Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – February 13, 2024: A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton on Mardi Gras Day

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/63877.html

Theme: A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941) on Mardi Gras Day.

Jelly Roll Morton, whose birth name was Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, was a pianist, singer, songwriter and bandleader from New Orleans who was steeped in traditional music and was one of the first important composers in jazz. Morton died in 1941 at age 50 from respiratory problems related to a stabbing in 1938 from which he never fully recovered. Morton claimed to have singlehandedly invented jazz in 1902, a claim that few music historians accept, despite his immense contributions to the early development of jazz. Some of the songs on this show were written by Jelly Roll Morton, all were from his vast repertoire.

Jelly Roll Morton- Original Jelly Roll Blues

Birth of the Hot (Bluebird)

Dave Van Ronk- Mamie’s Blues

Sunday Street (Philo)

Dr. John- Milneburg Joys

Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Leon Redbone- Winin’ Boy Blues

Double Time (Warner Bros.)

Jelly Roll Morton- Mr. Jelly Lord

The Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 2: Anamule Dance (Rounder)

Paul Geremia- Dr. Jazz

Love My Stuff (Red House)

Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators- Wild Man Blues

Music from The Great Gatsby (Billy Novick)

Jelly Roll Morton- Shake It

Last Sessions: The Complete General Recordings (Commodore)

Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women- Sweet Substitute

Old, New, Borrowed & Blue (Alligator)

Dave Van Ronk- The Pearls

Sunday Street (Philo)

Amos Garrett- Michigan Water Blues

Acoustic Album (Stony Plain)

Dr. John & Danny Barker- I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say

Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Andrew Homzy Ensemble- Black Bottom Stomp

Hommage to Jelly Roll Morton (DSM)

Jelly Roll Morton- New Orleans Bump

Great Original Performances 1926-1934 (BBC)

Hot Tuna- Don’t You Leave Me Here

Hot Tuna (RCA)

Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- Wolverine Blues

Every Little Moment (Daring)

Wynton Marsalis & Catherine Russell- Make Me a Pallet on the Floor

Bolden: Music from the Original Soundtrack (Blue Engine)

Julian Fauth- Tricks Ain’t Walking

The Weak and the Wicked, the Hard and the Strong (Electro-Fi)

Jelly Roll Morton- Dirty, Dirty, Dirty

Last Sessions: The Complete General Recordings (Commodore)

Jelly Roll Morton- The Murder Ballad, part 7: Goodbye to the World, I Know I’m Gone

The Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 3: The Pearls (Rounder)

Henry Butler & Steven Bernstein- King Porter Stomp

Viper’s Drag (Impulse)

Dirty Dozen Brass Band- Kansas City Stomp

Jelly (Columbia)

Next week: Songs of Chuck Berry.

--Mike Regenstreif

 

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday January 31, 2023: Songs I’ve Heard Leon Redbone Sing

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59153.html

Theme: Songs I’ve Heard Leon Redbone Sing.

Leon Redbone, who died in 2019 at age 69, was a mysterious figure who played meticulous arrangements of old blues, jazz and Tin Pan Alley songs. 

Leon Redbone- Sweet Mama Papa’s Gettin’ Mad

Live_The Olympia Theater, Paris, France (Rounder)

The Hot Sardines- Lulu’s Back in Town

Welcome Home, Bon Voyage (Eleven)

Jeff Healey- Some of These Days

The Best of the Stony Plain Years: Vintage Jazz, Swing and Blues (Stony Plain)

Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- My Blue Heaven

Exactly Like Us (Rounder)

Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers- Shine On Harvest Moon

En Duo (Justin Time)

Leon Redbone- Champagne Charlie

Champagne Charlie (Warner Bros.)

Ry Cooder- Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now

Jazz (Warner Bros.)

Leon Redbone- Marie

On the Track (Warner Bros.)

The Whiteley Brothers- Crazy Blues

Bluesology (Pyramid)

Mose Scarlett- Somebody Stole My Gal

Precious Seconds (Borealis)

Hotcha!- My Walkin’ Stick

Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression (Hotcha!)

Paul Geremia- Nobody’s Sweetheart Now

Gamblin’ Woman Blues (Red House)

Leon Redbone- Louisiana Fairy Tale

Any Time (Rounder)

Mary Coughlan- Seduced

Tired & Emotional (EastWest)

Martha Seyler & Robert Resnik- Your Cheatin’ Heart

Martha Sings & Robert Plays (Martha Seyler & Robert Resnik)

Sneezy Waters, Ken Whiteley, Jackie Washington & Mike Regenstreif (2008)

Sneezy Waters- Lovesick Blues

Sneezy Waters Sings Hank Williams (Borealis)

Jackie Washington with Mose Scarlett & Ken Whiteley- I Ain’t Got Nobody

Sitting on a Rainbow (Borealis)

Leon Redbone- Ghost of the St. Louis Blues

Sugar (Rounder)

Patti Casey with Paul Asbell- Ain’t Misbehavin’

Just an Old Sweet Song (Long Shot Music)

Dave Van Ronk- Your Feets Too Big

Sweet & Lowdown (Justin Time)

Andy Cohen- Step It Up and Go

Tryin’ to Get Home (Earwig)

Roberta Donnay & The Prohibition Mob Band- When I Take My Sugar to Tea

Bathtub Gin (Motema)

Leon Redbone- Alabama Jubilee

Champagne Charlie (Warner Bros.)

Missy Burgess & Michael Burgess- When You Wish Upon a Star

Pour Me a Song (Patio)

Duke Robillard & Kelley Hunt- Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone

Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm (M.C.)

Leon Redbone- Polly Wolly Doodle

On the Track (Warner Bros.)

Next week: Songs Mississippi John Hurt Sang for the Library of Congress in 1963.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Billy Novick -- Music from The Great Gatsby; Ernie Hawkins -- Whinin' Boy

BILLY NOVICK’S BLUE SYNCOPATORS
Music from The Great Gatsby
Billy Novick
billynovick.com


Clarinet and sax player Billy Novick has been one of my favourite musicians since I first heard him playing with David Bromberg in the mid-1970s. A few years later, I got to know him and to hear him a lot when the small booking agency I operated for several years in the late-‘70s represented Billy’s duo with master finger-style guitarist Guy Van Duser. Thirty years later, as evidenced on this CD, Billy is still making exceptional music.

Billy was commissioned by the Washington Ballet to provide the score for their production, earlier this year, of The Great Gatsby, a ballet based on the classic novel of the 1920s by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not having seen the ballet, I can say, without reservation, that the CD stands on its own as a great set of 1920s-era jazz, blues and ragtime that includes a bunch of period classics and some great in-the-tradition pieces composed by Billy.

Billy’s Boston-based band, the Blue Syncopators, are mostly playing in New Orleans Dixieland mode as they run through such numbers as James P. Johnson’s “Charleston,” W.C. Handy’s “Yellow Dog Blues,” Scott Joplin’s “Swipsey Cakewalk” and Louis Armstrong’s “Wild Man Blues.” The interplay between the various horns and the impeccable rhythm section is a constant delight.

Also delightful is the work of vocalists Louise Grasmere and Dane Vannater on several numbers. Whether it’s Grasmere’s humorous scatting on Billy’s “Dance of the Ashes” or sounding like a classic blues singer on “He May Be Your Man,” or Vannater singing poignantly on Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do,” or camping it up on “We Are All Going Calling on the Kaiser,” their singing is in the same league as the instrumentalists.

ERNIE HAWKINS
Whinin’ Boy
Corona Records
erniehawkins.com

Speaking of New Orleans Dixieland mode, Whinin’ Boy, the latest CD by Ernie Hawkins, who is primarily known for his Piedmont-style guitar playing, – he was a student of Reverend Gary Davis and remains one of the Rev’s greatest interpreters – blends Piedmont guitar playing with Dixieland arrangements featuring an equally fine set of musicians.

The album opens with Ernie’s guitar playing Jelly Roll Morton’s title track in an arrangement that, early on, is reminiscent of Dave Van Ronk’s great Morton interpretations. By the time he starts singing the first verse, the washboard is beefing up the rhythm, and by the time he gets to the second verse, the horns are sounding like Saturday night at Preservation Hall. (The album ends with an instrumental reprise of “Whinin’ Boy.”)

Whether doing faithful versions of New Orleans standards like “Basin Street Blues,” or adapting Davis’ “There is a Table in Heaven” to a Dixieland arrangement or vamping on Big Bill Broonzy’s “Shuffle Rag,” Ernie makes this music come alive.

Mixed in with the classic blues and jazz tunes are a couple of Ernie’s original instrumentals. On “The Southbound Sneak,” he matches his great blues fingerpicking to a great tuba-trombone-washboard accompaniment. Then, on “My Poodle Has Fleas,” a tune he’s recorded before, he switches to ukulele to trade licks with tuba player Roger Daly.

Both of these CDs are a reminder of how infectious Dixieland music can still be in the hands of creative and inventive musicians and arrangers.

--Mike Regenstreif