The Firehouse Five Plus Two

One of the most popular bands of the west coast traditional jazz revival of the late 40s/early 50s was the Firehouse Five plus Two of Los Angeles (from here on the FH5). The band with their colorful appearance, comedic timing and great musicianship brought the sounds of classic jazz to many moldy figs and casual fans. Along with the Dukes of Dixieland, this writer and young trumpet student learned a lot about this wonderful music from the FH5.

The band was the brainchild of trombonist Ward Kimball, an ace animator and director at Walt Disney Studios. (Ward was one of the "grand old men" who created some of Disney's most beloved characters.) Ward was a rough and ready trombonist, but he had his moments and his enthusiasm and wit were hallmarks of the band. Ward started the band around 1945 as a lunchtime hobby with fellow Disney-ites Clarke Mallory (clarinet), Ed Penner (bass sax and later tuba), Jim McDonald (drums) and Frank Thomas (pian0; another "grand old man). All the band members loved traditional jazz and dixieland and had played with jazz greats such as Kid Ory, Joe Darensbourg, Minor Hall, Albert Nicholas and Zutty Singleton. The band was originally billed as the Huggageedy 8 then the San Gabriel Valley Blue Blowers.

The FH5 came about when Ward and wife Betty, members of the S. California Horseless Carriage Club, brought the band to a caravan. To accommodate the group, Ward and Co. bought a 1914 LaFrance fire truck to play on and dressed the band in red shirts, suspenders and fire helmets. This would be the colorful uniform that attracted their legions of fans. By this time, Johnny Lucas, a talented Los Angeles trumpeter and Harper Goff, a free-lance artist had joined the crew. More casual jobs followed, along with a Monday night series at LA's Beverly Cavern, a popular spot for trad jazz, including the Kid Ory band.

The big break came in 1949 when record producer Les Koenig signed the band for a date on his Good Time Jazz label. Good Time Jazz would soon be one of the major trad labels featuring the likes of Lu Watters, Kid Ory, Turk Murphy, Bob Scobey and the Castle Jazz Band to name a few. That first session on May 13, 1949 featured Firehouse Stomp, Blues my Naught Sweeties Gives to Me, Fireman's Lament and San. Luca's trumpet work is a standout, but all the players were competent jazzmen and their enthusiasm and comic touches (fire sirens, gongs, slapsticks, band vocals and Spike Jones-ish effects) made them unique and infectious. These first sides and the ensuing recordings came out on 78 rpm and would eventually be collated into 10 and 12 inch LPs. Most of the pre-1954 sides were issued on 3 LPs as the Firehouse Five Story.

On the October 8, 1949 session Lucas and MacDonald were replaced by Danny Alguire and Monte Mountjoy. Monte was a veteran of the Tiny Hill, Bob Wills and Spade Cooley bands. He later became a fixture on the midwest dixieland scene. Danny was also a former Wills Texas Playboy. He had also sat in with the Lu Watters gang during the postwar years. He played a direct, no-nonsense lead cornet, but could surprise you with inspired solos. He became a regular and stayed to the end.

The band really started to click and was the talk of Los Angeles. The years of 1950-52 saw the FH5 reach an amazing popularity, certainly something the Disney part-timers never expected. The band began a Monday night series at Hollywood's Mocambo club, where many of the film community came to dig the band and take part in their Charleston contests. Bing Crosby loved the band and had them on his radio show. I remember a great version of Please don't Talk about Me with Bing getting in a nifty scat break. Television also welcomed the firemen and they appeared on the Ed Wynn Show, the Milton Berle Show, the Make Believe Ballroom and Walt Disney shows. During this time they appeared in two feature films, Hit Parade of 1951, a B musical from Republic and Grounds for Marriage, an MGM comedy with Van Johnson and Kathryn Grayson. This film gave the band a nice spot as Van and Kathryn go to the Firehouse club to hear our boys. They play their great version of Tiger Rag. Also heard are excerpts of Pagan Love Song and Five Foot Two (catch it on Youtube). In 1950 the band made a series of Snader Telecriptions (fillers for TV when shows ended early). These films show the band in a firehouse setting and they sound and look great , Ward and Harper especially are scene-stealers. The boys were also in a 1951 Universal short with Teresa Brewer and Joe Venuti. During Teresa's tunes they lip-sync to the studio band.

The band also began appearing at Gene Norman's famous Dixieland Jubilee concerts in Los Angeles, even sharing the stage with Louis Armstrong in 1951. (Muskrat Ramble can be heard on the California Concerts with Armstrong, a Decca cd. There also was an old Decca LP featuring the band on some samples from the Dixieland Jubilee).

Some of the many highlights of the Good Time Jazz sides of 1949-51 include The World is Waiting for the Sunrise, featuring Ward on washboard and Harper's banjo prowess. Tiger Rag became a staple in the band's book and the 1950 version is a goodie. The band's trademark "group" vocals start to appear, usually with Danny and Ward on lead. These tongue-in-cheek vocals were as much a part of the FH5 as were the fire sirens, sound effects and comic interludes. Much good jazz was played too, including solid versions of South, Everybody Loves my Baby, San Antonio Rose, Mississippi Rag (featuring Frank) and Riverside Blues. The band's single of Jingle Bells (backed by Tavern in the Town) was a very popular seasonal favorite. Ed Penner switched over to tuba on the second record session and banjoist Dick Roberts started filling in for Harper on the June 12, 1951 session. Dick was a busy studio man and had his own Good Time Jazz series, the Banjo Kings with fellow banjoist Red Roundtree. He would eventually replace Harper in the group. (drummer Jerry Hamm also subbed for Monte on a few dates). Danny's composition, Firechief Rag (based on Bob Wills' Beaumont Rag, a cousin to Do What Ory Say), is another fine side from this period.

By May of 1952, Ward and most of the Disney contingent of the band were finding it hard juggling their studio work along with the phenomenon of the FH5. They decided to take a hiatus until they could play on their own terms. The May 20 session saw the band in great form as they went out with a bang on their sabbatical. Clarinetist Tom Sharpsteen, a local trad man, had replaced Clarke. He had a funky New Orleans sound and used the Albert system. The four selections, Runnin' Wild, Floating Down Old Green River, When You Wore a Tulip and Lonesome Railroad Blues, find the band in great form. By the fall of '53 the band was back, still busy as ever but careful to watch the amount of work they took. The future albums, first on 10'' LP, then on 12'' LP, would have themes or concepts. The first of these was FH5 Plus 2 Goes South. Most of the album was recorded in January and March of 1954. Four 1956 sides were added for the 12'' version. The tunes are all favorites and ditties about the South. The new clarinetist and soprano sax man was George Probert, a spectacular player and soloist who had stints with Bob Scobey and Kid Ory in the early to mid-50s. George's unique soprano tone and ingenious improvisations would become one of the band's most popular and recognizable sounds.

The covers of the LPs would also be highlights. The Goes South album has a red map of the South with a great action shot of the band framed by their distinctive logo. The album features such favorites as Milenberg Joys, Swanee River, Basin St. and Dixieland One-Step. But we also get some old pop tunes such as Birmingham Papa, Tuck Me to Sleep in My Old Kentucky Home and Charleston Back to Charleston. Harper Goff only appears on the March 30 session but would be replaced by Dick Roberts. Harper's work on art and production design kept him very busy. He even took a few character roles in movies. He has a spot in Pete Kelly's Blues. George Probert gives us some of his fine clarinet work on Georgia Camp Meeting; his clarinet, not as dynamic as his soprano was a nice contrast. He also adds a hot ocarina chorus on Swanee River. The October 11, 1956 session has Jim MacDonald back on drums and features a lovely version of Tishomingo Blues. The boys could always give out with straight trad jazz.

Next up would be the FH5 Plays for Lovers recorded in September through December 1955 and in January 1956. This album is a nifty mix of pop favorites and vintage rarities on the subject of love, all done up in FH5 style. The album cover is a winner, a pair of Victorian lovers surrounded by the FH5 doing their thing! Danny and George get in many nice solo bits and the ever reliable Dick Roberts is a rock on rhythm and solo duties. We especially like Ward's goading of George on Love Is Just around the Corner. My Cutie's Due at Two to Two is a great little "forgotten" pop. Danny takes a cute vocal break. He sang a lot on the live dates and would later do some solos on the LPs. Love Songs of the Nile, a favorite of New Orleans' Billie and DeeDee Pierce, gets a nice FH5 treatment with George's "romantic" soprano featured. He also has a nice clarinet spot on I Love You Truly). All in all, another winner for the firemen!

Ward, Frank and Ed Penner (a screenwriter) were involved in so many of the classic Disney films including Snow White, Pinnocchio, Fantasia and Sleeping Beauty to name just a few. Danny and George joined the studio around this time as assistant directors, doing mostly music work on cartoons. In 1956 the band appeared on the popular Mickey Mouse Club. (You can catch it on Youtube). The band joined the kids for I Want To Be a Fireman and Tiger Rag with Mousketeer Cubby O'Brien sitting in on drums. (Cubby was a great talent and later was with Lawrence Welk's Junior Band on TV.) Speaking about drummers, the FH5's new drummer, Eddie Forrest, is on this show. He was a studio pro and a real kick to watch, the perfect FH5 drummer!

Sadly, Ed Penner passed on in November of 1956. He was a fine musician and talented writer loved by the band and Disney colleagues. His first replacement was Ralph Ball, a West Coast trad man who had played with Turk Murphy. Soon the remarkable George Bruns filled the chair. George had worked with Turk and the Castle Jazz Band and was working a lot at Disney, writing and scoring music. (His Ballad of Davy Crockett was a huge hit.) He played several instruments, but specialized in trombone and tuba. He was one of the most inventive and dexterous players on tuba. With the two Georges and Eddie, the FH5 fielded their best band.

Their next album, FH5 Goes to Sea, is a classic! The album was recorded over the course of 4 sessions from February to November of 1957. Ralph is on the first session with George Bruns taking over for the rest of the sessions. The combination of fun tunes, FH5 hokum, great jazz and the slurping ocean effects after each tune make this a real winner. George Bruns' extended solos on Devil and the Deep Blue Sea are some of the finest tuba improvisations on record. George Probert has many great spots including a wailing chorus on Sailboat in the Moonlight. Danny does some nice growling on Red Sails in the Sunset and the old favorite Minnie the Mermaid is a natural for the band, complete with band vocal and swinging Probert chorus. (George also gets in a hot ocarina solo on Sailor's Sweetheart.) These are just a few highlights of a truly great trad album. Once again, the album cover was a classic as the boys are shown "going to sea" into the ocean at Malibu.

The band was keeping up its busy schedule with private parties, jazz festivals and TV. They did the Lawrence Welk show and made a memorable appearance on Bobby Troup's Stars of Jazz show in 1958. This show also featured the wonderful Barbara Dane, a west coast singer in the Bessie Smith tradition. (Trad fans will remember her Blues over Bodega album with Lu Watters.) Some of the tracks have surfaced on Youtube. My copy comes from an old VHS tape. For this show Ward added Don Kinch on cornet. Don played with Turk Murphy and the Castle Jazz Band and would soon take over the FH5 tuba chair. This "super" edition of the band plays Milenberg Joys, Devil and Deep Blue Sea (featuring George Bruns and nice fours with the trumpets) and a romping That's a Plenty. Barbara does Old Fashioned Love and Ain't Nobody Got the Blues like Me with the boys. This is a wonderful show and deserves to be on DVD. (The entire series would be welcome.)

Back at Good Time Jazz, the band made one of it's funniest albums, FH5 Crashes a Party. This album was recorded over 5 sessions from September 1958 to November 1959. The repertoire included old favorites such as Heart of My Heart, I want a Girl , Button Up Your Overcoat and You Are My Sunshine along with jazz standards such as Jazz Band Ball. Nobody's Sweetheart, Bill Bailey and the Saints. To create their "party" the band used the voices of wives and friends along with the band members. There is hilarious laughter, hooting and hollering and bad singalongs like you find at every party. A lot of good jazz still surfaces, but the band's comedic talents are at their best here. Don Kinch would now be the permanent tuba with the band. (Occasionally Ward would get George Bruns back and put Don on cornet). We also get another classic cover with the band "crashing" the party of a middle age lothario with his comely date.

After the hilarious "Party" album the band got back to basics with Dixieland Favorites. This album recorded over a period from September 1958 to March 1960 shows the band's fine abilities as a trad jazz band minus the comedy. Along with classics like Doctor Jazz, Royal Garden Blues and Fidgety Feet, we get lesser heard items such as Working Man Blues and Storyville Blues. The band sounds great and plays all the material with verve and polish. Canal Street Blues is a showcase for the marvelous improvisations of George Probert. Taken at an uncharacteristic slow tempo, he builds chorus after chorus until the final band ride out. It would become a crowd pleaser on live dates. George also gets in a nice low register clarinet spot on Doctor Jazz. (Too bad we didn't get more of that clarinet.) This is a great introduction to the band if you're not into the comedy part of their act. (Don't worry. There is a fire siren on That's a Plenty and a silly band break on Sister Kate!)

The next album, Around the World, was another fairly straight collection of "geographic and travel " tunes, always a popular album concept. Recorded over 4 sessions from 1957 to 1961 we get a nice collection of old favorites and a few jazz standards. (Sorry; no band vocals!). On the '57 session we get the added bonus of George Bruns on tuba. Danny Alguire has some of his best moments here with nice punchy cup mute solos on Japanese Sandman and Hindustan along with a duet with Bruns on Sheik of Araby. His lead playing through out is very strong. Sheik also has some silent movie piano by Frank (a tribute to Rudolph Valentino) and a swinging Kimball -Probert duet with George on clarinet. We also get George back on clarinet for Hindustan. (I got my wish.) Russian Lullabye, Irish Eyes, China Boy and Panama also get nice renderings. As on Dixieland Favorites, the fire siren comes on for the ride out in California, Here I Come. (We have to have the FH5 trademark). The cover, designed by Ward, has the band virtually flying around the world!

Disneyland had always been a regular venue for this band of mostly Disney employees. It was the perfect spot for their first "live" album, At Disneyland, recorded on July 27 and 28 of 1962. This was an early purchase for this writer and still brings back happy memories. Recorded at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland, a regular venue for the band in the summertime, we get a representative FH5 program of standards and surprises, complete with Ward's witty announcements. We also get a bonus of two solo vocals by Danny, who always sung on live dates. Anvil Stomp is a hilarious takeoff on the Anvil Chorus with Eddie Forrest dropping his anvil on his foot at the end of the performance. Coney Island Washboard has Ward dusting off his washboard chops and we get a super version of Tiger Rag (first recorded by the band in 1950). I can never play this tune without using Danny's Deep in the Heart of Texas quote. My only complaint is that we get Muskrat Ramble again. It was on Favorites only two years earlier. Another selection would have been nice. We also get a great cover of the band posed on the famous Disney Tea Cups, and don't miss Danny's closing Safety Message! The band also took part in many of the Dixieland at Disneyland festivals, sharing the bill with the likes of Louis Armstrong, the Dukes of Dixieland, Sweet Emma, Ben Pollack and Santo Pecora to name but a few. Also in 1962, the band played on Oscar Brown Jr.'s Jazz Scene U.S.A. TV show. This show is not available for viewing but hopefully will surface on DVD or on Youtube. (The boys played Panama, Sister Kate, Anvil Stomp and Tiger Rag).

The band kept up their schedule of Disneyland appearances along with private parties, festivals and a bi-yearly visit to friend Turk Murphy's club Earthquake McGoon's in San Francisco. Next up at Good Time Jazz was FH5 Goes to a Fire, recorded from April through June 1964. It is a very appropriate album featuring lots of hot flame, smoke and fire songs and a great cover with the boys in front of an antique fire engine. The album goes from the comedic best of the band with Ward's wild narrative of Fireman, Save my Child to his "kissing" chorus on Hot Lips to straight ahead trad on Oh Sister, Ain't that Hot, Smoky Mokes and a new version of the band's theme, Firehouse Stomp that tops the original. There's also a surprisingly swinging version of Smokey the Bear (complete with band vocal) and a lovely version of the 40s hit, I don't Want to Set the World on Fire with a great Probert chorus and pretty lead work by Danny.

By the mid-60s some changes in personnel occurred. Dick Roberts passed on and was replaced by Bill Newman, a top-notch string man who had worked with Turk Murphy and Kid Ory. George Bruns came back on tuba and Don Kinch joined Danny for more two cornet work. This edition of the band made a single for Good Time Jazz in November 1966 of Mame and Winchester Cathedral, two top hits of the day. The band sounds great and George Bruns gets in some nice solo work. On Winchester, George Probert dusts off his ocarina. This would be Frank Thomas' swan song; he would continue with Disney until 1978. Frank and Ward were often interviewed on Disney retrospectives.He passed away in 2004. Frank was replaced by a fine west coast trad man, K.O. Eckland.

The last Good Time Jazz album was 20 Years Later, recorded in October of 1969. This anniversary album features the new edition of the band playing a mix of more pop tunes of the day and old favorites. The 1966 single was included. The Rooftop Singers' Walk Right In makes a great FH5 vehicle with great Bruns tuba. Hello Dolly has great trumpet fours by Danny and Don and Petite Fleur features George (appropriately on a Bechet composition) along with Don's Louis-ish lead. Midnight in Moscow and Java are also nice treatments. Bill Newman, a fine guitarist gets in some nice rhythm work on Petite Fleur. Wilbur DeParis' Martinique is a standout with great solo spots on the minor strain by Probert and Don with nice lead by Danny. High Society is given a wild ride with guest sopranos John Smith and Tom Kubis joining George for a 3 man soprano version of the classic clarinet spot. Barney Google is a perfect FH5 tune with band vocal, bird calls and duck quacks. Yellow Dog Blues features a mixture of dog and train effects. (The Yellow Dog was a railroad line.) All in all, this is a great wrap-up to the band's 20 year stay at Good Time Jazz. The cover feature a great shot of the band atop the fire engine on Ward's railroad line, complete with cake and flowers.

The last FH5 album in April of 1970 was recorded at Earthquake McGoon's and an LP was issued by the San Francisco Jazz Foundation. Happily, George Buck has put the album out on CD on his G.H.B. label with great liner notes by K.O. Eckland, a very witty man. The band with Danny on solo cornet and the great trad tuba man Bob Short of Watters, Murphy, Scobey and Castle Jazz Band fame filling in for George Bruns sounds as fine as always. We get many tunes not recorded on Good Time Jazz along with Ward's witty announcements and plenty of vocals by Danny (sometimes supported by Ward and the band). There's a great Jungle Town, Doctor Jazz and Sister Kate. (You can hear Turk laughing during a zany band break.) Danny goes back to his Bob Wills days for San Antonio Rose and George gets in his innings on Canal Street. For a sentimental wrap up we get a great version of Who Walks In from the band's early days. My only complaint is a few too many duck call routines from Ward; otherwise a great "farewell" album.

In 1971 Ward retired the band to concentrate on his Disney work. Most of the boys continued playing. Danny moved to the Portland, Oregon area and was active in the trad scene there where he played with Monte Ballou and Jim Beatty. Chris Tyle did a great profile on Danny in the September 1992 Mississipi Rag. Danny had passed on that July. This back issue may be available online at the Rag's website. I also recommend Hal Smith's online appreciation, For Whom the Brass Bell Tolls. Don Kinch also worked around Portland and had a fine band, the Conductor's Ragtime Band. The band wore railroad conductor hats and used some FH5 comic effects. They made some hard-to-find LPs. The grand old man, Ward Kimball, lived until 2002. Youtube has a great Tom Snyder interview with Ward and wife Betty as they discuss his Disney work, antiques, railroads and the FH5. George Probert is still wailing on the west coast and at trad festivals.

This has been one of my longest posts, but I think the band deserved it. For great traditional jazz with the right dose of showmanship and comedy, you can't beat the Firehouse Five Plus Two. Their Good Time Jazz albums and film and TV appearances are there for the proof. Ward and his talented crew brought a lot of joy and great jazz to many trad fans, this writer included, and to casual listeners. If you haven't heard or seen them, try them out. I guarantee you'll be entertained and musically rewarded.

To close we'll use Ward's intermission announcement from At Disneyland: We're going to take a 15 minute break. So you have time to go on all the Rides!

CD Update: The Good Time Jazz LPs were all reissued by Fantasy Records, but I believe they are out of print. Ebay or a used CD store are good alternatives. So far, no FH5 clips are on DVD. Until then, check them out on Youtube.

The Benny Goodman Story (1955)

Continuing our Hollywood bio. series, we revisit the Benny Goodman Story. With the success of the Glenn Miller Story, Universal decided to give the bio. treatment to Benny, his rag to riches story made a natural for the screen. The BG story boasted a superb soundtrack played by Benny himself and an all star jazz cast. It also had the usual historical gaffes and unintentionally hilarious plotlines. (even more so than the Miller story).

Starring as Benny was Steve Allen, the popular talkshow host, composer and pianist. Steve obviously had a great love for jazz and Benny's music- he even looked a bit like him. However his acting abilities were pretty wooden. Donna Reed co-starred as Alice Hammond, sister of John Hammond, who befriended Benny and helped him on his road to success. (John was played by Herbert Anderson-better known as Mr. Mitchell on Dennis the Menace). Alice met Benny thru John, fell in love with him and married Benny, although not in the corny hollywood scenario cooked up by the writers. (Benny and Alice met briefly in 1934 and started dating, around 1939 ,after this movie ends ).

Many great jazz stars associated with Benny appear, including Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Kid Ory and Ben Pollack ( more on him later). BG and a great studio band made of many Goodman alumni recorded the soundtrack. There were some notable ommisions including Vido Musso and Jess Stacy. (Jess did some soundtrack work but had words with Benny and walked out - Benny was noted for his boorish behavior towards his musicians).

Writer Valentine Davies of the Miller Story was back, this time also directing.( assisted by Phillip Bowles and Terry Nelson). Music Director Joseph Gershensen was also back assisted by Henry Mancini. Benny's early days as a poor Jewish kid living in Chicago were nicely played. (the young Benny was played by David Kasday and Barry Truex). His immigrant parents (Berta Gersten and Robert F. Simon) of 12 children scrape up enough money to give some of the kids music lessons. Benny studies clarinet at the jewish settlement facility, Hull House under Franz Schoepp(a noted Chicago symphony player). He excells on the instrument and is soon on hits way to a career in music. (the famed jazz clarinetist Buster Bailey also studied with Schoepp and sometimes played duets with Benny).

One of Benny's first jobs at 16 is playing on a riverboat. Benny is still wearing short pants and when he approaches the bandstand, saxophonist Gil Rodin tries to chase him away. (a similar incident happened with Bix Beiderbecke, himself only 20 or so, the chasticer). Gil Rodin (played by Dick Winslow) worked with Benny in the Ben Pollack band, but in typical Hollywood fashion he sticks with Benny throughout the film. On the boat Benny meets Kid Ory and his band (playing themselves). Benny is intigued by their music and asks to sit in. We hear the mature BG of 1955 playing with Ory! (Benny was a quick study, but I'm sure he wasn't this quick!). Benny also loses a prospective girlfriend, due to his short pants! Benny's bass-playing brother Harry appears at this point (played by Shep Menken) and worked in the Pollack band and with Benny's first band. Ben Pollack, who played an important part in the Miller story also played a similar role with Benny. (Ben once again plays himself). Pollack fostered the careers of many jazz greats including BG, Miller, Jack Teagarden, Harry James, Matty Matlock and Eddie Miller, to name just a few. Benny also did a lot of work with Red Nichols during this time.(with future colleagues Krupa,Teagarden, Babe Russin, Glenn Miller and more).A humorous vignette has teenage Benny needing a tuxedo and his tailor dad getting one for him( A bit long in the sleeves!). Benny's dad was hit by a truck before he got to see his son become a major star.

Benny gets the Pollack band out of a Chicago gig, when the gangster boss regonizes him from the old neighborhood. This scene is a bit silly, but most of the Chicago jazzspots were run by the underworld. John Hammond, knowing Benny's great musicianship invites him to play Mozart at a family musicale. Benny's mom, Harry and musicians Krupa, Wilson and Rodin attend. Alice is horrified!-she thinks Benny is going to embarress himself. When Benny plays the concerto beautifully, Alice is impressed and begins falling for Benny. Teddy Wilson gets a great line when he tells Benny-"You were in the groove tonight". One of the society matrons retorts-"I thought he played brilliantly!". Benny was actually very comfortable in the world of classical music and performed and recorded with some of the leading orchestras and ensembles. At one of Benny's jam sessions Alice shows up with John and Mrs. Goodman starts to worry that her poor jewish boy is falling for the society girl as she says to Harry-"You don't mix caviar with bagels." We hear Benny play Memories of You-which would be he and Alice's song.About this time Benny decides to start his own band. (His free-lance and radio work is skimmed over). John and booker Willard Alexander(Hy Averback) offer their help. We also start hearing a lot of the runing gag-"Don't that Way,Benny!"-More on that later. At a rehearsal of the early band we hear Slipped Disc, although that came much later.

Benny's early fling at bandleading, including the Let's Dance radio show and his cross-country tour of 1935 are realistically played. The tour was pretty much a disaster, most of the audiences couldn't dance or idenitfy with Benny's style of jazz orchestra. We see the trio (Benny, Teddy and Gene) playing a hot version of China Boy. The ballroom manager is not pleased to see the rest of the band watching. Another owner excpects comedy routines and funny hats! When Benny hits the Palomar in Los Angeles he finally achieves success. Benny decides to go for broke and trot out all the hot numbers. During an exciting One O' Clock Jump we see the audience stop dancing and gather around the band. Benny and the band get a rousing reception!-Apparently the west coast audiences had been hearing the radio show and buying the band's Victor records. Alice, John and Willard are present to cheer Benny and the band on in a moment that has been hailed as the start of the Swng Era! We have also been introduced to Fletcher Henderson (Sammy Davis Sr.) who offers his help with his great arrangements. Kid Ory also reappears to wish Benny his congratulations on the band's success.

Another landmark engagement was the Goodman band's appearance at the Paramount Theatre in New York. The Swing Craze had taken the country and the Band's 10am show was mobbed with young fans and jittterbuggers who danced in the aisles. The band plays a scorching Bugle Call Rag during this segment. Alice comes to see Benny at the show and is dragged into the frenzy with the jitterbuggers. She returns home with ripped clothes and admiration for Benny's success.
One of the silliest scenes in the film involves Benny's meeting with Lionel Hampton. In reality Benny heard Hamp leading his own band in Los Angeles in 1936. In the film he, Alice, John, Willard, Teddy and Gene wander into a little bistro where Hamp is serving as bartender, cook,host and entertainer. When he brings out his vibes, Benny, Gene and Teddy join in and the BG Quartet is born!-Typical Hollywood!

The climax of the film is Benny's famous Carnegie Hall Concert of January 16, 1938. This concert along with John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing did a lot to make the concert hall a new venue for jazz. In the film Benny remembers Alice's remark of a real musician is one who plays at Carnegie Hall. Although the guest performers(Hackett, Basie, Lester Young, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Buck Clayton etc.) are omitted, we get a lot of the concerts highlights including 20 years of Jazz, Down South Camp Meeting and Moonglow (quartet). Harry James was part of the Carnegie Band , but appears here as a special guest. He recreates his torrid Louis Armstrong take-off on Shine and rips off some thrilling choruses on Sing, Sing, Sing. (I think Harry actually tops the original!). Martha Tilton is aboard to sing And the Angels Sing and Ziggy Elman appears onscreen. (He was ill at the time and his trumpet is dubbed by the great Mannie Klein). Benny, Gene and Harry bring things to a thriling finish with the classic Sing, Sing,Sing.

Alice, having patched things up with Mom Goodman flies across country to get to the concert in time for the finale. When Benny spots her in the audience, he goes into Memories of You. Mom tells Alice"-Don't worry, he'll ask you" (to marry him)-Alice's response is "He's asking me now!"
A classic Hollywood ending. Despite the corny cliches and historical gaffes, the Goodman Story like the Miller Story is great entertainment. The DVD is available from Universal.

Before we close, a word about the music. Benny is in top form all thru the soundtrack and the contributuions of Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa and Harry James are immense.
The studio band that recorded the soundtrack consists of Goodman veterans Chris Griffin and Irving Goodman (trumpets), Hymie Schertzer and Babe Russin (saxophone), Murray McEachern (trombone) and Allan Reuss (guitar). Also aboard are studio pros Conrad Gozzo (trumpet), Jim Priddy (trombone), George Duvivier (bass0 and Blake Reynolds (saxophone). Buck Clayton (trumpet) ,Urbie Green (trombone) and Stan Getz (saxophone) are also seen onscreen as band members . The band gets a lot of the feel of the original Goodman band with a few modern touches from Getz and Green.

Decca, like with the Miller Story issued a soundtrack album featuring many of the film's highlights. Later an MCA 2-lp set came out with additional material. I believe this album is still on CD .
Until next time-"Don't Be that Way!"

Special Note- My Technical Advisor Jay Keyser is away, so we'll have to wait on photos till his return.
Best Wishes,Pete.

Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography (1957)

This collection recorded in December 1956 and January 1957 contains some of Louis Armstrong's greatest and most inspired playing of his later period. The collection issued on Decca is similar to the Autobiography album Bing Crosby made, where he revisited many of his landmark recordings, along with his own narration. Louis' album followed the same format. He remade classics from the Hot 5 and 7, some of his great blues accompaniments and the wonderful big band classics of 1929-34.On the sessions were his All Stars of the time (Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Billy Kyle, Squire Gersh and Barrett Deems) along with George Barnes on guitar. Bob Haggart arranged the bulk of the small group sessions and Sy Oliver, the big bands (a sax section was added to the All Stars for these). The album was packaged in a decorative box with a lovely cover shot of Pops and an informative booklet/essay inside.

Despite almost 50 plus years of hard blowing, Pops manages to infuse fantastic energy and power into his early classics, in some cases improving on the original. Producer Milt Gabler was smart to book the band for evening sessions. Many times Pops had to record in the afternoon after a long night of blowing. The results show a fresh, invigorated Louis and the band responded to the warm atmosphere of the sessions. (There was food and drink and selected friends dropped in). As on the Crosby collection, Louis did a narration between tunes with lovely piano segues and backrounds by Billy Kyle. (Leonard Feather authored the backround) Some of the critics thought the scripted narration was too stilted (Mosaic left it out of their Armstrong collection), but I find it charming and Louis even talking is the personification of jazz.

Decca did cheat a bit, using 6 tracks from earlier albums. They are Sleepy Time Down South (from the Crescendo lp), Monday Date (from the Pasadena concert), Muskrat Ramble (Symphony Hall), Struttin' with some Barbecue and Basin St. (from the Glenn Miller Story session) and New Orleans Function (New Orleans Days). However there are still 42 wonderful recreations from the '56-7 sessions, and what recreations they are. Here are some of the many highlights.

The first session on December 11, 1956 was alloted to the early big band selections. Three saxes were added to the All Stars to get the big band sound. With Louis you didn't need a brass section! The years 1929-34 were covered. Sy Oliver was aboard as arranger. He came up with some great charts, some transcriptions and some new takes on the originals. The titles are If I Could Be with You, Lazy River, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Sunny Side of the Street, I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me and Body and Soul. All the selections feature Pops in prime form. Lazy River was still in the All Stars book, but Pops makes it sound new with his great scatting and a powerful trumpet climax, featuring one of those awesome glisses that Pops trademarked. I Can't Give You Anything But Love is a superior version to the 1929 outing with Louis' great crooning and an exciting out chorus reprising the high note climb of the original. At the slower, deliberate tempo Pops really lays into those high ones (not sneaking up, like the original). This is a classic performance. There will be loads more. Sunny Side got edited a bit on the original LP, but has two juicy vocal choruses, some nice Trummy and Pops' classic out choruses and high note codas. (This version was also in the All Stars book). I can't Believe is a new take on the original with fine Hall clarinet and a fine solo by Pops that reprises the original coda. If I Could be with You from 1930 retains Louis' opening vocal refrain and features great Trummy(inspired by Lawrence Brown's original solo) and a classic Pops ending. Body and Soul, another 1930 classic gets a relaxed muted solo and vocal by Pops, Trummy sets up Louis' majestic finale. A great opening session.

The next session on December 12 gave us 6 more big band classics. Hilton Jefferson was added on lead alto. The New Orleans standard High Society, first recorded by Louis with King Oliver, was included in the mix. The big band tunes are Mahogany Hall Stomp, Some of these Days, When You're Smiling, I Surrender Dear (one of many Bing classics that Pops covered), Exactly like You and Georgia on my Mind. Mahogany is primarily an All Stars feature with the saxes providing some background. (The original with Luis Russell's band was similar in style). Pops had been playing this with the All Stars, so we get a lot of his own arrangement. Ed Hall, Trummy and Billy all take great solos, but Pops is awesome recreating his original solo complete with that long held note. When You're Smiling is an amazing performance. Once again Louis slows the tempo down allowing him to really lay into that spectacular reading of the melody up high, his vocal is also real mellow. Exactly like You gets a nice Oliver arrangement and Pops' closing cadenza is right up there with some of his most dazzling work. Georgia on my Mind from Louis' buddy, Hoagy Carmichael, originally was missing the verse on the album, but was restored on Mosaic. Some of These Days, another high note masterpiece, is given a masterful version along with some wonderful scatting. The years had given Louis more power and maturity to his playing. His work in the upper register was more impressive. (The earlier solos were daring and revolutionary, but sometimes he just skated by). High Society is strictly an All Stars cut and they perform their standard arrangement with Ed Hall tackling the Alphonse Picou solo and Louis playing that lead as only he can. I Surrender Dear composed by Harry Barris of the Rhythm Boys was also in the All Stars book as a Barney Bigard feature, with a vocal by Pops. This lovely version features a beautiful muted solo by Pops with a bluesy bridge and a lovely vocal complete with "Hot Mama." Louis takes things out with an operatic climax. Another masterful session.

On December 23, four more big band classics from the early 30s were waxed, Song of the Islands, That's my Home, Memories of You and Them There Eyes. Pops' rendition of Song of the Islands is a classic, as is his narration--"real hawaiians, including myself." His lovely muted statement, always a bit behind the beat, but oh, so swinging, followed by a riotous scat. Louis manages to drop the names of two studio visitors, Slim Thompson and Lorenzo Pack, into the scat. He closes with a magnificent high register statement. That's my Home was one of the many great Victor sides of the early 30s and this version is a worthy successor. (Pops briefly revived it in 1961.) Memories of You, of course, introduced Lionel Hampton's vibes on the original. Here we get pure Pops, singing and swinging. Them There Eyes is a lively cut with contributions from Trummy and Ed Hall. Sy Oliver gives the saxes a swinging riff and Pops is all over the place with a glorious rideout.

The session of January 23 started the small group series, mostly Hot 5 and 7, along with some free-lance sessions. Bob Haggart of Bob Crosby fame came in as arranger and George Barnes on guitar got some choice solo spots. Hotter Than That follows the original pretty faithfully, including Louis' scat chase with guitar. (The great Lonnie Johnson was on the original). Pops is in great form, blowing with great power on the out chorus. Gut Bucket Blues keeps in the original chatter by Louis and later Trummy introducing all the boys. The classics, Potato Head Blues and Cornet Chop Suey, are given spirited readings, but it's hard to improve on the original classics, just neat to hear Pops revisit these themes. Of All the Wrongs comes from a 1924 Clarence Williams Blue Five date. Louis and the All Stars give it a nice instrumental touch. Pops' stop time solo and bravura coda are highlights.

The small group sessions continued on January 24, with Two Deuces, Mandy Make Up Your Mind (Blue Five), Wild Man Blues, Gully Low Blues, Everybody Loves my Baby (Blue Five) and Heebie Jeebies. Lil Hardin's Two Deuces (four-the hard way, as Pops tells us) is a pretty melody and this version is a welcome follow-up. Pops follows the original form with some lovely blowing and Billy Kyle salutes Earl Hines with some of his trademark tremelo. Wild Man is a hard act to follow but Louis and the All Stars make this a worthy version. The passing years haven't taken away any of Pops' intensity. Gully Low has a nice touch. Haggart scores Louis' closing solo for the three horns and it makes for an exciting version. From the Blue Five book we get Everybody Loves my Baby and this version swings nicely with a great Pops vocal and strong lead work. We all know the story of Heebie Jeebies and Louis' first scat vocal. (At least it makes for a good story). This new version is equally great with Pops throwing in some new scat and Trummy getting in some comments; all in all, a wonderful session. Mandy from the Blue Five has Louis' great leadwork, some nice Hall and Barnes, a wonderful guitarist. We love his work with Ruby Braff.

On January 25, we had more small group classics and a recreation of the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band with Yank Lawson coming in on lead trumpet. First up was King of the Zulus, a Hot Five classic. This version has a fiery trumpet by Pops--this was a favorite of Roy Eldridge--and some hokum by Ed Hall and Trummy recreating the original. Dan Morgenstern thinks this solo tops the original and I tend to agree with him. Georgia Grind , also from the Hot Five, was a fun tune and originally had Lil joining Louis on vocal. Here Velma Middleton does a fine job on Lil's part. (She and Pops had great chemistry). Jelly Roll Morton's Frog-I -More Rag was recorded by the Oliver band with Louis. It didn't make the Autobiography album, but popped up on a Decca compilation called I Love Jazz, also issued on the Mosaic set. It's a nice All Stars performance with great leadwork by Pops and a fine Hall clarinet solo.

The three King Oliver selections feature fine work by Pops. Yank Lawson does a fine job on lead, but one could never recreate such a classic band! Nevertheless, we can enjoy some great jazz. Snag It was recorded by Oliver, but not Louis. Pops and Yank play the classic Oliver break as a duo. Dippermouth Blues has both trumpets on the first chorus of the classic Oliver solo. Then Louis goes his own way for two more. Ed Hall does the patented "Oh, play that thing" shout. Canal Street has Yank on lead and Pops taking a lovely two chorus solo.

At the 1962 Newport Festival, Yank sat in with Louis and the All Stars for Canal Street and Dippermouth. The results were spirited, but disorganized. It sounded like they had no time for a run-thru.

The last session on January 28 involved several special projects. First up were two big band selections, You Rascal, You and Hobo, You Can't Ride this Train. You Rascal was one of Pops' setpieces for years. This version ranks with some of the best, featuring comic vocal refrains and some scorching trumpet on the outchorus backed by riffing saxes. Hobo, a Louis original, follows the form of the 1932 rendition, complete with brothers Young and Hall receiving Hobo status!

Next up was the classic 1929 blues, Knockin' a Jug. This was recorded prior to a Luis Russell session and involved Jack Teagarden, Eddie Condon, Joe Sullivan, Eddie Lang, Happy Cauldwell and Kaiser Marshall. It is credited as the first "mixed" jazz recording. Some critics give that nod to Jelly Roll Morton, a creole, sitting in with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1923. This version gives studio pros Seldon Powell (tenor) and Everett Barksdale, guitar, a chance to join the All Stars. They acquit themselves nicely. Trummy and Billy Kyle also get in their licks and Barrett Deems handles the "jug" knockin' playing on his drum rims. Pops starts out low and blue and rises to a classic climax and cadenza before closing out soft on the coda. This Jug ranks right up there with the original!

Dear Old Southland was originally recoded as a duet with Buck Washington on piano. Pops occasionally performed it with Dick Cary and Earl Hines. Here his partner is the wonderful Billy Kyle. Billy never got his due as a master musician. He always played tastily and swingingly and contributed many of the riffs played under Pops' solos and vocals. This version features bravura playing from Pops on the minor strain and short uptempo passage. Louis' closing coda is full of fire and power! This Southland may be the best of all. To wrap up the project Louis went back to his days as a blues accompanist. He was a master of this idiom and knew exactly how to fill the open spaces with his beautiful phrasing. Velma Middleton handles the vocals. Although not a blues singer per se, she does a fine job and Pops' backgrounds (with the All Stars) are sublime.

The tunes are See See Rider (Ma Rainey), Reckless Blues (Bessie Smith), Trouble in Mind (Chippie Hill) and Courthouse Blues (Clara Smith). Louis never lost his talent as an accompanist. One of his last TV appearances was on the Johnny Cash show in October of 1970. Louis backed Cash on Blue Yodel No.9, a tune he originally recorded with Jimmie Rodgers in 1930. Pops' background to the Cash vocal was marvelous!

The Autobiography was certainly one of Louis' major contibutions to his later period. There would be many more. We can thank Milt Gabler and Decca for this wonderful set.

Decca got plenty of mileage out of the material. Various selections were used on the albums King Louis and Satchmo's Golden Favorites. I had these LPs as a kid and loved them! Later Decca issued a 2-LP set, The Best of Louis Armstrong, which was 3/4 Autobiography material. They also issued four single LPs of the material by years. Mosaic records issued all the sessions unedited, but minus the narration. (Mosaic No. 146) Verve issued the set as is with the narration. It's all glorious music and a great testament to Pops and how much trumpet and creation he was still capable of during his later period.

Till next time--Keep diggin' those Good Ole Good Ones!

Loco Boy makes Good (1942)

This Three Stooges short is a pleasant entry and a personal favorite. There are two interesting side stories that make the film unique. First a bit about the story.

The boys' adventure start out when Stooge regular, Bud Jamison, throws them out of a hotel. A plan to slip on a bar of soap and collect damage money goes nowhere, but the boys run into a nice old lady trying to run a dilapidated hotel, Ye Olde Pilgrim Hotel. A nasty collection agent, Scroggins, played by a great sourpuss, Walter Soderling, gets his comeuppance by the boys.

The next few scenes give our heroes the usual "repair" gags: hammering, nailing and laying linoleum. The highlight of the short is when the hotel reopens as the Chisel Inn Hotel. The boys, now Nill, Null and Void, the performing waiters, are the star attractions in the Kokonuts Grove. The famous columnist Waldo Twitchell (John Tyrell) and his date, Dorothy Appleby (a Columbia favorite with the Stooges, Buster Keaton and other comics) attend the opening and thanks to a mix-up with a magician's coat, Curly and the boys become a hit with their antics.

Curly also gets to show off his dancing skill. In his early days, he frequented many New York ballrooms and does some great eccentric stepping with the cute Dorothy as his partner. Playing the part of customers and dancers are a great collection of Columbia stock actors. I spotted Bob Burns, Eddie Laughton (a great bit as a drunken diner), Victor Travers, ElinorVandivere (part of Twitchell's party), Al Thompson, Johnny Kascier, Lynton Brent and Heinie Conklin. All these actors were talented supporting players and comedy veterans. The Stooges' favorite dowager, Symona Boniface, has a great bit when a mouse from the magicians' coat goes down her back. Her reaction is a great series of contortions and tremors. Another Stooge stalwart, Vernon Dent, appears briefly as Balbo the Magician whose coat (full of surprises) gets mixed up with Curly's.

That brings us to the first side story. The film was co-written by Felix Adler and Clyde Bruckman, two old comedy pros. Bruckman, who wrote for Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, was at a low point in his career due to alcoholism. He had a habit of recycling gags from older movies he wrote or directed. The bit with the magician's coat came from the Harold Lloyd film, Movie Crazy (1932). Lloyd sued Adler, Bruckman and producer Jules White for$ 500,000 in damages. In 1946, he won his case. He also won a suit for a million from Universal Pictures for more Bruckman recycling. This brought Bruckman's career down further and after doing some TV work (including the Abbott and Costello show) he committed suicide in 1955. A sad ending for a man who brought so much laughter to the world.

The other side story involves the music used in the nightclub scenes. For years I enjoyed this hot swing music-we never see the band-but never knew its origins. The two selections are heard during Curly's great jitterbugging. One tune is an untitled instrumental; the other is Rockin' the Town (1938) by Ted Koehler and Johnny Green. This came from a Columbia feature, Start Cheering, which also featured the Stooges. In the film Gertrude Niesen sang it along with co-writer Johnny Green's band. Benny Goodman also performed the tune on a broadcast. The version in Loco Boy was lifted from a Blondie film from 1939, Blondie meets the Boss. These tunes were played by Skinny Ennis' band during a dance contest sequence. Columbia, always the spendthrift, simply used the Ennis music for the Stooges' nightclub scenes. The studio got more mileage out of Rockin' the Town. In a 1956 Columbia horror film, The Werewolf, we hear the song (the Ennis version) on a juke box at a local bar & grill. We have talked about Columbia's "chicanery" in the past and this is a perfect example.

Three verbal classics deserve a mention. When Moe instructs Curly to mingle with the guests, his threat is, "Mingle or I'll Mangle!" Waiter Larry is asked if he has Patty de Facquer. Larry retorts, "I'll see if the band can play it!". And during the nightclub scene, Moe gets to sing a bit of She was Bred in Old Kentucky-But She's just a Crumb Up Here.

Loco Boy Makes Good is available on DVD as part of Sony's Three Stooges collection(Vol.3). Looks like the entire series is on it's way.

Till our next adventure-Keep Stooging!.

The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

Continuing our series of Hollywood jazz and swing movies, we come to one of the most popular film bios, Universal's The Glenn Miller Story. Although full of the usual historical inaccuracies and laughable dialog, the film combines great storytelling, a wonderful love story and superb music, resulting in top entertainment.

The real Glenn Miller (1904-44) was a talented trombonist, arranger and a sharp businessman who plied his trade for years as a sideman (Ben Pollack, the Dorsey Brothers, Red Nichols and Ray Noble) led several unsuccessful bands, then hit a style and sound that captured the country. At the height of his success, he gave up the great riches and celebrity to serve the war effort leading a great service band to entertain the troops. He would lose his life immersed in this endeavor.

This real Miller was stern, taciturn and removed from his musicians. James Stewart as Glenn is portrayed as affable, hardworking and likable. (Hollywood didn't have any use for the real Miller). The respected critic and writer, George Simon, a good friend of Miller praised June Allyson's portrayal of Helen Miller and the accurate bond between them as shown in the film. The film pulls all the right strings and deserves the continued success it has enjoyed these 50-plus years.

First and foremost is the music. It is expertly played by some of the best Hollywood studio players (many Miller alums) such as Willie Schwartz (portrayed in the film), John Best, Zeke Zarchy, Babe Russin and Paul Tanner (both appear in the film), Mannie Klein and Rolly Bundock. Joseph Gershenson, Universal's music director supervised the adaptations with a great assist from Henry Mancini. Henry had a short stateside stint with the Air Force band and worked with Tex Beneke's postwar Miller band. He was very familiar with the style. Mancini also contributed a beautiful ballad, Too Little Time, which was used as a recurring love theme in the film. Glenn's first name band association was with Ben Pollack. Ben appears as himself getting to show some of his great drum work. (He had a similar role in the Benny Goodman Story.) The one and only Louis Armstrong appears in a great jam session sequence when Glenn and Helen are just married and go to Harlem to hear Pops. (Glenn, like every musician in the 20s, idolized Louis). Helen, not aware of jazz asks "Who's He?"-Glenn's terse response is "Why, Louis Armstrong!" Louis and his All-Stars (Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Marty Napolean, Arvell Shaw and Cozy Cole) play Basin St. Blues. Babe Russin, Gene Krupa ( Glenn's Red Nichols band mates at the time) and Glenn sit in.Unfortunately, this scene has been edited and we miss some great blowing by Pops. (He would record this version twice for Decca and keep it in his shows for many years). Gene and Cozy do some neat drum battling during the sequence. Joe Yukl, a big band and studio veteran who replaced Glenn in the Dorsey Bros. band, did the trombone work and coaching for Stewart. (Jimmy does a decent job of faking the slide work).

Surprisingly, Tex Beneke was left out of the film. Perhaps due to bad feelings on the part of Helen and the Miller estate. Tex had led the Miller band but had a falling out with the family. Jerry Gray was only mentioned once and other standouts such as Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Bobby Hackett, Bill Finegan, Billy May and Ray McKinley were omitted. (I guess the studio wanted to save some money on talent). Paula Kelly, Hal Dickinson and a new version of the Modernnaires appear during an Air Force concert sequence. Vocal Star Frances Langford (no Miller ties) sings Chatanooga ChooChoo with them. Perhaps they were trying to show the guest star format Glenn had with the Army Air Force band. (Dinah Shore and Bing Crosby had guested). Chummy MacGregor, Glenn's longtime pianist, is given a meaty role played by Harry Morgan (then known as Henry, before Dragnet and MASH). Chummy was a technical adviser on the film and in real life was nothing like the jovial Morgan portrayal. Si Shribman, a Boston ballroom owner and booker, was a real "angel" to the Miller band during its struggling years. In typical Hollywood fashion, Si (played by George Tobias) hangs around the Miller family like a Dutch uncle for the rest of the film. Don Haynes was a friend of Glenn's and served as his personal manager and lieutenant in the Air Force band. He is played by Charles Drake. Don's wife, Polly, was also a dear family friend and worked for Glenn as personal secretary and office manager. She is played by a young Marion Ross. (This was long before Happy Days. I don't think she had any lines). Veteran character actor Barton MacLane appears as General Arnold, a friend and ally of Glenn's AAF Band.

The film was expertly directed by Anthony Mann. Writers Valentine Davies and Oscar Brodney came up with some fine real life story lines. One standout scene is Glenn and the early Miller band struggling to get to a dance date in wintry New England. These kinds of headaches fell upon every "road" band of the era. The scene with Glenn and a few of the boys getting the dance going while overcoated horn players add their parts in quickly is very effective. Another episode during the Air Force days shows Glenn and the band playing In the Mood and competing with an air battle overhead. The band keeps playing thru the air raid signal and receives a thunderous ovation when the signal is lifted. This scene has been recounted by many of the Army Air Force band members.

The famous Miller "sound" of clarinet lead is given the typical Hollywood tratment. In real life, Glenn had tried this sound briefly in experiment. His first try was with Ray Noble, having trumpeter PeeWee Erwin play above the saxes. In Glenn's early 1937 band he had the great Irving Fazola on clarinet. Faz was not a great saxophonist, so Glenn had him double the tenor lead to create a pleasant unison voicing. Later Glenn started to use this sound more, until it became his trademark and established the band's "sound".

In the movie we get the trumpet man playing lead, but when he sits down he bangs his horn on a music stand cutting his lip! As a trumpet player I cringe at the scene. All horn men know enough to take their horn away from their lip when navigating a precarious spot. Anyway, Glenn decides he can have Willie Schwartz play the lead on clarinet. (That really happened.).We see Glenn up all night in Si's office rewriting the parts (with the help of much coffee!). Actually all he had to do was give Willie the trumpet part. They're in the same range! But it makes great theatre and the next night at the dance, the kids go wild over the new "sound!" These Hollywood takes on the facts are what make these bios so enjoyable and such guilty pleasures.

Another silly scene has Glenn and Helen out at a nightspot to hear Glenn's Moonlight Serenade .We get a raucous girl singer and a voluptuous chorus line belting it out! Glenn and Helen cringe. Silly, but charming. Little Brown Jug was one of Glenn's early hits (1939). In the film it is a favorite of Helen's, but Glenn thinks it's kind of corny. It is used as the final number played by the AAF band after Glenn's dissapearance. That final scene with Helen, Chummy and family listening to the Christmas broadcast is very touching and beautifully played by June Allyson and Harry Morgan. We can go on and on with the wrong dates, times, places and personell but the Miller Story is a wonderful story that touches the viewer with the great sounds of the big band era and the inspiring story of the bandleader who became a hero. That final flight Glenn took from London to Paris is played with great authenticity and drama.

All the great Miller hits are heard in various forms including In the Mood, Tuxedo Junction, St. Louis Blues March and String of Pearls). The soundtrack album originally on Decca with Louis doing Basin St. and Dark Eyes (not in the movie) has been available since the film's release. (It is now available on an MCA cd). The DVD version is available from Universal. The Glenn Miller Band still tours and records. The baton has gone from Tex to Ray McKinley to Buddy DeFranco and currently to Larry O'Brien. I'm sure there will always be a Miller band just like there will always be a Boston Pops.

Glenn Miller made his mark on American popular music. It's a tragedy we didn't get to see what he would do in the post-war years. (The AAF band gave us a small idea). This movie spawned more of the Hollywood bios. Next time we'll look at the Benny Goodman Story.

Hope this post put you In the Mood.

The Case of the Fake Shemp

In the course of our posts on the Three Stooges and Columbia comedies, we have mentioned the Columbia "chicanery". This is no more apparent than in the Four Stooges shorts made after Shemp's death. The chicanery included liberal use of stock footage and music, numerous remakes of previous shorts, actors being brought back to film new scenes and when not available being doubled in body and voice. Sometimes a character actor even played two roles in the same film (with the help of makeup and costuming).

By 1953 the bulk of the Stooges' shorts were remakes of earlier comedies with the boys filming a few new scenes to give the look of a fresh short. (The casual moviegoer wasn't aware of these tricks). When Shemp passed on from a sudden heart attack in November 1955, the studio still had four comedies to be produced for release in 1956. Instead of giving Moe and Larry some grieving time and perhaps wait for a new partner, the show went on and four bogus shorts were produced with Shemp still a member of the team! Four remakes of earlier Shemp comedies were produced with some new scenes by Moe and Larry, a lot of Shemp stock footage and some scenes using a double for Shemp! That was longtime supporting player Joe Palma. The double was only seen from the back so as not to give away the ruse.

The first of these "bogus" shorts was Rumpus in the Harem, a remake of Malice in the Palace (1949). Moe and Larry carry the early scenes with their girlfriends setting up the plot. (Shemp has conveniently gone to open their restaurant). It's mostly stock footage for a while. Then Palma appears as "Shemp" for the traditional Stooge huddle with his back to the camera, of course. Longtime Stooge foil Vernon Dent appears via stock footage. He had retired from acting due to illness.

The rest of the film follows the original plot of getting the Rootentooten diamond and encountering the Emir of Shmow and his huge bodyguard. To pad things out Moe and Larry have a lame encounter with some harem girls. During the films' climax "Shemp" is being chased by the guard with lots of stock Shemp voiceovers and his heep-heep-heep cry (at fast speed). It's all pretty lame and Palma keeps his face obscured. We end with the standard Stoogers run away and scream ending, except Palma gets to do his own "Yipe!" I guess they didn't want to dig out another Shemp voice track. All in all, a pretty lame and obvious start to this canon.

Next up was Hot Stuff, a remake of Fuelin' Around (1949).The "Shemp" bits in this film are really lame . The film opens with the boys as spies, wearing beards to help hide Palma. When Moe instructs "Shemp" to follow a suspicious female, Palma grunts, "Right!" and scoots off in a Shemp-like duck walk. Then Moe and Larry go through another silly encounter with two female officials, again-to mark time. It's to their credit that they were able to carry off these scenes, knowing poor Shemp was gone. Stooge regulars Vernon Dent, Christine McIntyre and Emil Sitka appear via stock footage. (Emil was still working with the boys at Columbia). Palma's routines are his silliest yet. At one point he flaps his arms and does some of Shemp's heep-heeping (with his own voice). He then goes to guard a door (with more heeping) and gets conveniently knocked out, while Moe and Larry carry another new scene. He then returns for a brief wrap up. We return to stock footage for the film's climax. This one really shows it's patchwork "chicanery."

Scheming Schemers is one of the wildest patchwork films the studio put out, yet it works as a fresh film for the non-stooge fan. Editor Harold White (Jule's son) should have received an Oscar for his editing work. Footage from three earlier films were worked into the story along with various voice overs and doubles.

The film is basically a remake of Vagabond Loafers (1949), a great gag title from a Rudy Vallee hit, Vagabond Lover. It was a remake of the Curly classic, A Plumbing We Will Go (1940). Many of the original plumbing gags are reprised. In the Shemp version the boys are working at the Norfleet estate. Emil Sitka reprises his role as Mr. Norfleet. The 1956 version also features a missing ring and the original premise of a valuable painting being stolen. Kenneth MacDonald and Christine McIntyre were the crooks in the original, but Kenneth is brought back solo for his new scenes. Christine is doubled in one scene.

Moe and Larry go it alone in two long scenes. Early at the mansion Shemp is absent, having missed his ride with the boys. When he (Palma) finally shows up, he's covered with pipes to hide his face! His one line of dialog--"Hold your Horses!"--is dubbed from The Ghost Talks (1949). Later Moe and Larry encounter MacDonald stealing the painting. (Shemp is conveniently upstairs working on the shower). A struggle ensues and the boys happen upon a table full of pies. That gives them a chance to start a pie fight with "guests" at the Norfleet estate. The guests have been absent until now. The guests getting creamed are lifted from Half-Wits Holiday (1947). Emil shows up in time to get creamed, himself. The boys manage to subdue MacDonald and a grateful Emil gets his painting back. The last shot has Moe wondering about Shemp's whereabouts and we see him surrounded in pipes (from Vagabond Loafers) calling out for help!
This is the one fake Shemp film that can be enjoyed, despite all the borrowed scenes and chicanery. It moves so well and all the recycled gags are great to see over again.

The last of these films, Commotion on the Ocean, is a more predictable remake of Dunked in the Deep (1949) with lots of stock footage and a few new scenes. The basic premise of the boys encountering foreign spy Bortch (Gene Roth in both versions) on a boat is reprised. This time we open with footage from Crime on Their Hands (1948), another great musical title taken from Time on my Hands). The boys are janitors and would be reporters working at a local paper. They get a tip about Bortch and off we go to Dunked in the Deep. Palma is involved in one transition scene holding his hands over his face. (Moe and Larry carry most of this scene.)

On the boat Moe and Larry go it alone. Shemp is out looking for food. The boys grab what they think is a fish--actually it is a wooden decoration--and share it with Bortch. We then get the old "coughing-up-sawdust" gag. When Shemp finally gets back, we follow the rest of the original, including Shemp's hilarious hammock scene with an ignited barrel looming below him). Moe has one new bit at the finale to tie up the new premise and appropriately Shemp gets the last gag.

Not long after this Novemer 1956 release, veteran comic Joe Besser was chosen to be the new Stooge. This would mercifully end the short era of the fake Shemp comedies. Despite the obvious chicanery, these shorts give us some unintentional laughs and amazement at the attempt to create new shorts despite Shemp's passing. And, of course, we get great doses of Columbia's never ending ability to utilize it's stock footage.

The Case of the Fake Shemp has been solved.

Till our next post, Keep Stooging!

Video Update-Sony is working on the complete Stooges series on DVD. (The Fake Shemps should be eventually available,probably on Vol.8) There are also some independent DVD releases of all the comedies. Check eBay. For a great film capsule of all the Fake Shemp scenes, go to Youtube and check out DrOpOfahat. He has a great post and editing job on all the bogus scenes with Palma and their setup.

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass-Part 2

In late 1969, Herb dissolved the Tijuana Brass. It had been an amazing ride for 7 years, but he wanted to try new projects and recharge the batteries. He got more involved with the running of A&M records, along with his partner Jerry Moss. He also did more recording but had no plans to reform the TJB. In 1970 Herb released a TJB Greatest Hits album.

Some of these recordings came out as the album Summertime, billed as a TJB album but more like a solo project with a modicum of TJB. The album has a laid back quality similar to Warm.

There are nice moments such as the title track, which has some elements of the Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal recordings. Lani Hall's voice is also heard. She would eventually marry Herb and was the lead singer with Sergio Mendes' Brasil '66. (another popular A&M group).Other pleasant tracks are Martha My Dear (another Beatles cover), If You Could Read My Mind, Darlin' and Hurt So Bad, the latter more in the TJB style. Herb's composition, Jerusalem, is a very effective track. The album didn't do very well but is pleasant listening.

During 1971-4 Herb kept up his A&M duties and made some guest spots with A&M artists Rita Coolidge, Kris Krisstoferson and Lani Hall. Herb also released some new compilations, Solid Brass (1972) and Foursider (1973). By 1974 the old TJB juices were flowing again and he reformed the band.

This new band featured some of the old guard, Bob Edmondson, Julius Wechter, Nick Ceroli and John Pisano but also had some great new additions. Dave Frishberg, a talented jazz pianist and composer and Bob Findley, a busy studio trumpeter of great talent, joined up. This new band recorded a very interesting "comeback" album entitled You Smile-The Song Begins.

Highlights include an updating of Up Cherry Street in a dixieland vein featuring great stride piano from Frishberg. (He was very adept at trad and swing and a clever composer of tunes such as Dear Bix, I'm Hip, Van Lingle Mungo and My Attorney, Bernie). Herb and Lani sing a lovely duet, Save the Sunlight and Chuck Mangionnes's Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor is a perfect vehicle for Herb's haunting horn. Herb's composition Fox Hunt and I Can't Go on Living, Baby, without You are in the traditional TJB style. Gato Barbieri's theme to Last Tango in Paris is also very effective.(this had appeared in the Foursider compilation). Burt Bachrach's Promises, Promises made a nice showcase for Herb's horn. All in all, a good start for the new TJB.

In September of 1974, Herb and the Brass made an excellent TV special for the Sentry Company. The show also featured the Muppets and some of the tunes from You Smile and the upcoming Coney Island. Bob Findley got a nice workout on Panama, Herb and Lani did their lovely duet on Save the Sunlight and Lani soloed on Dave Frishberg's Wheelers and Dealers. From the You Smile album came Fox Hunt and One-Eyed Sailor and Herb did a nice tribute to Louis Armstrong, including the Kraft Music Hall clip of them singing Mame. The Muppets comedy was great and the only letdown was the closing vocal on I Belong, not one of Herb's better vocal tunes. (It would be on the new album). All in all, this was a wonderful show. YouTube has run parts of it, let's hope Herb or Sentry can release it on DVD soon. (It would be on the next album.)

That next album was Coney Island, one of Herb's best albums with the TJB and the most exciting since the halcyon days of Going Places! This new band had a lot of energy and more of a jazz feel. Herb also let Bob Findley loose, especially on Ratatouille and Carmine (dedicated to trumpet teacher Carmine Caruso). The title tune is a Dixie-flavored Wechter original. After years of being a studio-only player, Julius was finally a bona fide TJB member. Dave Frishberg gets to show off his trad chops on a cute samba-like The Crave by Jelly Roll Morton. Herb's horn is featured on a beautiful French ballad, Mickey, and the Brass give their unique take on the Carpenters' This Masquerade and Rodgers and Hammerstein's I Have Dreamed.

This is an excellent album and deserves reissue. Around the same time, I spotted Herb and the Brass on TV(perhaps Dinah Shore?) doing a great version of Somewhere from West Side Story featuring some great piccolo trumpet by Bob Findley. (Hope Herb recorded this one). An excellent single, El Bimbo, also came out at this time. It had a disco feel but a lot of the earlier Mariachi sound, too.

The band also appeared on the Midnight Special TV show. Unfortunately Herb soon dissolved this group and went back to solo projects and A&M duties. This was his most ambitious and musical group.

The next series of albums were primarily solo projects. Just You and Me (1976) was a rather dull album of Alpert originals except a unique version of Yankee Doodle. (This was the Bicentennial year).

Herb's next musical project was with the great African trumpeter, Hugh Masekela. Hugh had a big instrumental hit, Grazin' in the Grass, in the '60s and was recording for A&M.

The initial Herb Alpert and Hugh Masekela (1978) features Herb's trumpet and Hugh's flugelhorn on some spirited African-inspired melodies including the popular Skokian and originals African Summer and I'll Be There for You. The two horns mesh nicely in a pleasant if not spectacular album. The duo followed this album with a Main Event Live session recorded at various concerts. Highlights include the favorite Besame Mucho and People Make the World Go Round. Herb's next album would put him back on the charts after a long absence.

In 1979 a tune written by Herb's nephew, Randy Badazz, along with Andy Armer was brought to Herb's attention. It was Rise, a disco-flavored tune with a bit of the mariachi sound. This haunting, pulsating selection was a natural for Herb and it quickly made it to the charts , staying on the Billboard Top 100 for 2 weeks. It was also used as a recurring theme on General Hospital's story lines of the period. The followup Rise album is similar in style and has a standout track in Aranjuez, giving the Rodrigo piece a mix of disco and mariachi. The next albums would be in the same Rise style as Herb searched for another hit.

Beyond (1980) is one of Herb's lesser albums. The title track and Earth,Wind and Fire's Way of the World are the only bright spots on another Rise-clone. The Peter Frampton composition, The Factory, has to be one of Herb's biggest mistakes. It is an irritating, repetitious riff that goes on forever. Magic Man (1981) is similar in style, but a little easier to take. You Smile is updated, along with the favorite Besame Mucho. Julius Wechter is also on some tracks.

Herb's next album, Fandango (1982) is one of his best solo albums. The theme was a return to the Latin American sounds of the earlier LPs, in tribute to the 2oth anniversary of Herb's bullfight experience. Arranger Juan Carlos Calderon and co-producer Jose Quintana played an active part in the production along with Herb. The track California Blues had a lot of Herb's early mariachi style. Route 101, a breezy, rhythmic track, enjoyed some time on the charts. Herb sings Love Me the Way I Am in Spanish and sounds very comfortable. (His mom was Mexican.) A closing medley of Latin favorites including Frenesi and Bahia make this a very worthwhile effort. We hope it will be released on CD in the near future.

The next album Blow Your Own Horn (1983) was another average Rise-like LP with a very sexy cover shot of Herb. (He always cut a handsome figure) for the ladies. The good news was that we would have another TJB reunion coming up.

In 1984 Herb got the TJB back for some touring and a new album. Old hands Edmondson, Wechter, Ceroli and Pisano were back along with Bob Findley and his trumpeter brother, Chuck, another busy studio player. The new album Bullish was a bit disappointing. The title track had a Rise-like mix of mariachi and disco and Lani sang a nice cover of Maniac, but most of the tracks were rather similar and dull. The new band did some touring. I still have a Boston Globe review of a August 31 concert at Boston Common. (Jim Carey was the opening act!). Herb and the band were lauded for their musicianship and a medley took care of all the hits. Make a Wish, Fandango and Bullish were played from the recent repertoire. Herb reprieved This Guy's in Love and Lani did a medley of her Brasil '66 hits. Sounds like a great show.

That summer the band appeared on a syndicated variety show, On Stage America. Along with the live segment, Herb taped a profile/interview with co-host Susie Coelho, including many great clips. The band performed Bullish and Tijuana Taxi although they were lip syncing. Herb and Lani sang a lovely duet, Come what May, from one of Lani's solo albums. Julius, Nick and Bob seemed to be having a ball as was Herb.

Herb and the band also did two spots on Solid Gold playing Rise and This Guy's in Love again lip synced. These shows were a countdown of top 100 hits. Shortly after,Herb disbanded again and would be back to solo projects for quite a while.

Wild Romance (1985) was the next release. It was a pleasant but predictable album. The next album, Keep Your Eye on Me (1987) was quite radical and more in the hip-hop vein with contributions from Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The tune, Diamonds, got some chart activity and Herb and Lani did a mellow duet on Pillow. This album is not for traditional TJB listeners.

Under a Spanish Moon (1988) was a return to the Latin/Spanish sounds of Fandango. The title tune was an ambitious 3-part suite with orchestral background. Another highlight was Fragile, a composition by Sting. My Abstract Heart (1989) was a jazz project with the great trumpeter and arranger Shorty Rogers. Shorty had done some previous arranging for Herb. The big band backings complement Herb's horn and he and Lani duet on When lights Go Down Low--not the Benny Carter composition. North on South Street (1991) was more in the hip-hop vein again. Eddie DelBarrio co-produced this album. Unfortunately, it was not popular with Herb's fans.

The next album, Midnight Sun (1992), was a welcome return to jazz. Stan Getz, a good friend of Herb's plays on Friends recorded in 1990. Standards such as My Foolish Heart, Someone to Watch over Me (a nice Herb vocal), Mona Lisa and Wee Small Hours are given Herb's wistful touch. Herb also updated his classic, A Taste of Honey. Herb got nice support from John Pisano, Monty Budwig(bass) andFrank Collette(piano), Eddie delBarrio did some of the arranging. Herb also appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote the release. He and bandleader, Brandford Marsalis, teamed up on Taste of Honey and Herb sang Someone to Watch over Me with a small string section. His rendition was very Chet Baker-ish.

In 1992 Herb and Jerry Moss sold A&M to Polygram. Their next releases were on the new Almo Sounds label. Second Wind (1996) is a light jazz collaboration with keyboard player Jeff Lorber. Included was a redo of Flamingo. Passion Dance (1997), co-produced by Oskar Cartaya, got into the modern Latin and salsa styles, . Herb gave us a new version of Route 101. Colors (1999) saw more smooth jazz and Latin with a redo of Magic Man and Lani revisiting The Look of Love.

The new century saw Herb getting involved in painting and setting up an endowment for the arts, The Herb Alpert Foundation. He also guested on recordings with Lani, Gato Barbieri, Ry Cooder and Rita Coolidge. One of Herb's major endeavors was to bring the classic TJB albums to CD. A label called Shout Factory did the distribution. The packaging and artwork were first class, although 2 LPs could easily fit on a disc. The albums Vol.2, Warm and Brass Are Comin' were issued only on iTunes. All the other LPs, including Christmas Album, are available.

Herb also issued a terrific compilation titled Lost Treasures, featuring many unreleased TJB sides. Four sides came from You Smile-The Song Begins, but everything else was new to disc. Highlights include covers of Fire and Rain, And I Love Her, Killing me Softly and I'll Never Fall in Love again. There's a great shuffle version of Tennesee Waltz, a breezy Flowers on the Wall and Herb's vocal on Close to You recorded before the Carpenters' version. Let's hope Herb gives a Vol.2 of Lost Treasures. I'd love to get El Bimbo on disc.

Herb also did a new disc called Whipped Cream-Remixed where he did new trumpet solos to the albums' tunes as played by contemporary artists. The best news is that in 2008, Herb and Lani started touring again in a show featuring Latin jazz and standards, backed by a first class rhythm section. I missed them when they played Boston (the show was sold out-a testament to Herb's staying power), but YouTube clips show them both looking great and sounding wonderful. Herb's horn is still strong and mellow and Lani's beautiful, pure tones are unchanged. In 2009 Concord Jazz released a new CD, Anything Goes, consisting of tracks recorded at various concert venues. Herb and Lani sound fantastic. Let's hope there will more to come.

Entering his 75th year, let's hope Herb is blessed with good health, more gigs and CDs. He is one of the treasures of American Popular Music.

Ole, Senor Alpert!

Addendum- In 2011 Herb and Lani released a second Concord CD, I Feel You. The disc includes new takes on favorites such as Cast Your Fate to the Wind, Fever, Never be Another You, Here Comes the Sun, Till there was You,What now my Love and Call Me.
Herb was the subject of an exellent profile on CBS' Sunday Morning in Feb. 2011 (and rebroadcast in June). His career and curent musical and philanthropic activities were highlighted.