A weblog in English and Dutch about jazz and related music, record collecting and other music projects originally created by Hans Koert.|Een webblog in het Engels en het Nederlands over jazz, jazz-verwante muziek, platen verzamelen en verrassende projecten, oorspronkelijk opgezet door Hans Koert.
Freddy Taylor And His Swing Men From Harlem (Paris, c.1935)
Freddy Taylor was an American tap dancer, singer, trumpeter and entertainer, who had come to Paris with the Lucky Millinder orchestra during the band's 1933 tour of Europe. Taylor stayed in Paris and soon formed his own band, which he named Freddy Taylor & His Swing Men From Harlem. At the same time Taylor was running his own club at Montmartre and often left the band on its own while he worked as a soloist throughout the Continent. In Paris Taylor recorded as a vocalist with Django Reinhardt and the QHCF in 1936 - these sides belong to his most well known, scholars of the QHCF recorded legacy probably will mention Nagasaki, Georgia On My Mind and I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby as core examples, all recorded 1936. However, Freddy Taylor also recorded with his own group, the Swing Men From Harlem, in March 1935.
Ultrphone AP-1489_Blue Drag
The two sides recorded by Freddy Taylor And His Swing Men From Harlem in March 1935 contain Blue Drag (mx 77285) and Viper's Dream (mx 77286), released on a 78 rpm disc by the Ultraphone label, Ultraphone AP-1489. Discographical listed personnel of the band as follows: Freddy Taylor (dir,vo,tp), Charlie Johnson (tp), Arthur “Chester” Lanier (cl, as, bars), Fletcher Allen (cl, ts), Oscar Alemán (g), Eugène d’Hellemmes (b), William Diemer (dm).
The recorded music on both sides features execellent moments of 1930s Euro-American swing with great contributions by the reeds, only Blue Drag has vocal by Taylor. These sides are also notable and worth mentioning regarding Oscar Alemán, although he does not solo in this session. These two sides are the first recorded sides featuring Oscar Alemán in a regular jazz setting, and if you listen carefully, you can hear his contribution as a solid rhythm guitar player behind the soloists - Alemán's prefered instrument at the time, the metal body National tricone guitar is audible as a propelling drive of the rhythm section.
Oscar Alemán (1930s)
You may listen to the recording of Blue Drag by Freddy Taylor and his Swing Men From Harlemat You Tube, here
Ultraphone AP-1489_Vipers Dream
The flip side of Ultraphone AP-1489 had the recording of Viper's Dream, you may listen to it at You Tube, here
Excerpt of Brian Rust's Jazz discography (click to enlarge)
According to info in standard discographies like Brian Rust's Jazz & Ragtime Records (see excerpt above) and Tom Lord's ditto another session from March/April 1935 featuringFreddy Taylor and his Swing Men From Harlem was recorded, however, only test recordings of the four performed tunes exist. These are Mama Don't Allow It, Blue Drag, Swanee River and How Come You Do Me Like You Do?. These test recordings have been a matter of discussion by collectors, especially regarding the question: Who was the guitar player to be heard soloing on Swanee River and How Come You Do Me Like You Do?. According to the standard discographies the guitar is played by Django Reinhardt (- with whom Taylor would record more sides in 1936), while other special discographies like Hans Koert's online Oscar Alemán discography have listed Oscar Alemán as the guitar player, see here
Django Reinhardt c.1935
Now the question about the participating guitarist has come up once again thanks to the latest update of Jan Evensmo's Oscar Alemán solographyMarch 2017, available here
Excerpt of Jan Evensmo Oscar Alemán solography
Evensmo holds that "... there is not doubt that OA is on guitar" (see above) and he may be right, of course. I have made my statement 9 years ago in the discussion referred at the Oscar Alemán blogspot, here and I still hold that the participating guitarist is Django Reinhardt. Well, I may be wrong, of course, but readers of this blogentry may have an opportunity to judge for themselves by listening to the two actual test-recordings with guitar solo. - To end this, here is the link to the recording of Swanee River uploaded at You Tube. And finally here is the link to the recording of How Come You Do Me Like You Do? at You Tube.
It has been said thatOscar Alemánnever was a 'blues man', implying that his concept of jazz did not include the Afro-American music genre known as 'blues', an important source in the original versions of jazz rooted in New Orleans' music culture and practice. However, the statement should be modified, if 'the blues' is not just the musical style that originated in the Southern states of USA around 1900 and was performed by amateurs and local pick-up ensemples at social events in mainly black Afro-American societies long before the music spread to other parts of the country via radio networks and 'race' records.
W.C. Handy
Innovative tunesmiths and music publishers likeW.C. Handy(1873-1958), known as 'father of the blues', were soon aware of the commercial opportunities of the blues and took advantage of the music by publishing their own versions of blues as sheet music which became popular hits with the public even before WW 1. W.C. Handy'sSaint Louis Blues(published 1914) was among his most popular songs and was quickly adopted by the mainstream music business as an example of the original version of the blues style. Countless musicians and jazz bands have since incorporated Saint Louis Blues in their repertoire and the tune is a fundamental part of the jazz standard book, still performed today by traditional jazz orchestras.
Alemán performing St. Louis Blues
It is from the tradition paved by W.C. Handy Aleman´s concept of the blues originates, I think. Fact is that the mentioned Saint Louis Blues was a part of Alemán's repertoire throughout his career in Argentina from 1940 and on. Already at one of his first public performances after his return to Argentina from Europe, Saint Louis Blues is presented and elaborated as a great vehicle for his improvisational skills both as a musician and entertainer. Luckily, a test recording from this live performance October 14, 1941 at Teatro Casino in Buenos Aires has been saved and documents Alemán's rousing and roof raising version of Saint Louis Blues as a solo piece of improvised music for guitar, vocal and stomping feet!
Alemán recorded Saint Louis Blues commercially twice, the first version was recorded by Odeon January 30 1953 featuringAlemán's Orquesta de Jazz(mx 18802, Odeon 55613 and LDS119). The tune is here a great vehicle for his improvisational skills as a guitar player in the applied solos.
The next time Alemán recorded Saint Louis Blues was in May 1973 at the session for the Redondel label withJorge Anders' orchestraissued on Redondel SL-10511. This version has also been uploaded at YouTube and is inserted below
Alemán composed and recorded two tunes which were titled Oscar Blues No. 1 and Oscar Blues No. 3, both recorded for Redondel - the first mentioned on Redondel L-809 made September 1974, the other was issued on the Alemán '72 LP (Redondel, SL 10.508) recorded Sept.-Oct. 1972. Both tunes are solo pieces for guitar, here is Oscar Blues No. 3 inserted below
Collectors of Alemán's output may have wondered, if there also exists a tune titled Oscar Blues No. 2 although never recorded officially. I don't have the answer to that question, but instead I like to point to a saved untitled home-recording from c. 1971 in much the same style and mood as the two known pieces titled Oscar Blues. Thus, below is inserted a possible Oscar Blues No. 2 to end this
Night And Day is a popular song by Cole Porter. It was written for the 1932 musical play Gay Divorce. It is perhaps Porter's most popular contribution to the Great American Songbook and has been recorded by dozens of artists.
Original theatre poster (1932)
Fred Astaire introduced Night And Day on stage, and his recording of the song with the Leo Reisman orchestra was a no.1 hit, topping the charts of the day for ten weeks.
Original film poster (1934)
Fred Astaire performed Night And Day again in the 1934 film version of the show, renamed The Gay Divorcee, and it became one of his signature pieces.
Original film poster (1946)
Night And Day was so associated with Cole Porter, that when Hollywood first filmed his life story in 1946, the movie was entitled Night and Day.
The construction of Night and Day is unusual for a hit song of the 1930s. Most popular tunes then featured 32-bar choruses, divided into four 8-bar sections, usually with an AABA musical structure, the B section representing the bridge. Porter's song, on the other hand, has a chorus of 48 bars, divided into six sections of eight bars—ABABCB—with section C representing the bridge. (info above excerpted from Wikipedia, here )
Night And Day has been recorded by numerous artists, both as an instrumental and with Porter's lyrics by various vocalists. Below I'll insert some examples within a jazz context. - Here's first a recording by Ray Ventura and his Orchestra of Night And Day with vocal by an unidentified singer
In 1938, the singer Maxine Sullivan recorded her version of Night And Day
From the album Charlie Parker plays Cole Porter, here's his version of Night And Day recorded with big band March 25, 1952 in New York
Another great instrumental of Night And Day was recorded by Art Tatum (p), Roy Eldridge (tp), John Simmons (b), Alvin Stoller (d) in 1955
One of my all time favorite instrumental recordings of Night And Day was recorded by Oscar Alemán y su Orquesta de Jazz for Odeon (Odeon 74265, mx 20199) as Noche Y Día on May 30, 1955 inserted below to end this small entry on a famous song
A contemporary corrido song sheet of La Cucaracha issued during the Mexican Revolution. (source: wikipedia)
La Cucaracha, is one of Mexico's best-known folk songs, a corrido that became popular in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20). The song consists of verse-and-refrain (strophe-antistrophe) pairs, with each half of each pair consisting of four lines featuring an ABCB rhyme sceme. The lyrics of the song have many different versions, a printed version from the time of the Mexican Revolution exists (here)
The refrain reads: La cucaracha, la cucaracha Ya no puede caminar Porque no tiene, porque le falta Marijuana que fumar.
(The cockroach, the cockroach
Now he can't go traveling
Because he doesn't have, because he lacks
Marijuana to smoke.)
And the verse continues: Ya la murio la cucaracha Ya la lleven a enterrar Entre cuatro zopilotes Y un raton de sacristan.
(The cockroach just died
And they carried him off to bury him
Among four buzzards
And the sexton's mouse.)
The origins of the song are obscure, some versions refer to the Moorish wars in Spain, which concluded with the conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. Probably the song itself doesn't go back that far, but in an 1818 book, according to one source, the Mexican writer Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi claimed the song was brought to Mexico from Spain by a captain of marines. Some lyrics of the song are commemorating 19th-century conflicts in both Spain and Mexico, but verse production didn't really increase until the Mexican revolution of 1910-1920. So many stanzas were added by partisans on all sides during this period that today, despite its Spanish origin, the song is associated mostly with Mexico. Some say the mentioning of marijuana was directed at the dictatorial Mexican president Victoriano Huerta (ruled 1913-1914), ridiculed by his many enemies as a drunk and dope fiend who lived only for his daily weed. Other claim that la cucaracha refers solely to Pancho Villa, a famous bandido/revolutionary general. Whatever the origins and meaning of the song, La Cucaracha is the Spanish equivalent of Yankee Doodle — a traditional satirical tune periodically fitted out with new lyrics to meet the needs of the moment. (excerpted from this source)
The song's verses fit a traditional melody separate from that of the refrain but sharing the refrain's meter (either 5/4 or 6/4). The melody and the refrain are instantly ear catching and the song has been performed successfully in various settings. Here's a traditional Mexican performance of La Cucaracha by a mariachi trio
Original film poster (1934)
In 1934, an American short musical film titled La Cucaracha directed by Lloyd Corrigan was released to show the new full-color Technicolor Process No. 4 ("three-strip" Technicolor) at its best. Process No. 4 had been used since 1932, mainly in Walt Disney cartoons. A synopsis of the screen play is available at the AllMovie web, here and you have the opportunity to watch the film in HD at YouTube, here. The song is a major part of the intrigue. - In 1935, a MGM movie, La Fiesta de Santa Barbera, has Judy Garland and her sisters performing the song, the sequence has been uploaded at YouTube and is available here.
Maybe the exposing of the song on screen helped La Cucaracha to gain popularity with an American public. Fact is that many American popular bands and performers included the song in their repertoire from about the same time as the mentioned films were released. One of the first performers to include La Cucaracha and record the tune with lyrics in English (- different from the Mexican versions) was Louis Armstrong, who recorded the song for Decca in October 1935 (De 580)
Other popular performers also included La Cucarachain the repertoire, among them was Benny Goodman, who performed the song with his orchestra in a "Camel Caravan" broadcast August 31, 1937. Also Glenn Miller and his orchestra performed the song in two CBS "Chesterfield Show" broadcasts, January 22 and March 25, 1941. Woody Herman and his orchestra recorded a mambo version of the tune for Capitol in 1954 (CAP EAP2-560), and on January 23, 1952 Charlie Parkerand his quintet used La Cucaracha as a vehicle for a stunning bop improvisation, recorded by Mercury (Mercury/Clef 11093)
In Europe,La Cucarachaalso became popular during the 1930s. An early example is the recording by Lud Gluskin and his Continental Orchestra for French Columbia (Co 2952-D) (1934)
There was also made recordings of the song by accordionists in France with lyrics in French, an example of a musette inspired version was recorded by accordionist Adolphe Deprince mid-30s, available at YouTube, here - However, my favorite version of La Cucaracha recorded in France is by Mexican female vocalist and actress Lina D'Acosta featuring Oscar Alemán for the Pathé label, Paris March 5, 1935.
La Cucaracha_ Pathé (PA 531)
I have not found much info on Lina D'Acosta. She was apparently in Europe promoting Agustín Lara`s songs in France and starring of the films: Maria de la nuit (Willy Rozier - France 1936) and Il grande appello (Mario Camerini - Italy 1936).
Lina D'Acosta
She recorded six sides for Pathé 1935-36 as a singer and is accompanied by Oscar Alemán(g) and César Ríos(p). My favorite of her recordings is as mentioned La Cucarachafeaturing great accompaniement and solo by Alemán, one of his best non-jazz recordings from the Paris stay, I think.
Cockroach cartoon
La Cucarachahas had several interpretations in contemporary music, nursery rhymes have been added, cartoons have been released and even Lady Gaga performed a version of the tune. To end this small presentation of the song, I'll insert another notable performance of the tune. Have fun!
OA in a TV Studio, Dec. 1979/Jan.1980 (photo courtesy Theo van de Graaff)
Film producerHernán Gaffet has told about the lack of filmed material featuring Oscar Alemánduring his research of material for his documentary on the Argentinian guitarist and showman. Gaffet's documentary, Vida con Swing(2002), has only small fragments of filmed sequences featuring Alemán from some of the movies in which Alemán participated and a single TV recording from the 1970s. Considering the popularity of Oscar Alemán in Argentina during the 1940s and 1950s, it's rather strange that very little of his appearance as a performer in public has been saved on film, and as TV became a common media during the 1960s the lack of filmed TV appearance of Alemán seemed to continue - the video recorder had yet to be invented, unfortunately. However, recently the Argentinan DIFilm Archivehas found a small fragment from a TV performance in 1975, which I like to share here. The TV recording is without audio and was made as a promo/trailer for a program titled "Siesta" produced in 1975, the sequence lasts just 1:16 minutes but nevertheless gives us the opportunity to have a view of Alemán's stage appearance during his late career.
The video has been re-uploaded by another user of YouTube without the disturbing writing on screen and further has been added the audio of Alemán's recording of Delicado - the music is great, but really does not fit with the recorded silent moves of Alemán's playing on screen. Never mind, here's the 're-mastered' fragment
"One time I went to New York, for only four days... and they didn`t allow me to play because I was not associated to the Federation of Musicians. And the Federation required at least six months of residence before being accepted. Then if they said no, I had to get back. Imagine that I had the money to spend during those six months, but if they then didn`t accept me? How could I return [...], having run out of money? I went away and never returned."(Sopeña, G.:Oscar Alemán. Abrazado a mi cavaquinho. Crisis, Nº 21 pp. 29-35 - January 1975) (English translation by 'Tito' Liber)
In March 1944, Oscar Alemán made a mysterious trip to New York. Mysterious, as I haven't been able to find info on the background of this trip. Was it a promotion effort, possibly sponsored by the Argentine devision of Odeon Records to market their recent and successful Latin artist in The Big Apple? Or was it merely Alemán's personal attempt at a breakthrough in the United States to follow up on the success in Argentina? No exact info about the decision and circumstances that gave rise to his trip to the United States seems to be available. Nevertheless, as stated in the short passage of an interview quoted above, he stayed 4 days in New York City. Alemán's problem, however, was that he had not got a license to work as a musician in the USA in advance of the trip. This meant that he could not perform in any of the music venues of the city, which had an agreement with the American Federation of Musicians, nor was he allowed to record without a license. Overall, the trip seems to have depended on a wrong decision of time and place, as music business in the US in addition was in the middle of a strike launched by the American Federation of Musicians.
AFM seal
On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians (AMF) had started a strike against the major American recording companies because of disagreements over royalty payments.This meant that union organized musicians no longer were allowed to record for any record company, however, union musicians were allowed to participate on radio programs and other kinds of musical entertainment, but not in a recording session. The AMF recording ban was part of a struggle to get royalties from record sales for a union fund for organized out-of-work musicians. The union had previously opposed the recording of music, or “canned music”. The argument was that musicians were replaced with records in radio, and in cafes and bars bands were replaced with jukeboxes.
Record companies recorded as much music as they could in the run up to the strike and released this backlog through, but also resorted to re-releasing old recordings. Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby were among the singers that had to release records without instrumental accompaniment (vocalists were not in the union as they were not considered musicians). One record company recorded and released Shakespeare’s Othello when they had no music to release. An exception to the strike was “victory discs” (V-Discs), which were recorded for US soldiers fighting in World War II and sent to them overseas. Another exception was some small speciality labels.
The strike stopped business between major record labels and musicians under contract with them. With recording and manufacturing equipment idle from the strike, enterprising music promoters, record distributors, and store owners with the right connections took the opportunity to start small specialty labels, such as Savoy (1942) and Apollo (1943–44), that catered to musicians who were not under contract. Sometimes musicians under contract restrictions recorded for them under pseudonyms. That business model worked in large urban markets such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where concentrated markets allowed a sufficient return from local distribution. Many of the historically important recordings of jazz and R&B from the mid-1940s originated from these small labels. Although not lucrative for musicians, these small labels gained them exposure that later led to contracts with more established labels.
Decca and Capitol gave into the AFM in 1943, RCA Victor and Columbia held out but eventually backed down in November 1944, and the recording ban ended. (info excerpted from Wikipedia, here, and another online source, here).
It was these circumstances that met Oscar Alemán when he arrived in New York March 1944. The mentioned record ban was still on and the demand of a six month residence before a musician's license card to work possibly would be allowed him made the situation rather unsecure and hopeless, as a foreign musician eventually would be considered a possible blackleg and a thread to the strike. However, Alemán stayed in NYC for 4 days and surprisingly managed to record a session on March 17, before he decided to return to Argentina!
According to the online OA discographyHans Koert has listed two recordings by Alemán made on March 17, 1944 in NYC. No details about the label and personnel besides Alemán are available, just the matrix numbers and the title of the two tunes. Alemán's latest hit in Argentina was one of the recorded tunes, Bésame mucho (mx 71882), the other was Sweet Georgia Brown (mx 71883). However, these two recordings were unissued and remain an unsolved mystery.
I have not been able to point out a specific record label which may have made the recordings, any help from readers, discographers and collectors would be much appreciated. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to discuss this matter with Hans Koert, he may have had more info, at least from which source he had the knowledge of a record by Alemán made in NYC with added titles and mx-numbers. My friend and collector of the recently updated Alemán discograpy, 'Tito' Liber, forwarded the short passage of an interwiev with Alemán touching on the trip to the US, but he found no further info on the subject in Argentine sources.
So, to end this, I encourage anybody with more knowledge about this Alemán trip and the two recordings made in NYC on March 17, 1944 to respond to my request for further info. Contact me by using the e-mail stated below, or feel free to use the comment facility with this blog entry. Thanks in advance!
NB! This entry will also be posted at the Oscar Alemán blog.
Nobody's Sweetheart was published in 1924 with music by Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel, and lyrics by Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman. The song was introduced by Ted Lewis in the revue The Passing Show of 1923.
Part of music sheet front
Jazz musicians took an immediate liking to the tune, and ever since its inception it has been a favorite of jazz players and listeners everywhere.
Isham Jones and his orchestra
Isham Jones and his orchestrawas one of the first 'hot' dance bands to record a version of Nobody's Sweetheart in February 1924
The lyrics of Nobody's Sweetheart are about a female character who challenges the norm and morality of the the bourgeois, the text reads:
You're nobody's sweetheart now.
They don't baby you somehow.
Fancy hose, silken gown--
You'd be out of place in your own hometown.
When you walk down the avenue,
They just can't believe that it's you.
Painted lips, painted eyes,
Wearing a bird of paradise--
It all seems wrong somehow that
You're nobody's sweetheart now.
Marion Harris
Vaudeville singer Marion Harris had a hit with Nobody's Sweetheart in 1929
Cab Calloway and his orchestra
Bandleader Cab Calloway and his orchestrahad success with the recording of Nobody's Sweetheart with vocal by the leader 1930
During the 1930s Nobody's Sweetheart became part of the standard book of the swing jazz ensemble, here I'll focus on two recordings made on December 5, 1938.
Freddie Valier's String Swing - Robert Normann far right
The guitarist Robert Normannrecorded his first session with Freddie Valier's String Swing in Oslo on December 5, 1938. Among the four recordings was a version of Nobody's Sweetheart featuring a great solo by Robert Normann, inserted below
Oscar Alemán in the 1930s
Also on December 5, 1938, this time in Copenhagen, another version of Nobody's Sweetheart was recorded. Oscar Alemán recorded his solo version of the tune while on tour in Scandinavia with Josephine Baker - the recording is an unaccompanied solo for guitar by a master of the instrument
This particular recording by Oscar Alemán - together with the three other tunes recorded at the same session - was my step stone 35 years ago to embark on a research adventure of the complete discography of Oscar Alemán. Until recently the online discography patiently and carefully collected by Hans Koert has been the most complete listing of Alemán's recorded legacy. Now a revised and updated version of the material including newly found items has been made available by Andrés 'Tito' Liber. You may read more about it at the Oscar Alemán blog that also has the links to an uploaded and free accessible version of the discography, here
When Hans Koert, Theo v.d. Graaff and I presented theEl Redescubrimiento de Oscar Alemán/The Rediscovery of Oscar Alemán projectat the IAJRC Convention in Copenhagen July 2005,Hans Koerthad prepared a review of the career of Oscar Alemán based on the info available at the time. The review benefited from Hans Koert's own research as well as the documentaryVida con Swing (2002) byHernán Gaffet. During this first-time presentation of Alemán's career for an international audience, Hans Koert also had collected a couple of surprises to wet the teeth of hungry collectors of Alemán's recorded legacy. The review was accompanied by audio examples and a Power Point presentation to illustrate Alemán's career. One of the audio examples was a just recently discovered private recording of Josephine Bakermade at a performance during her tour of Holland in December 1933.
In the articleOscar Alemán in Copenhagen(2005), Hans Koert accounts for the background of the recording, quoted here:
"Being part of the Baker Boys meant a lot of travelling around Europe and Northern Africa with the revue of Josephine Baker. These tours were tiresome; Oscar loved to be in Paris, where he could play with visiting jazz musicians, like Freddy Taylor, Danny Polo, Bill Coleman and Frank “Big Boy” Goudy. The Baker tours were a tough job, indeed; two concerts in the evening and sometimes one in the afternoon, too. In December 1933 the Baker company played in Holland, eleven concerts within six days (Concertgebouw - Amsterdam, Concertzaal - Haarlem, Kunstmin - Dordrecht, Musis Sacrum - Arnhem, De Groote Doelenzaal - Rotterdam and Gebouw voor K en W – The Hague.). However, the tour through Holland was cancelled in The Hague due to technical problems after the first evening concert, although other sources speak about Josephine Baker being ill. It is a fact that the critics characterized Josephine’s act as “weinig om het lijf hebbend”, which means in English that the audience considered her erotic acts to be of minor importance." (Hans Koert in: OSCAR ALEMAN in Copenhagen, p. 2 (2005))
I have not been able to confirm, if the recording was made at Kunstmin in Dordrecht, but the exact date of the recording is stated on the label shown above as 19 December 1933. The audio quality is not the best, however, this is nonetheless an interesting recording, as this is probably the only preserved live-recording ofJosephine Bakerwith her16 Baker BoysfeaturingOscar Alemánon guitar in the ensemble. The guitar is barely audible, but you can hear it behind Md. Baker's vocal throughout, if you pay attention to the accompanying music of the song. The audio has now been uploaded at YouTube and is inserted here to honor the magnificent work byHans Koertto initiate The Rediscovery of Oscar Alemán in this part of the world, and of course further to remind us that today 35 years have passed since Oscar Alemán left us on October 14th, 1980.
When Begin the Beguine debuted in Cole Porter’s musical comedy Jubilee in 1935, it was the longest popular song ever written at 108 bars. The conventional length for a song is 32 bars. The beguine of the title refers to a dance that was developed on the islands of Martinique, Cuba, and Guadeloupe in the 1930s. It is similar to a rumba, but slower, with dance moves performed smoothly and deliberately. Like many Latin dances, the beguine emphasizes the ability to roll the hips to evoke sensuality while performing the steps. Cole Porter composed the song during a 1935 Pacific cruise and also wrote the lyrics, and in 1938 clarinetist and bandleader Artie Shaw recorded his instrumental version of the song, that became a hit of the swing era. - Here is a filmed performance of Begin The Beguine featuring Artie Shaw and his orchestra from 1938
Another instrumental version of Begin The Beguine among my favorites was recorded by Oscar Alemán y su Quinteto de Swing November 4, 1942
Cole Porter probably adopted the musical form 'beguine' either in Paris, France or at a visit to Martinique during his 1935 Pacific cruise. The musical form - like the dance style - has its origins in the French Antilles (Martinique and Guadeloupe) and another example of a beguine adopted by a popular artist is Josephine Baker's 1932 version of the song Madiana composed by the Martinique vocalist Maïotte Almaby
This summer I have enjoed listening to several recordings of original creole music from Martinique, and to end this small entry on a popular song, I'll insert a couple of examples of this regional music that had success in Paris during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. At that time many musicians from Martinique were in Paris and made recordings that ought to be better known among jazz fans. One of the Martinique musicians, who made a career in Paris, was clarinetist Eugène Delouche (1909-1975). He led his own band of Martinique musicians called Del's Jazz Beguine, and in 1935 his ensemble recorded this beautiful song dedicated to Martinique
To end this, here's another recording by Del's Jazz Beguine - also from 1935, the title is Reverie
Retrospect
Keep Swinging (old)
Oscar Aleman Choro Music Flexible Records Hit of the Week-Durium Friends of the Keep Swinging blog Keep Swinging Contributions
