Swingin’ Down the Lane
Wabash Blues
The World is waiting for the Sunrise
Who’s Sorry Now?
The one I love belongs to somebody else
California Here I Come
Spain
Some Other Day, Some Other Girl
I’ll See You in My Dreams
Remember
Together, We Two
Stardust
Sweet Georgia Brown
Lazy Day
A Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia
Blue Prelude
Junk Man
For All We Know
Life Begins When You’re In Love
No Greater Love
Stompin’ at the Savoy
I Wanna Be In Winchell’s Column
I’ll Never Have To dream Again
It Had To Be You
On The Alamo
You’ve Got Me Crying Again
Isham Jones and his Orchestra
Isham Jones was Ohio born
in 1894 and was a jobbing multi-instrumentalist
(piano, fiddle, saxophone) when he moved to
Chicago in 1915. More importantly he showed
an interest in writing arrangements and this
held him in good stead when record companies
signed his band, which they were quick to
do. The earliest recording in Living Era’s
conspectus dates from 1921, though they actually
start with a 1947 track so that, the suspicious
critic thinks, the ear can work backwards
from pretty good fidelity to an acoustic series.
Some big names sang with the band – Jolson
and Crosby among them – and later on instrumentalists
who passed through the ranks were to include
Jack Jenney and Woody Herman. Jones retired
in the height of the Swing Era – 1936 – and
though there were a few attempts at re-forming
the band and revisiting old musical successes,
such as the 1947 sessions here, the hey day
of the band had long since gone, as indeed
had to all intents and purposes the days of
the big band itself. Jones died in 1956.
Actually the compilers really
should have started with the 1921 tracks and
had the courage of chronological convictions.
They were very well recorded by Brunswick,
certainly well enough to hear Charles McNeil’s
work on banjo with real clarity. The band
then was a rather stiff, rinky-dink eleven-piece
dance orchestra. It used ODJB trumpet neighs
and sobs, a two-violin section (playing a
unison solo in The World is waiting for
the Sunrise) and sporting a competent
non-jazz trumpet lead and a wobbly old trombone
soloist. Colour was provided by the ukulele
virtuosity of Bud DeSylva on Jolson’s immortal
California Here I Come. Most of the
other vocalists are "period" but
there are real pleasures to be had listening
to stray solos – sample pianist Roy Bargy’s
busy work throughout for example even when
the band is at its clunkiest. They had a big
hit with Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust,
played at a very slow tempo and listen out
for Sweet Georgia Brown where in addition
to Crosby’s vocal Eddie Lang is on guitar
and Herman on saxophone. As an indication
of the band’s priorities they were still using
a tuba here, in 1932, when almost everyone
else had discarded it in favour of the double
bass.
Later on a more relaxed feeling
creeps in, especially with Gordon Jenkins’
arrangements and the post 1932 tracks show
the band at its most delightful and relaxed.
After the War the band revisited its past
glories but it sounds a really old fashioned,
almost mood music aggregation of session men
– no personnel are listed – and vocalist Curt
Massey tends to hog proceedings.
Top marks to Living Era for
their documentary information; personnel,
dates of recording and dates of the original
composition of a song are here as well as
matrix and issue numbers. I’ve been impressed
by their comprehensive work in this series
before and I’m still impressed.
Jonathan Woolf