Tenors Anyone?

Jaws performs at The Bell in Hertfordshire, England in 1982. Photo by Denis Williams

Here's an EP you don't come across every day, and I don't believe its music has ever been reissued on CD (isn't everything on CD these days?). Contained in this offering are some of the very earliest recordings by Eddie Davis and Morris Lane, two tenor players who were renowned for their fatback, honking sound in the days just before rock 'n' roll burst on the scene and spoiled everything.

These sides were originally recorded for the Lenox label, 78 rpm shellac discs that were issued at a time when long playing records were on the horizon. Lenox was an imprint of Continental Records, a division of Remington Records, and they were eventually reissued in long-playing form on the parent label. For some reason, they also were released (with corrected titles) on a sort-lived Remington subsidiary named Pontiac. Confused? Me, too. But that's the release that we have here, and I gotta say, for a cheapo budget album, this one was in pristine condition. I don't think it had ever been played. 

Morris Lane in flight with the Hampton orchestra.

So here's Jaws before he'd acquired his nickname, blowing with Johnny Acea on piano, the great Gene Ramey playing the floor fiddle and Butch Ballard on drums. As you might expect, he plays rough, big-toned tenor, simple and melodic on the ballads, hot and aggressive on the up-tempo numbers. The real revelation, though, is the Morris Lane selections. I'd always thought of him as an unremarkable horn man in Lionel Hampton's orchestra from the 1940s and '50s. But here he plays with real verve and command – no honking or walking the bar. The band behind him is unknown, which is unfortunate because the trumpet, trombone and piano players are all excellent. Can you tell who the trumpet guy is? He sounds familiar, and a Gems of Jazz no prize to whoever can name him (or her?). There's a vocalist, too, probably one of the band members, and check out "Big Trees." It's weird enough to be one of Sun Ra's early R&B records.

So here are eight selections from 1947-48 of two tenor players, one well known, the other not so much. There's surface noise, but I believe it was there in the originals, and I don't think it will trouble you much. I cleaned it a bit, so not to worry. These are also wav files, so you audiophiles should be happy. From the original vinyl as always, gang (although in this case I think it's probably styrene).

Tenors Wild and Mild 
Eddie Davis/Morris Lane
Pontiac PLP 523
*Eddie Davis, ts; Johnny Acea, p; Gne Ramey, b; Butch Ballard, d.
New York, NY; 1947-48
**Morris Lane, ts; unk. tp, tbn, p, b, d, v.
New York, NY; 1947-48

1. Sepember Song **
2. Music Goes Down Around *
3. Big Trees **
4. But Beautiful *
5. Leapin’ on Lenox *
6. Ready for Action **
7. Ravin’ at the Haven *
8. After Hours Bounce ** 

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zvuxmztgk3cubgs/Davis_Lane.rar

Hines' Varieties

On the ball: The Fatha takes a break from the keys to roll a few at the lanes. Very
nice form, don't you agree? This was taken about the time these recordings were
made. From "The World of Earl Hines"

Here's another Earl Hines offering – one that's a bit more contemporary than those of our previous postings. Hines has long been one of my favorite players, ever since I first heard his keyboard gymnastics on "Weather Bird" with Louis. His sense of rhythm was far more advance than any of his contemporaries, with the possible exception of James P. He just knocked me out!

I was filing away some records I'd pulled for my radio show when I came across this gem. It's another of those cheapo budget records from the early '60s, but it's not one that you see very often and the music reissued on it comes from an interesting period in Hines' career. Plus, these sides were all originally recorded for the short-lived Sunrise label in Chicago, making them pretty rare (back before the Internet, that is).

There's another reason why I decided to upload these files. The record has an interesting story behind it (are you surprised?). 

When I was living in Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago, I spent a lot of time in used record stores and thrift shops. There were great records to be found there as you might imagine, and I found quite a few. One day I purchased an LP with curious notes on its backside written in blue ballpoint pen ink. The notes added information on personnel, and on session dates and locations. They also commented on the various tunes on the LP – things like "Dynamite Blowing – a Real KICK!!!" and "Slow Burner – Tpt. Solo – Bold!!!" Whoever had made the notes used exclamation points freely.

A sample of the mysterious annotations, made
on a Duke Ellington record. The writer put much
effort into drawing lines and curious symbols.

I didn't think much of it until I came across another LP with similar jottings. And then another, and another. I began seeing dozens of records with the ballpoint marginalia in many of my record haunts. I decided that somebody was getting rid of a collection of primo jazz sides piece by piece, selling LPs to dealers as circumstances dictated. The variety of detailed information and the evaluations of the tunes (the writer had an elaborate system of stars and crosses for rating them) made me suspect that the original owner may have been a radio DJ. The notes served as a guide for picking material for his show on the fly – he wouldn't have to preview the music, just grab and go. 

I never found out the true story behind the ballpoint annotator, but I did end up with about thirty of his records. This Hines LP is one of them. The interesting thing about his notes is that he not only knows the correct date and place for Hines' Sunrise sessions, but he knows many of the players as well (more than are listed in my discography). The record itself offers no info whatsoever on the material. My question is this: How did this fellow know these things? Did he have the original Sunrise releases? Did he know one of the sidemen, or possibly Hines himself? Was he a serious hipster on the scene? This last hypothesis seems to be borne out in his liberal use of jive argot – as in "T-pipe" for "tenor saxophone."

Johnny Hartman

Whatever the case, we have here some rare Hines recordings that capture the Fatha in a period of transition. His big band had just been disbanded, a victim of changing tastes and shrinking budgets, and he'd just been hired by his former recording partner, Louis Armstrong, to be a sideman in Satchmo's first All-Stars unit. It must have been a difficult time for Earl. Victor was no longer recording him, so he went with Sunrise and issued a series of tunes in a variety of styles. In this download you'll hear the first gleanings of R&B, sweet ballads with strings and some straight-ahead jazz in the tradition. It's like Hines was hoping something would catch the public's ear but wasn't sure quite what.

The Dark Angel of the violin –
Eddie South

That said, you get to hear the immortal violinist Eddie South on three of these titles (and maybe more if, like me, you suspect it's Eddie South and not Bill Dougherty playing fiddle on some of the other tunes). You'll also hear the first recordings of a young up-and-coming baritone named Johnny Hartman, as fluid and smooth as he'd ever be even at age 24. Then there are the fine arrangements of Ernie Wilkins (or is it Budd Johnson?) on the big band sides. The jump tunes with Wini Brown feature a band pulled from Lionel Hampton's orchestra – with Mingus on bass! "Blues for Garroway," by the way, refers to Dave Garroway, then a nationally known Chicago radio personality and promoter of jazz. Earl no doubt was hoping Garroway would use the tune for his theme.

After 1947, Earl Hines would never again front an orchestra of his own on a permanent basis. Too bad, but then we wouldn't have his many decades of stellar trio and quartet work. So enjoy this last gasp of one Hines tradition. And see if the mysterious annotator doesn't inspire you to form your own theories about his story.

As always, these files were ripped from the original vinyl with just a mild cleaning of light pops and clicks.

 

Earl Hines and His Orchestra
Earl Hines
Hines, p; Morris Lane, ts; Eddie South, vi; Bob Wyatt, org; Ernest Ashley, g; unk. b, d.
Chicago, IL; December 1947
 
1. Honeysuckle Rose
2. Dark Eyes
3. Blues for Garroway
 
Hines, p; Duke Garette, tp; Bobby Plater, as; Morris Lane, ts; Charlie Fowlkes, bar; Bill Dougherty, vi; Bill Mackel, g; Charles Mingus, b; Curley Hamner, d; Wini Brown, unk., v.
Chicago, IL; December 1947
 
4. The Sheik of Araby
5. No Good Woman Blues
 
Hines, p; prob. Willie Cook, Vernon Smith, Fats Palmer, Charlie Anderson, tp; Bennie Green, Walter Harris, Gordon Alston, tbn; Clifton Small, tbn, p; Scoops Carey, Thomas Crump, as; Ernie Wilkins, Budd Johnson, ts; Wallace Brodis, bar; Bob Wyatt, org; unk., vbs; Skeeter Betts or Bill Mackel, g; Calvin Ponders, b; Gus Johnson, d; Johnny Hartman, Melrose Colbert, v; unk. string section.
Chicago, IL; late 1947
 
6. Ain’t Misbehavin’
 
Personnel as 4, 5:
7. Bow-legged Mama
 
Personnel as 6:
8. Black and Blue
9. I Need a Shoulder to Cry On
 
Personnel as 4, 5:
10. My Name Is on the Doorbell

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?emw51rme3yyr1n2