Gennett Rarities

by Gennett Rarities / Various

Overview

Recorded in Birmingham, AL and Richmond, IN between July 1927 and October 1929, the performances reissued on this compilation are precious examples of musical entertainments commonly encountered in the Midwest and the Deep South during the years immediately preceding the Great Depression. Based in Richmond, Henry Gennett's Starr Piano Company had begun making records to sell with its phonographs in 1916; for various practical as well as legal reasons, after the end of the First World War the recording division switched to lateral rather than vertical-cut technology, and the label itself was changed from Starr to Gennett. Henry Gennett's youngest son Fred was the individual who suggested the name change. He was also responsible for the ambitious expansion of the company's catalog to include an ever-increasing number of non-white musicians. In December 1926 Fred Gennett conducted an experimental field expedition to Arizona where he recorded the songs of Hopi Indians with the intention of peddling the records to tourists visiting the Grand Canyon. About a dozen selections, with titles like "Tuwina'Av" and "Tacheuktu Katcina" were issued in early 1927. By the summer of that year young Gennett was supervising a series of recording sessions that were held in a makeshift recording studio on the third floor of the Starr Piano Store at 1820 Third Avenue South in Birmingham, AL Unlike the Hopi discs and most everything that had appeared previously on Gennett, these platters were made using the innovative General Electric recording apparatus. The range of styles and genres was as diverse as the population from which the music arose: country, gospel, ragtime, barrelhouse, blues and jazz were all performed in front of the newly designed microphones. Jazz Oracle's selection of the cream of the Birmingham dates is superb, especially when combined with a passel of hot sides recorded back home in Indiana. Here is an opportunity to experience music made long ago by nearly forgotten musicians like the Triangle Harmony Boys, the Black Birds of Paradise, Dunk Rendleman and the Alabamians, Frank Bunch & His Fuzzy Wuzzies and Syd Valentine's Patent Leather Kids, a gutsy little trio known also as Skillet Dick & His Frying Pans. ~ arwulf arwulf

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/1998
Label:	Jazz Oracle
UPC:	0620588800924
Rank:	182319

Tracks

1. Canned Heat Blues  -  Triangle Harmony Boys
2. Chicken Supper Strut  -  Triangle Harmony Boys
3. Sweet Patootie  -  Triangle Harmony Boys
4. Muddy Water  -  Black Bird  - Peter DeRose  - Jo Trent
5. Bugahoma Blues  -  Black Bird
6. Tishomingo Blues  -  Black Bird  - Spencer Williams
7. Sugar!  - Edna Alexander  -  Black Bird  - Sidney Mitchell  - Maceo Pinkard
8. Is It Possible That She Loves Me
9. Spirit of '49 Rag  - George H. Tremer
10. Fuzzy Wuzzy  - Frank Bunch  -  Bunch
11. Fourth Avenue Stomp  - Frank Bunch  -  Bunch
12. Congo Stomp  -  Bunch
13. Mean Dog Blues  -  Alabamians
14. Ragamuffin Stomp
15. Michigan Stomp
16. Bugs  -  Gang
17. Mother-In-Law Blues  - Horace Smith
18. Love Is Dead  - Horace Smith
19. Going Away and Leave My Baby  - Horace Smith
20. Clickety-Clack Blues  - Horace Smith
21. Jelly Bean Drag  -  Valentine
22. Asphalt Walk  -  Valentine
23. Patent Leather Stomp  -  Valentine
24. Rock and Gravel  -  Valentine

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Black Bird   Primary Artist
Horace Smith   Primary Artist,Vocals
Frank Bunch & His Fuzzy Wuzzies   Primary Artist
The Alabamians   Primary Artist
Triangle Harmony Boys   Primary Artist
Syd Valentine's Patent Leather Kids   Primary Artist
George H. Tremer   Primary Artist
Walter Boyd   Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
James "Slick" Helms   Piano
Paul George   Banjo
Samuel Borders   Drums
Murray Harper   Sax (Tenor)
Melvin Small   Piano
James Bell   Sax (Alto),Clarinet
Hunch Vines   Trumpet
Bob Hamilton   Trumpet
Syd Valentine   Trumpet
Vic Dickenson   Trombone
Bill Warfield   Banjo
Tom Ivery   Banjo
Ivory Johnson   Bowed Bass
Philmore "Shorty" Hall   Cornet
Carl Bunch   Banjo
Frank Bunch   Piano
Bill Aderholt   Clarinet,Sax (Alto)

Technical Credits

Black Birds of Paradise   Performer
Colin Bray   Producer
Dan Allen   Engineer
Grant Cairns   Engineer
Pete Whelan   Engineer
Spencer Williams   Composer
Sidney Mitchell   Composer
James Williams   Engineer
Jack King   Graphic Design
Jo Trent   Composer
Maceo Pinkard   Composer
Keith Miller   Engineer
Frank Bunch   Composer
George H. Tremer   Composer,Performer
Triangle Harmony Boys   Performer
Gang   Composer
John R.T. Davies   Engineer,Producer,Transfers,Remastering
Peter DeRose   Composer
Edna Alexander   Composer
The Alabamians   Performer
John Wilby   Engineer,Producer,Liner Notes