A New Year of Music Ahead

What does 1919 have to say in 2021? Is there music for this time that we are traveling through? Are there artists that have created art that can speak to this insane journey? 

Yes.

We are going to start with a composition by someone who is most definitely not my favourite composer.

Piano-Rag-Music is a composition for piano solo by Russian-born composer, pianist, conductor Igor Stravinsky, 
written in 1919. Stravinsky, who had, by that time, emigrated to France after his studies with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Russia, was confronted with American jazz combos actively influential in Europe. Stravinsky interprets the ragtime in a rather cubist way,
Stravinsky wrote the piece for Arthur Rubinstein,[1] who didn’t particularly like it and wouldn’t play it in his programs, which caused a wee bit of tension between him and Stravinsky.


And so, who now, shall perform this for us tonight? Rubinstein refuses,  

So we will turn to 28 year old Magdalena Müllerperth, from Germany, a very talented and currently active musician who I'm sure will be happy to take the gig. This is off her 2019 release “Stravinsky & Hindemith: Works for Piano” and so we gather, in the concert halls of our own homes, to take in a piece of music written in 1919, performed in 2019, Composed as the world grappled with a pandemic, and now taken in at a mid point, a turning point in our own time of navigating these things.

I am curious to hear how you feel about this piece, I was surprised by my own reaction to it, coming from my grudging history of hearing Stravinsky “As Music Student”, to hearing Stravinsky as “Fellow traveller reflecting on the present situation of the world”
Should you wish to purchase this track you can find her music on iTunes, 
http://magdalena.muellerperth.de/index.php - 

Can I Sleep in your Barn Tonight Mister?
Charlie Poole - Of “moving day’ fame ( I will link to that ridiculousness here)
‘North Carolina music in the first half of the twentieth century reflected Americans' interest in a burgeoning new genre—country music. While what is now known as "country music" existed before the 1900s, "the form came into being as a commercial enterprise in the 1920s". Based on "traditional ballads and folk songs," country music featured often melancholy lyrics, a distinctive twang, and instruments such as the banjo to explore the problems and challenges of the day, including Prohibition, the effects of the Great Depression, and racial tensions.


Perhaps no country singer from this time period is better known than Charlie Poole. Poole, who along with the North Carolina Ramblers, was known as "one of the most popular string bands of the 1920s . . . had a great influence on the development of bluegrass music”. Poole helped to popularize the banjo and "created a unique playing style involving his thumb and two fingers". The son of poor millworkers, Poole was unable to buy a banjo and thus began playing on a banjo he made himself out of a gourd. His music still resonates with listeners today, as evidenced by the annual Charlie Poole festival in North Carolina.


Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers made their first record in 1925 and "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister" was one of the first releases (Rorrer). The record sold 102,451 copies at a time when the "average sales for a Columbia country music record . . . was about 5,000" https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/barn/summary.html


And tonight we are going to support the wonderful Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms from the Pacific Northwest.


This wonderfully historic sounding duo have taken the deep dive into technology and are adapting to online lessons, live streams and merchandising during the last year.


This track is from their 2014 release “Oh Do You Remember”, that has been one of the 4 CDs on rotation in my car for the last 6 years. Their music ranges from back woods/singing into tin can oldtimey to western swing and honky tonk. Their albums usually feature a mix of old standards and new compositions that meld together seamlessly. This particular track is at the old time edge of the spectrum, so if you like a more slick, twin fiddle, steel guitar sound do check out their other recordings.


You can purchase their music directly from their website, it is easy to download/paypal check out, there are 7 albums to choose from, and you can listen to samples of them all, purchase full albums or tracks individually.


https://calebklauder.com/shop

This next one is a popular song published in 1919 by Fred Fisher, who wrote the lyrics for the music written by Felix Bernard and Johnny S. Black.


Bandleader Ben Selvin recorded "Dardanella" for several record labels (including Victor and Paramount), and by some estimates, his recordings of the tune sold a combined total of more than five million copies.[1] His main recording was made for Victor on November 20, 1919 under the name of Selvin's Novelty Orchestra.[2] It was released a week later and began to sell really well in December 1919 to top the charts in January 1920.


Tonight I am going to feature a wonderful arrangement, "Dardanella"
by one of our very own 
Jen Hodge
From the album All's Fair in Love and Jazz


Performed by...
Chris Davis - trumpet
Connor Stewart - clarinet
Josh Roberts - guitar
Jen Hodge - bass
Martí Elias - drums


You can purchase for download or CD at https://jenhodgebass.bandcamp.com/album/alls-fair-in-love-and-jazz 


You could probably also send her an email  and an etransfer if you’re looking for a hard copy and then she’d get all the dough. [email protected] 

To end the night with a shimmy as promised, we are going to get “I wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”


Published in 1919, Written by Armand J Piron, this is a fun little number that has been recorded by everyone under the sun, from Bob Wills to Connee Boswell to Betty Grable and beyond


For over a decade, before swing music became hip once again, trumpeter Eli Preminger has been bringing the joyous sound of New Orleans jazz to the Israeli crowd. As a soloist, bandleader and member of several ensembles such as Marsh Dondurma, Eli performed on some of the most prestigious stages in Israel and around the world, such as the Red Sea Jazz Festival, the Israel Festival, the Jewish Music Festival in Krakow and the Montreal Jazz Festival.


This particular recording features Tamar Korn, and correct me if I’m wrong a Loyd Arntzen verse variation. 


and it is so fun, and man, it’ll totally make you shimmy like sister Kate.


I wish I could Shimmy Like my Sister Kate - 
Eli & The Chocolate Factory
Hot jazz from Tel Aviv, featuring vocalist Tamar Korn from NY.
Join us on our FB page!
credits
released May 17, 2019 


Eli Preminger - trumpet 
Amnon Ben Artsi - trombone 
Tal Kuhn – bass 
Rani Birenbaum – drums 
Ilan Smilan – banjo 
Jess Koren - saxophone 
Tamar Korn - Vocals 
If you would like to hear this one or purchase it follow the link below:
https://eliandthechocolatefactory.bandcamp.com/track/i-wish-i-could-shimmy-like-my-sister-kate?fbclid=IwAR36kxE0VAG4dzxKJM2IkwG8bu8j8B7tjQCWQ7wFdwU9Zqdhqlh0J4uUBU8