"From Natchez to Mobile"

[electra225]

By an obscure, but once fairly famous dixieland band, The Riverboat Five. Our band director in high school, Mr. Harris liked this band. He gave all the kids in dance band a copy of this album. This link will give you and idea of what the album cover looks like. On Mercury, SRW-16251, circa 1959, this album may have as many as seven versions, according to Discography. "St. Lous Blues" is one of my favorite cuts on the album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nSe74RlBZ4

History on the band itself:

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/river ... /352923356

We did two of their songs in dance band. "St. Louis Blues" and "I Ain't Got Nobody". Mr, Harris either played clarinet or banjo, depending who was there at the time. We had a girl clarinet player would could kill the clarinet parts. Johnny Hostetter played trumpet. I played trombone.

This is another record I "lost" for maybe 35 years. It is a stereo record, but has been played a million times on a kiddie player. I didn't know any better at the time, so it is beyond noisy. I hope the computer will clean it up so I can put it on CD.

Cuts on this album include:

South Rampart Street Parade
Yellow Dog Blues
Tiger Rag
St. Louis Blues
Panama
Sing Sing Sing
Caravan
Dardanella
I Ain't Got Nobody
The Original Dixieland One Step

[walyfd]

Almost as obscure is the movie "St Louis Blues" with a KILLER cast of Nat Cole as WC Handy, Pearl Bailey, Cab Calloway, Ruby Dee, a cameo by Ella and co-starring Eartha Kitt...

Nat, Pearl and Eartha all made sound track albums on 3 different labels but none as an ensemble. And nobody dubbed the piano or vocals. That was all Nat and his crew...

[William]

I can see why your band director like them.

Bill

[electra225]

Mr. Harris is still alive, up there in age, but still going last I knew. He was young when he came to our school, probably in his late 20's. He drove a '56 Century and traded it for a new '63 Riviera, one of the first around. He liked the Riverboat Five due to their musicality and also their arrangements. Lots of dixieland bands get off into screechy riffs and have too bangy drums. This band is a little smoother, they had better technique for students, to Mr. Harris' way of thinking. He was more of a big band kind of guy rather than dixieland jazz. I like dixieland, I don't really care who plays it. Dukes of Dixieland, these guys, Pee Wee Hunt, I like them all. Some of Pete Fountain's stuff isn't too bad. He gets a little too fancy for me sometimes. We played some big band material in the dance band, but most of it was either dixieland or Hal Leonard arrangements. The girl clarinet player who was so good was named Leann-something. I can't call her last name to save my soul. Bootsy Baker played sax. One of the Heacox boys played tuba. The other one played the trap set, pretty good, too. I liked being in the dance band. Harris could play almost any band instrument and most of the stuff with strings, guitar, banjo, piano that stuff. He played in the dance band, tapping his left foot like he was stomping out a prairie fire.....

[William]

Walter, do you think that is available on Youtube someplace? I would love to see that movie.

Greg, somewhere I have a Dukes of Dixieland record. It's one of those special audio file ones. I should see if I can find it.

Bill

[TC Chris]

In high school band, we played a Glen Miller version of the St. Louis Blues, the "St. Louis Blues March." Here's a serious version by the St. Louis Symphony. I got a lump in my throat when it started playing; this was one of my favorite pieces in band. (OK, I have about 40 favorites from band).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxCa9flPyNc

Greg's post reminds us that we remember our teachers. My band teacher--marching and concert bands-- was Walter Cramer, a wonderful patient man who gave us music. I am wiping my eyes as I type this. The wonderful thing about maturity is getting choked up. I had the good fortune of actually saying "thank you" to him once, in a somewhat clumsy way.

My theory is that the people who matter in a democratic society are the teachers and the journalists. The rest of us may be useful but nowhere hear as important.

I liked that recording right away because the trombone was up in the mix. Guess who played trombone?

And as to the Dukes of Dixieland, their "Curtains Up!" album was one of the first LPs I ever bought after hearing it in the school cafeteria over lunch hour. It was so good that I went back and asked the cafeteria ladies what it was. (I remember that it was playing on a Garrard RC-88). They are probably a bit less sophisticated than Greg's album but still a favorite.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Loved it!

Bill