Continued: CD Reviews

But in Europe the story was different. They got their Bix at second-hand, long distance, on records. So, by the end of Bix's career, carefully crafted imitations and homages were appearing, and by 1930 the market was awash with hot dance bands playing in a Whiteman-Goldkette vein and featuring solos and leads by very Bixian cornetists. This is the most fascinating aspect of this CD set -- the extent of the Bix-worship in place long before the 1940s-1950s trad jazz revival.

Most of the sides are not direct imitations, though there are a few like the Rhythmic Eight's "There's a Cradle in Caroline" or Jay Whidden's "Louisiana." The rest are clever pastiches, new tunes designed to evoke Bix and a big band -- Jack Hylton's "Oh! What Night to Love" and "Forget Me Not," Jay Whidden's "A Dicky-Bird Told Me," an eerie novelty called "Some Hauntin' Tune" by Harry Hudson's Melody Men and a strange little French Bix-Tram homage by Gregor and His Gregorians called "Gregorology" (what else?). The Swedish "Minns Du?" by Helge Lindberg's Orchestra (1930) is also a photographic facsimile of a Bix big band side.

Cornetists featured include Sylvester Ahola, Phillipe Brun, Jack Jackson and Norman Payne. They all sound much more like Bix than most American candidates. The arrangements are conspicuously studious -- Tram-like saxes and Venuti-like fiddles, etc., with Bill Challis touches all over. It is a meticulous imitation of what Europeans clearly heard as a distinct musical subgenre. Almost all these sides appeared in 1929-30, ending with several each from orchestras of Spike Hughes and Ray Noble, important British aggregations of the Swing Era. Their music is driving, very well-crafted and sophisticated. The Bixian overtones are clearly a stepping stone to more generalized jazz. The Bix sound has become a British sound, the sound of future jazz.

This is something of a revelation to me. It seems clear after hearing all these sides that the British jazz revival really began ca. 1929, before poor old Beiderbecke was dead and gone. The bands that converged after WW II and led to all the hoopla of the "trad" boom were a postscript. In the U.S., Bix's pervasive influence developed casually by congruency and osmosis. In Britain and Europe, Bix was early singled out as a fountainhead of jazz and an object of imitative veneration. Something in here to be learned about "prophets without honor," eh?

An excellent CD set, with careful restorations and lavish notes.

Profits raised from the sale of this CD set were initially sent to a fund established to help meet the medical expenses for author and jazz musician Richard Sudhalter, who did much to bring Bix's life and music to wider audiences. Sadly, Sudhalter passed away Sept. 19, 2008, at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, after a long period of illness. It has therefore been decided, after consultation with the Sudhalter family, that all further donations will be sent to the Jazz Foundation of America (www.jazzfoundation.org), an organization that helped Sudhalter during his illness. The Jazz Foundation currently cares for approximately 1000 musicians, with 1600 emergency cases each year.

The CD set is produced by Jass Masters, 71 Chalk Hill, Watford, Herts. WD19 4DA, United Kingdom. E-mail nick.dellow@gmail.com for details on purchasing this fine set.  

MARSHFIELD TORNADO: JOHN DAVIS PLAYS BLIND BOONE (Newport Classics NPD85678) 73:28 min.
Sparks: Galop de Concert; Camp Meeting No. 1; Caprice de Concert No 1: Melodies des Negres; Woodland Murmurs: Spinning Song; Josephine Polka; Grand Valse de Concert, Op. 13; Serenade: Song Without Words; Caprice de Concert No. 2: Melodie des Negres; The Hummingbird; Old Folks at Home: Grand Fantaisie; The Spring; Aurora Concert Waltz; Danse des Negres: Caprice de Concert; Southern Rag Medley No. 2: Strains from the Flat Branch; Music Miner (short film)

Reviewed by David Reffkin

There can be much to say about this recording in the context of a review: the important historical figure known as John William "Blind" Boone; the time in which he lived; the music of the Midwest before, during and immediately after Boone's career arc; the attention to him from John Davis, a prominent, highly qualified recording artist; the overwhelming research; the informative liner notes; the attractive packaging; the fine acoustic recording; the eight-minute video. Actually, I just wanted to write a review on the rare occasion of a pianist and record company both originating in my home state of Rhode Island. (Well, not really, but that is remarkable in its way, too.)

Instead of all of that, I'll touch on a few points but advise you to cut to the chase and just purchase this CD if you are sold on it up to this point, because it would be a stretch to find anything not to recommend it. To those who easily misinterpret -- no, I don't think all recordings ought to be like this. There is plenty of justification for the many approaches we observe from specialists in their field, or less versatile musicians. But I believe a shining, attentive, careful and respectful musician under the best of recording circumstances ought to be represented in most musical genres from time to time. (Some would simply, and in error, say a "classical" approach.)

It seems probable that retelling the Blind Boone story from its beginnings approaches the same redundancy as telling Joplin's tale. The man has been getting some publicity, research and documentation in recent times. One of the distinctions of this disc is the selection of some of the many pieces not yet overplayed. Because the ragtimers first took up his cause, the two "Southern Rag Medleys" were pretty much it for recognizable titles. I purposely listed at the top the names of the pieces with their subtitles, as this gives more of the character of the music and a sense of the times. (Yes, there are two pieces titled "Caprice de Concert No 1: Melodies des Negres", and conversely "Danse des Negres: Caprice de Concert.") The titling in many cases certainly added a formality to Boone's repertoire, yet it often retained a connection to the African-American roots. The music itself retains those roots and yet ties Gottschalk, Chopin, even Liszt and others to 1900; the historic conduit of Boone might be one of his most important features. But we're far from hearing his entire works or from digging up his life story.

The potential for his ultimate importance as an American musician is great. He'll no doubt benefit from John Davis's dynamic and technically exquisite playing, just as Davis's previous work helped propel Blind Tom (Thomas Wiggins) into a brighter consumer spotlight. Notably, Blind Boone's early efforts were modeled in some ways after Blind Tom. See the Newport Classics catalog for John Davis Plays Blind Tom. Davis did not parachute into this music for a quick visit; he has committed great amounts of time to collecting African-American source material, writing, theatrical productions and even a nightclub show called "Standing at the Crossroads."

Consult info@newportclassic.com for the details.

October 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.