00 HERO Notes.txt
HOTEL EDISON ROOF ORCHESTRA
"What a Day!"
Wolverine-6, 1982
LP rip (320 kbps) by Dick Baker, July 2008
THE HOTEL EDISON ROOF ORCHESTRA, John Sheridan (piano), Hal Smith (drums), Tom Pletcher (cornet), Don Neely (reeds), Jack Meilahn (banjo), Rod McDonald (guitar), Bob Smith (trombone), Russ Whitman (reeds), Tom Brozene (trumpet), John Otto (reeds), Paul Klinger (trumpet) and Vince Giordano (tuba, bass sax).
SIDE ONE
1. UP AND AT 'EM; solos by Otto, Pletcher, Neely, B. Smith, Sheridan, Giordano and Otto.
2. DIXIE JAMBOREE: solos by Otto, Whitman, B. Smith, Whitman, Sheridan, McDonald, Pletcher and Otto.
3. WHAT A DAY; Otto, vocal; solos by Whitman, B. Smith, Whitman, Pletcher and Otto.
4. (Who's Wonderful?) MISS ANNABELLE LEE; Neely, vocal; solos by Sheridan, Pletcher, Otto and B. Smith.
5. PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ; Neely, vocal; solos by Pletcher, Otto, Pletcher, and B. Smith.
6. SHE BELONGS TO ME; solos by B. Smith, Otto, B. Smith, Pletcher, Neely, Giordano and Sheridan.
7. SWEET LIZA; Otto, vocal; solos by Neely, Pletcher and Otto.
SIDE TWO
1. YOU DON'T LIKE IT-NOT MUCH; Neely, vocal; solos by Meilahn, Otto, Meilahn, B. Smith and Sheridan.
2. GOTTA FEELIN' FOR YOU; Otto, vocal. solos by Sheridan, Pletcher, Otto and B. Smith.
3. I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE, BABY;
solos by Sheridan, Pletcher, Otto and B. Smith.
4. (Cause I Feel) LOW DOWN; solos by Pletcher, Otto, Pletcher, B. Smith, Sheridan, Whitman, B. Smith and Neely.
5. (Cause I Feel) LOW DOWN (alternate take); solos by Pletcher, Otto, Pletcher, B. Smith, Sheridan, Whitman, B. Smith and Neely.
6. MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME; Otto, vocal; solos by Whitman, Whitman and Pletcher.
7. STOCKHOLM STOMP; Solos by Pletcher, Otto, B. Smith, H. Smith, Sheridan and Giordano.
THE HOTEL EDISON ROOF ORCHESTRA.
The Edison is a dowdy old lady of a hotel in St. Louis. It is probably more of a hospice for the indigent and aged than a station for wayfarers. But to us antiquarians, survivals like the Edison conjure up images of a glittering age now dimmed. Maybe there was a ballroom where an orchestra performed music such as we hear on this recording--and maybe there was even a roof garden where the revelers retreated from summer's heat in those 1920 days before air conditioning.
By that time, the classic ten-piece band instrumentation had been established. In the offices of music publishers, arrangers were hired to create orchestrations of hits of the day; and bands could be heard throughout the country playing "stock" arrangements of new tunes within weeks of publication. In turn, the creators of these stock orchestrations themselves became celebrities in the popular music world and today their work from the twenties has become sought-after collectors' items. Some 6,000 of them are in the possession of Vince Giordano, multi-instrumentalist and leader of the New York-based New Orleans Nighthawks.
The main spark behind the instant recording session is Chicagoan John Otto, probably the finest reed player to emerge in American traditional jazz in the last ten years. John and Vince had recorded together with the State Street Aces and had already discussed the possibility of recording big band arrangements from the twenties. Giordano felt that Bill Oakley's St. Louis Ragtime Festival in June 1982 would finally create the opportunity to have a sufficient number of players capable and sympathetic to this project in one location.
From the many bands to appear at the festival, John and Vince selected (from Jim Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band) Russ Whitman, tenor sax and clarinet; Rod McDonald, guitar; Bob Smith, trombone; Hal Smith, drums; Paul Klinger, trumpet; (from California's Royal Society Orchestra) leader Don Neely, alto sax and clarinet and vocals; Jack Meilahn, banjo; Tom Brozene, trumpet; and (from San Antonio's Happy Jazz Band) John Sheridan, piano. Cornet solos were handled by a player considered by many as the finest ever disciple of Bix Beiderbecke, Tom Pletcher, son of the great jazz trumpeter Stew Pletcher. With John Otto on lead alto, clarinet and vocals, and Vince Giordano on tuba and bass sax, the band was complete.
From Vince's library, John selected the tunes, and then tapes were made for the players from original recordings in the collection of Wolverine producer Warren Plath.
Then followed two days of intense rehearsals (to say nothing of the necessary playing the festival during the evenings), and when the recording date finally rolled around, the boys were at fever pitch. Giordano's bass sax, inspired by Adrian Rollini, did exactly what Rollini did for the California Ramblers--tie everything together beautifully. To say that the band jelled is an understatement, and if you don't believe that this is one of the finest recordings in the past 50 years, just listen!!!
FRANK POWERS
(Mr. Powers writes for The Classic Rag, and is a highly respected jazz musician in his own right).
Special Thanks To:
MIKE MONTGOMERY--Cover Sheet Music
FRANK POWERS--Liner Notes
TOM BARTLETT--Art Work
PAUL KLINGER--Photos
Producer - Warren K. Plath
Final tape preparation - Camus, Ltd.
Recorded on June 17, 1982, at Premier Studios, St. Louis, Missouri
(c) Warren K. Plath, 1982
If you like Goldkette and The California Ramblers at their hottest, you will really enjoy The Hotel Edison Roof Orchestra featuring Vince Giordano, John Otto and Tom Pletcher.
|
|