had to move out of our house for repairs I don't know which box it is in. I do know however, that it was a Lake Records CD (i.e. a British CD label).
Regards,
David Withers
Christchurch, NZ
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Footnote: I have found it in the Lake Records catalogue. The CD is called:

THE TEMPERANCE SEVEN – PASADENA & THE LOST CYLINDERS

Post 354: 'FAR AWAY BLUES'

If you run a beginners' jazz band and you are looking for a simple, straightforward but effective tune to add to your repertoire, may I recommend Far Away Blues? The tune is sometimes called Faraway Blues.

It was written (under a pseudonym) by Fletcher Henderson in about 1923. I worked out my own leadsheet of 'Far Away Blues'.

I have arranged it at its most simple - a mere sixteen bars, to be played gently, but preferably sustained by a rock-steady and emphatic rhythm section.

One of the secrets of its appeal lies in the twelfth bar, where the diminished chord introduces a welcome surprise.

If you would like to hear the tune, you can find several versions on You Tube.

Here it is again, in C:

Note that this version includes a decorative addition in the first eight bars (shown here in the narrower print). A well-drilled band could have the trumpet playing the main melody, for example, and the clarinet playing those decorations.

In the version recorded in 1946 by George Lewis and the Eclipse Alley Five, George himself takes the melody in the opening choruses and the great Jim Robinson on trombone adds the decorations. It's a lovely recording, available on You Tube:

CLICK HERE

You can even go right back to 1923 and hear the great blues singers Bessie Smith and Clara Smith singing the song as a duet (including the decorative echoes). Click on here: they are accompanied on the piano by the composer.

CLICK HERE

If you would like a straightforward modern performance by a full traditional jazz band (the Grand Dominion), try clicking on this one from YouTube. They perform it simply, in the key of Bb. Try playing along with them.

CLICK HERE

Post 276: FLETCHER HENDERSON'S 'VARIETY STOMP' - AND THE LOW DOWN SIRES

Regular readers may remember I spent time a year ago trying to find out the title of a tune played in a video of Tuba Skinny. It's a tricky, exciting tune with three themes and a couple of bridges. It's in G minor and Bb. Have a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mWTiq6U6Jw
Well, there was a response to my plea for help, so I informed the person who posted the video and who was also asking for the title. So the title was added to the video.

Mick Glasgow was the kind gentleman who sent me the title:

It is Variety Stomp, recorded by the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1927. The composers were given on the original recording as Joe Trent, Ray Henderson and Bud Green.

I was so grateful to Mick Glasgow, as he put an end to my sleepless nights!

I had not heard of Mick before, but he plays trumpet or cornet in a band called The Low Down Sires and they are based in Asheville, North Carolina.

With great pleasure, I checked out Mick's band on YouTube. They seem to go out usually as a five-piece, with a three-man rhythm section but no reed player. They play their jazz just how I like it - tunefully and unpretentiously. You can find them in several videos, but this one is a special joy because it shows what a wonderful effect our music can have on VERY small children.
Click here to view.

Post 202: 'IF YOU DON'T, I KNOW WHO WILL'; BESSIE SMITH

In 1923, Bessie Smith recorded If You Don't, I Know Who Will, with Fletcher Henderson at the piano. It is a minor classic.

Tuba Skinny recorded it on their first CD in 2009; but as far as I know there is no YouTube version of them performing it.

This is how I play it on my keyboard. The first twelve bars are the Verse. Then comes the 26-bar Chorus (including a two-bar tag).