Post 519: 'GRAVIER STREET BLUES' AND JOHNNY DODDS

The year was 1954 and I had discovered the wonderful early New Orleans-style jazz music coming to us in London on recordings from America. One of the first - what a great introduction to the heady effects of raw New Orleans jazz! - was Gravier Street Blues, composed by Clarence Williams in 1924 and played by Johnny Dodds and His Orchestra. The recording was made in 1940. I have recently learned Johnny recorded it, in fact, just two months before he died.

Johnny Dodds

This tune - catchily melodic, even though largely made up of simple riffs played in a 'bluesy' manner - galvanized my interest in this branch of music. I loved the combination of Johnny's clarinet with Natty Dominique's cornet. 

On the recording, there are, incidentally, good solo choruses from Johnny himself and from Lonnie Johnson on guitar.

As was often the case in the days of 78rpm recordings, the whole piece is completed in about two and a half minutes - a lesson to us all in the impact value of brevity.

A Johnny Dodds enthusiast has generously put this recording on YouTube for us all to enjoy. So please see whether you can share my enthusiasm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIRKIP_k1Tw

Gravier Street, by the way, is very central in New Orleans. It runs parallel to - and between - Tulane Avenue and Perdido Street, not far from 723 Jane Alley, where Louis Armstrong was born.

I struggled to work the tune out for my mini filofax system and came up with a version typical of my amateurish approach. But then I found the great Lasse Collin had put up a leadsheet on his site: http://cjam.lassecollin.se
So here is Lasse's, followed - for what it's worth - by mine.

Many thanks, Lasse:

Mine:

Post 409: 'BIG CHIEF BATTLE-AXE'

Thomas S. Allen (1876 - 1919) of Massachusetts - a prolific composer and violinist - wrote Big Chief Battle-Axe in 1907. It's a good romping number in three parts (four if you count the Bridge). I'm pleased to say it is still played by some bands.

The first time I heard this tune was in 1993, on a recording made that year by Chris Tyle's Silver Leaf Jazz Band; and it made an impression on me. I entered it into my mini-filofax storage system. It is usually played in Ab, but I put it in the key of Bb, to suit my cornet - a transposing instrument.

C is the section on which to 'stick' for the purpose of solos. Improvising on it is easy because the chord sequence follows the Four-Leaf Clover chord progression.

It is interesting that when I went to New Orleans for The French Quarter Festival in April 2016, among the performers I heard were Tom Saunders, Lars Edegran, Steve Pistorius and Tom Fischer - all of whom played on that Silver Leaf Jazz Band CD 23 years earlier.

I like to play along with Tuba Skinny performing this tune on YouTube, though in this performance they use only the Bridge and Section C. They also play it in Bb, not Ab. Click here to watch and hear them.

Big Chief Battleaxe is a firm favourite in the traditional jazz repertoire.

For example, the influential Bunk Johnson recording may be heard BY CLICKING HERE.

Listen to the minor-key opening, and what do you think of? Possibly a scene from one of those black-and-white Cowboys-and-Indians movies of the 1940s. You picture a Big Chief, with feathered head-dress, long hair, and painted face, looking down from his horse at some settlers who pose a threat to his territory. In a curious pared-down version of English, he says firmly and with dignity to his tribesmen: 'White man need water. Give white man water.'

And then comes a brighter, jaunty melody in the major key. It perhaps makes you think of a happier moment when his tribespeople are enjoying a dance round the fire as the sun goes down.

Thomas S. Allen wrote the words for it as well as the melodies. Maybe you will be as surprised as I was to discover that it actually had words. And when I looked recently at the original sheet music, I was astonished to read those words and also discover what the composer had in mind. The 'Big Chief' was in fact just a painted wooden advertising sign outside a tobacconist's shop. Allen had the fanciful idea of this 'Big Chief' falling in love with an advertising sign across the road (a princess advertising stogies [cigars]). Eventually they went away together. Allen actually described the song as 'A Comic Indian Novelty'.

Listen to the bit of music Tuba Skinny plays between 51 seconds and 1 minute 9 seconds (the major-key theme) in the video indicated above. The words that go with it are:

‘Big Chief Battleaxe loves yer true;
all day long I gaze at you.
I don't care for this job any more.
If you’ll say you’ll be my bride,
then we’ll take a good long ride
far away from this tobacco store.’

The words of the song in full are:

Upon a stand, with a tomahawk in his hand,
stood an Indian chief of the bold Comanche band.
Ten years or more he’d been standing at the door
as an advertising sign for an old tobacco store
He longed to meet the princess so sweet
who held a bunch of stogies out on the opposite side of the street.
When she inquired if his tomahawk arm was tired,
then he shook his little head and he answered back so sweet:
'Big Chief Battleaxe loves yer true;
all day long I gaze at you.

I don't care for this job any more.

If you’ll say you’ll be my bride,

then we’ll take a good long ride

far away from this tobacco store.’

Sad to relate was this Indian warrior’s fate,

for they threw him in the dump.

But the Big Chief said ‘You wait!’

One dreary night, when the moon was out of sight,

then he stole a hobby horse and he rode with all his might.

He looked around and the princess he found

Then they both jumped on the hobby horse

and they started off with a bound.

And now today they are hundreds of miles away

But they don’t forget the time when the Big Chief used to say:

‘Big Chief Battleaxe loves yer true;

all day long I gaze at you.

I don't care for this job any more.

If you’ll say you’ll be my bride,

then we’ll take a good long ride

far away from this tobacco store.’

On the front cover of the sheet music, you can see the advertising figure Allen imagined, for years looking across the street at the princess!

I also happened to spot such a 'Big Chief' on a box outside a shop, used for advertising purposes, in the Buster Keaton film 'The Goat' (from 1921). So presumably this was a common practice at the time:

Musicians may be interested to note that Allen composed his piece in 2/4 time and in the key of Ab. I think most bands today play it in Bb.

Here is an extract:

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

6 June 2016

Post 401: DOTS IN FILOFAXES - 'MAMA'S GONE; GOODBYE'

When I want to learn a tune on my keyboard or cornet, I begin by getting the dots and chords as accurately as possible into my mini filofax collection.

Occasionally, I manage to find the music in a busker's book or somewhere on the internet; but often I have to work out the tune as well as I can by myself.

The appearance of my filofax pages is rough-and-ready but they can be very helpful as an aide-mémoire at some future date.

Below is an example of the results - in this case with Piron and Bocage's famous Mama's Gone, Goodbye. You can hear their very sweet original band recording (from 1923) by clicking here.

4 December 2015

Post 320: 'CLARINET MARMALADE'

Unfortunately, the great old jazz classics are not tunes you are likely to find in sheet music form in your local music shop, even if you are lucky enough still to have a local music shop. We have to learn them as best we can - mostly by ear or from materials circulated by other musicians. I write out my own simple lead sheets and store them in mini filofaxes, as below. My versions are probably not spot on, but they are good enough for me. Incidentally, if you would like to see me with three friends having a go at playing this tune - CLICK HERE.

I think Clarinet Marmalade was composed by members of The Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB) in 1918.

Post 316: 'MOONGLOW'

At the request of a member of a little band in which I sometimes play, I added Moonglow to my repertoire.

This catchy tune was written in 1934 by Hudson, Delange and Mills.

As ever, I have used a Mini Filofax page for it. I chose to put it in the Key of G (for the convenience of playing on a Bb cornet). I kept the chord structure simple, though I am aware that more subtle changes would have been possible.

What strikes me about this tune is the way it cleverly teases the listener and thus achieves its striking effects. For example, the first bar of melody sounds like an anacrusis but in fact it really is the first bar proper. Also, the first two bars are based on the chords of C major and C minor respectively, even though the tune is actually in G. (After You've Gone, That's My Home, Glad Rag Doll and I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me start in a similar way.)

In its principal 8-bar melody, Moonglow uses a simple two-bar theme three times. You could hardly devise anything less complex. But look at the changing harmonies and you find the first B natural is harmonised against C minor, the next one against A major (making in effect A9th) and the third B natural is played against a D major (making in effect a D6th). The final two bars of the eight (all on the melody note of G - again seemingly very simple) are played over the beautifully shifting harmonies of G, G diminished, A minor 7th and G again. What a super effect that achieves.

And what about the Middle Eight? They start with a G7. Fair enough. Surely that will lead smoothly into C major?

Oh no it doesn't. We descend exquisitely through F#7th and F7th to E7th! And the next four bars go (as we might expect) from A7th to D7th - but there is yet another surprise: we slide through C major 7th on the way!

Mastering this tune with the band should not be difficult. There are only 16 bars to learn, even though you have to play 32. I'm already thinking of the pleasure those teasingly beautiful harmonic games will give.

Post Script: After reading the above, Henry (Banjo, Germany) has sent me this chord chart for Moonglow, which his band uses. Thanks, Henry.

27 October 2015

Post 284: 'C'EST SI BON'

The period between 1940 and 1980 was a Golden Age for popular music. Songs had words that were important and worth listening to, with a narrative and drama; and those words were articulated clearly by great singers, accompanied by a real, accomplished pianist or band or orchestra, playing from an arrangement that would include adventurous harmonies, changes in rhythm and key; and even accelerandos, rallentandos and pauses.

Some of the best tunes came from France. One of them was C’est Si Bon.

It is a catchy, happy, leaping tune. But I particularly admire the extraordinarily adventurous harmonies, as well as the surprises in the melody.

You will remember that it begins:

Already, after the anacrusis, we find the opening accented note (the E flat) is the fourth note of the Bb scale. This is an unusual opening gambit, though not totally uncommon. But look too at the harmonies:

We start on the chord of C minor 7th; and it will take the whole of the first eight bars to establish that we are in fact in the Key of Bb.

We soon begin to feel that – in structure - this is going to be one of those conventional 32-bar tunes, shaped A – A – B – A.

But two more daring developments are in store.

First, the ‘middle eight’ (Section B) begins with an amazing melodic line. Remember we are in the key of Bb; and yet the melody descends the scale of Db! On the face of it, this seems simply not do-able. What on earth can the composer be playing at? And yet – when you have heard it a few times and become accustomed to it – you have to admit the trick works just perfectly.

Here again, the harmonies add to our sense of amazement.

How often would you find a popular tune in Bb that included the chords of B natural, Db7th and Gb? Nowhere else, I guess.

The second half of this ‘middle eight’ returns us eventually to the secure ground of Bb.

We move into what we think will be the final eight, only to discover that the melody goes stratospheric in the 7th and 8th bars, leading into a further ‘final eight’.

So in fact we have a 'final sixteen' and the complete tune comprises 40 bars, not the expected 32.

How daring is that?

C’est Si Bon was composed by Henri Betti in 1947, and its words were written by André Hornez. Betti, who died in 2005 at the age of 87, was – you may not be surprised to hear – a classically-trained pianist who made a good living as a writer of music for films.

As usual, having worked on C'est Si Bon, I wrote it out on mini filofax paper so that I have an aide-mémoire and also so that I could learn it by heart to avoid boredom on a bus journey. I put it in to the key of C, which is how I fancy it as a Bb trumpet player.

7 May 2015

Post 204: 'MABEL'S DREAM'

One of the good old traditional jazz classics was Mabel's Dream (perhaps originally Maybelle's Dream). It was recorded by King Oliver and his great band in 1923. You may hear the Oliver recording: CLICK HERE. As far as I can tell, it was written that year by someone called Ike Smith, about whom nothing seems to be known for certain.

Nor do we know who Mabel was. A real lady known to Ike Smith? And what did she dream?

Whatever the background, it is a fine piece and - until about 1990 - was played a great deal by the traditional jazz bands. Today only a few bands still play it.

I worked out a version in a key to suit me (i.e. for the Bb trumpet). As usual, I noted it down in my mini filofax, so that I could learn it during a bus journey.

Section (C) is a clever bridge leading to a change of key at (D), on which solos are traditionally taken.

1 November 2014

Post 141: 'MOONGLOW' - A TEASINGLY BEAUTIFUL TUNE

At the request of a member of a little band in which I sometimes play, I added Moonglow to my repertoire.

This catchy tune was written in 1934 by Hudson, Delange and Mills.

As ever, I used a Mini Filofax page. I wrote it out in the Key of G. I kept the chord structure simple, though I am aware that more subtle changes would have been possible.

What strikes me about this tune is the way it cleverly teases the listener and thus achieves its striking effects. For example, the first bar of melody sounds like an anacrusis but in fact it really is the first bar proper. Also, the first two bars are based on the chords of C major and C minor respectively, even though the tune is actually in G.

In its principal 8-bar melody, Moonglow uses a simple two-bar theme three times. You could hardly devise anything less complex. But look at the changing harmonies and you find the first B natural is harmonised against C minor, the next one against A major (making in effect A9th) and the third B natural is played against a D major (making in effect a D6th). The final two bars of the eight (all on the melody note of G - again seemingly very simple) are played over the beautifully shifting harmonies of G, G diminished, A minor 7th and G again. What a super effect that achieves.

And what about the Middle Eight? They start with a G7. Fair enough. Surely that will lead smoothly into C major?

Oh no it doesn't. We descend exquisitely through F#7th and F7th to E7th! And the next four bars go (as we might expect) from A7th to D7th - but there is yet another surprise: we slide through C major 7th on the way!

Mastering this tune with the band should not be difficult. There are only 16 bars essentially to learn, even though you have to play 32. I'm already thinking of the pleasure those teasingly beautiful harmonic games will give.

5 June 2013

Post 97: 'CHRYSANTHEMUM RAG'

Scott Joplin wrote The Chrysanthemum in 1904.

It is a great number. But who plays it these days?

It was one of those subtle, tricky piano rags in 2/4, with plenty of tied notes and many bars comprising eight semi-quavers.

It had a typical four-theme rag structure of the time. After a 4-bar introduction, there was [A] a 16-bar theme (repeated) in Bb, followed by [B] another 16-bar theme (repeated) in F. Then Theme [A] was played again, but this time not repeated. This modulated into [C] a 16-bar theme (repeated) in Eb, and then [D] another 16-bar theme (repeated) in Eb. Finally, what I have called Theme [C] was played again to finish.

And here’s something I find very interesting: with such a structure (A-B-A-C-D-C), and modulations using a total of three keys, this piece was in a direct line of descent from the music of Haydn and Mozart.

During the second half of the Twentieth Century, somebody (probably Ray Foxley) devised a version of Chrysanthemum Rag simplified for the traditional jazz band. Obviously it had to make do with fewer notes, compared with the piano score. But it kept the spirit of what I have described above and it also managed to extract the essence of the melodies of the four themes. It even went through the same key changes.

The 'trad' version was popular in the U.K. at jazz festivals, especially when played by such bands as those of Ken Colyer or Sonny Morris. To hear Ken playing it: CLICK HERE.

I am sorry to say bands in the Twenty-First Century seem to have all but stopped playing Chrysanthemum Rag. This is sad because it is a terrific number, perhaps even more effective in its full-band version than as a piano solo. Probably bands think it too much trouble to learn, with the four strains and key changes to master. It requires playing in a disciplined manner.

Though it is possible to play it fairly ‘straight’ - without much improvisation - it gives plenty of opportunity to the trumpet, clarinet and trombone for neat teamwork. It makes a great speciality number.

So come on bands! Let’s revive Chrysanthemum Rag!

But wait. Where is the band sheet music for us to work from? The answer seems to be that it is nowhere to be found. It has been lost. I guess the musicians who devised the trad band version never bothered to get it printed.

I decided to make my own lead sheet, based on a recording of Chrysanthemum Rag played by an English traditional jazz band about 40 years ago. I put it in keys that are easy for me as a cornet player. I enter my tunes in mini filofaxes. The themes are played in the order A – B – A – C – D – C.

27 April 2013

Post 58: 'FIDGETY FEET'

Yes, it seems crazy, but I carry the whole of Fidgety Feet around on just 21 square inches of paper.

I keep it, together with hundreds of other tunes written out in this way, in a set of easily portable mini-filofaxes. I am very keen on filofaxes both as little works of art and as effective methods of storage and record-keeping.

Fidgety Feet (with its alternative title War Cloud) was recorded at a romping speed by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1918. Composer credits were given to the band's members Nick LaRocca and Larry Shields.

I like to take a filofax full of tunes with me on bus and train journeys, so that I can browse through them and brush away some of the rust that develops in the brain if you go several months without playing a particular number.

21 April 2013

Post 52: JAZZ IN A MINI FILOFAX

My project to collect hundreds of tunes played by traditional jazz bands and to store them in mini filofaxes never ends. I enjoy making my own lead sheets in miniature and being able to carry so many tunes around conveniently. Likewise, every newly-added tune slots easily into its place in alphabetical order.

Generally, I can get a complete tune on to one page of mini filofax, though the more complicated multi-part pieces, such as rags, sometimes run to three pages.

Open up one of these delightful little books and this is the sort of thing to be found.

Most musicians play from large sheets of printed music on a music stand, so my system would not work for them. But for my purposes, as an aide-mémoire, the mini filofax is ideal.

I attempt to play the keyboard and the cornet, and my repertoire is limited to popular music, mostly from the period 1850 to 1965. More than half the tunes have choruses in a 32-bar structure, and it is easy to get 32 bars on to one mini filofax page – even easier if there is some repetition that can be indicated as such  (usually in the first and second ‘eights’).

Is it really possible to get the whole of Climax Rag on to a lead sheet that is just two sides of one mini filofax page? Yes.

I use only the MINI size because I want portability, simplicity and minimalism. I start with a blank page. I rule stave lines and leave sufficient space between the staves to enter further information, such as chord names and repeat signs.

All I need are the notes of the tune and the letters representing the chord changes. When I’m playing the keyboard, I improvise the chords in the left hand.

Sometimes, if I need the lyrics too, I also write out the words.

By the way, you can watch a beautifully-judged performance of Tuba Skinny playing Climax Rag in January 2016 BY CLICKING HERE.

Where do I find my tunes? I have a sack full of buskers’ books and old printed music. If I need a tune that is not in a book or available on the Internet, I try to pick it out by ear and – using my keyboard – work out the harmonies for myself.

When my friends and I get together to play, we do not use sheet music. We allow for plenty of improvisation. So we do not need music stands, either. However, we all do our homework first; and that means learning the tunes before we get together.

So I take a mini filofax with me whenever I’m travelling. While on the bus or train or having my mid-morning coffee in one of our excellent cafeterias here in Nottingham, I learn a tune or two.

When playing with my friends, I sometimes keep tunes handy, just in case I need to check something.