"Artie Shaw's Pied Piper,"

At JazzWax, "Artie Shaw's Pied Piper," a rare 1946 album that I found as a free download https://t.co/eEuU5K8wNt pic.twitter.com/pSAkDJ4o9r

— Marc Myers (@JazzWax) 23 de novembro de 2016

"Artie Shaw's Pied Piper,"

At JazzWax, "Artie Shaw's Pied Piper," a rare 1946 album that I found as a free download https://t.co/eEuU5K8wNt pic.twitter.com/pSAkDJ4o9r

— Marc Myers (@JazzWax) 23 de novembro de 2016

Artie Shaw: Rhythm Makers

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
 

If you want to know what America was like at different points in time, listen to the music. While sheet music and recordings are hardly perfect reflections of our culture—demographic and regional tastes are never unified nor do they shift in lockstep—music can offer compelling clues. After all, music's primary purpose is to appeal to listeners—challenging artists to nibble around the edges to find the soft spots while remaining true to their aesthetic.

In the years leading up to America's entry into World War II in December 1941, much of the world was already at war or on the brink. These mounting tensions weren't lost on American anxieties, which had already been stretched thin by World War I and a grueling Depression. [Photo above of Armistice Day 1937 in New York by Irwin Shaw]

Despite a series of Neutrality Acts passed by Congress in the 1930s, the national pulse was racing in anticipation of the inevitable. Nazi Germany occupied the Rhineland in 1937 and invaded Austria in 1938. Fascist Italy was tearing around Africa. And Japan was at war in China. [Pictured above: New York's Roxy Theater in 1937]

Growing fear over global events that America couldn't stop or control was the Swing Era's backdrop. With rising nationalism and militarization in the 1930s as well as rising ethnic hatred in Europe and Asia, the music here grew both hot and sweet. [Photo above of New York's Fifth Ave. in 1938 by Irwin Shaw]

Among the bands that neatly reflected the uncertainty and quest for calm was Artie Shaw's Rhythm Makers. The band recorded between March 1937 and February 1938 and is perhaps Shaw's finest orchestra. This band escapes many Shaw fans, who tend to begin their listening with the July '38 recording of Begin the Beguine. But to Shavian purists, the Rhythm Makers band has a charm and appeal all its own.

For one, the band maintained a smart, chunky Fox Trot beat throughout this period, which still keeps your feet tapping reflexively. For another, Shaw's clarinet had a measured, modern sound even then—swinging in and out of the day's melodies as if trying to settle the band's agitation. And lastly, most of the arranging was handled by Shaw and Jerry Gray, one of the swing era's finest and most overlooked penmen.

Virtually every track recorded by Shaw's Rhythm Makers opens large, with reeds taking the melodic lead and horns providing hip counterpoint. Typically, Shaw sauntered into the mix for a bit before an over-rendered vocal by Peg LaCentra, Nita Bradley or Bea Wain. Then Shaw came sailing back in, swinging gracefully with that ice-blue clarinet in the upper register. It's perfection.

To fully understand Shaw on and off the bandstand, this orchestra is as good a place as any to begin your analysis. Shaw's life-long restlessness and think-big reach seem to stem from this band's gripping sound and high standards.

I don't know how Shaw felt about the Rhythm Makers, but after giving all of the recordings an intensive listen, I'd bet that in Shaw's mind it was all downhill after this band. I don't think Shaw was ever able to duplicate the band's skin-tight quality. From rhythm section to reeds and trumpets, the orchestra provided Shaw with just the right level of tension and stretched elasticity, allowing him to  bounce around on his clarinet. [Pictured above: Artie Shaw and Jerry Gray]

When Shaw folded and started a succession of bands in search of new sounds in the '40s, I suspect this is the sound and feel he was trying to recapture. A band wound so tight that clarinet notes would spring off the surface when dropped.

By 1941, America's pastoral days were ending. The cities—with their ports and communication centers—were becoming cerebral, rational hubs,  replacing the heart found in the farmlands, the hollows and the hills. But in 1937 and the first part of '38, Shaw's band was a metro ensemble that was still in awe of America's innocent soul. [Pictured above: Port of Los Angeles in February 1942]

Three weeks after Pearl Harbor, Shaw enlisted in the Navy and when he returned after the war, Shaw and his bands took on a new purpose and role. But for a brief 12-month period in 1937 and early '38, Shaw was in an enviable groove and would spend the rest of his musical career trying to recapture that illusive something special. Fortunately for us that sound is all here.

JazzWax tracks: The only set available on this band comes from the U.K. It's Artie Shaw: The Complete Rhythm Makers Sessions 1937-1938—three double-CD sets from Flyright Records in 2003, with liner notes by John McDonough. The sound is terrific. You'll find them here, here andhere.

JazzWax clips: Here are three tracks that say it all... 

Beginner's Luck

Have You Met Miss Jones?

The Folks Who Live On The Hill

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Artie Shaw: 'Second Chorus'

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Artie Shaw hated movie studios. As early as the late 1930s, he detested the way studio bosses abused stars and the seemingly inane demands they made on actors, writers and musicians. He also found that the hours spent waiting around studios between filming takes was a waste of time, and he abhorred how the studios sucked the independence out of anyone with talent.

Shaw first appeared in a short in 1932 called The Yacht Party as an uncredited orchestra member. He made three shorts with his band in 1939 and recorded the soundtrack toThe Dancing Co-Ed that same year.

By then, Shaw was at the height of his popularity, turning out hit after hit. At one point in 1939, thanks to successful radio shows and a lucrative recording contract, Shaw was earning $60,000 a week (close to $1 million in today's dollars)—a staggering figure in the Depression, even for Hollywood. 

In the autumn of 1940, Shaw broke his own rule and made his first and only feature-length movie—Second Chorus. Though the film resulted in two Oscar nominations for Shaw—one for Best Score and one for Best Song ("Love of My Life")—by the end of filming he vowed never to repeat the experience. And he didn't.

Here's Artie Shaw, in Tom Nolan's Three Chords for Beauty's Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw:

"I took that picture on the proviso that I would be able to rewrite any language they put in my mouth; I'm playing 'Artie Shaw' again, in a fictional situation. So, you know, I was working with people I knew. We were supposed to have John Garfield, and it was gonna be a serious story about a young trumpet player.

"Anyway—Boris Morros, the producer, didn't get along with Jack Warner, and Jack Warner rescinded his deal to lend us Garfield. So we didn't have a star!

"So uh—our friend Borris Morros, comes over to the Chateau Marmont, where we were working—says I got astaah!' We say, 'Who you got?' 'Fred Astaire.' I said, 'Wait a minute! This is a serious story about a trumpet player!' 'So you'll change the story.' Well, at that point—that's the last movie I ever did, the last movie I ever would do."

Here's the entire film. Interestingly, Shaw had virtually no on-camera chemistry, and his acting ability was wooden at best. It's also probably Astaire's worst film. The music, however, was a different matter. Thanks to Greg Lee for reminding me of the film:

Used with permission by Marc Myers

100 Years Of Jazz Clarinetist Artie Shaw

John Pratt/Stringer/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On the upcoming 100th anniversary of Artie Shaw's birth, Fresh Air remembers one of jazz's greatest clarinetists and big-band leaders with excerpts from a 1985 interview.

The legendary jazz bandleader began his career playing with dance bands when he was still a teenager. Growing contemptuous of the bands' crowd-pleasing antics and trite music, he organized his own big band in 1938. Shaw rejected many of the pop tunes that had become dance-band staples and instead created his repertoire from originals and songs by composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin.

In the 1930s and '40s, the Artie Shaw Orchestra ranked with the Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller bands in terms of popularity. In 1938, at its first recording session, the band made one of Shaw's most popular recordings, a song by Cole Porter called "Begin the Beguine."

Shaw said that he wasn't quite sure why "Begin the Beguine," from Porter's flop musical Jubilee, achieved the lasting popularity that it did.

"I've played it probably thousands of times," Shaw told Terry Gross in a 1985 interview. "It got to the point where — it's fine to have a hit record, it pays rent — but it can drive you crazy, like an actor playing the same part. You know, a lot of actors don't mind that, but it can drive you nuts. And I got tired of that. I don't like being stereotyped. So I made maybe 500 records — why 'Begin the Beguine'? All right, it's a good piece, a good arrangement. But my god, I don't want to be characterized as only 'Begin the Beguine.' You'd think it was all I ever did."

Shaw's early huge success also brought unexpected torments. He temporarily left music altogether in 1949, frustrated with a performing career that he figured depended on "90 percent business and 10 percent art." He made one of his returns to music in 1953, to lead a small group called the Gramercy Five, which featured the unusual combination of clarinet, harpsichord, electric guitar, bass and drums. Shaw disbanded the group after a year, began a 30-year retirement from music and permanently gave up playing clarinet.

After writing two books and becoming a film producer, Shaw once again returned to music in 1980 to organize a new big band. He chose Dick Johnson to play the solo clarinet parts and front the band. The new group played some of the Shaw Band's most popular arrangements, including "Black Bay Shuffle," "Stardust" and, of course, "Begin the Beguine."

Artie Shaw died on Dec. 30, 2004. He was 94.
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Interview Highlights

On Picking 'Begin The Beguine' To Record
"I happened to get to the [Jubilee] theater on Friday and the show closed Saturday. And I heard that tune, and it was done in a kind of Latin beat, and I liked the melody. It was a hell of a good song. It still is. And [it was a] very big departure from most popular songs of those days, which were 8-8 bridge or 8-8 bridge and 8-8 or 1-2 1-2. So I heard the tune and I came back and I was looking for an identity for the band. And we were looking for good songs from sophisticated songwriters, so I said to Jerry Gray, 'Let's do "Begin the Beguine." '"

On Quitting The Music Business
"I really quit the big-band business in 1949. That was the last time I stood in front of a big band. I had a really great band in 1949 — one of the finest bands I've ever led. The musicians, man for man, the arrangements, everything. I had the best arrangers in the world writing for me. And everybody liked it but the people, as the gag goes.

The audience couldn't understand what we were doing. We were totally out of their comprehension entirely, and of course, I knew that but I hoped that since I was going to have to stand in front of a band anyway, I might as well have one that wouldn't bore me to tears. Well, it so happened that my musical sensibilities had evolved to a point at that time where in order to please myself, without realizing it, I was not only displeasing but antagonizing my audiences, who wanted me to keep going back and playing standard brands. So in '49, I broke that band up.

And I never was going to come back again. Then, in '54, I got into some financial trouble, and I needed some money. So I put together the Gramercy Five, figuring at least I could play for smaller audiences who would maybe not be more discriminating, but they would certainly allow more to happen — jazz clubs. And I did that. But I found that the more I did it, more and more people thought this was music to converse by.

You get into a nightclub; people come in and they get fractured out of their skulls and they start shouting over the music. So then we have to play louder to get over them, and then they get louder to be heard and it's an endless competition. So I got tired of it. You're in business to play music, not to fight."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126972706

Artie: 'Should Be Greatest Dance Combo Ever Assembled'

by DownBeat Archives — 9/1/1941

New York--Artie Shaw isn't kidding. The band he has been rehearsing here since August 15 is made up of a million dollars worth of talent and once it gets under way, playing theaters and jazz concerts throughout the eastern section of the nation, it should shape up as the greatest dance combination ever assembled.
When Artie sent out a call to his old sidekicks, asking them to return and be cogs in his latest orchestral venture, not a single man brushed off his invitation. Les Robinson quit Willy Bradley. George Auld refused to accept big-money offers from others, and went without work six weeks until Shaw's rehearsals got under way. Lee Castaldo quit Bradley, too. And, Eddie McKinney toted his big bull-fiddle right off Tony Pastor's bandstand and into Artie's room. "Lips" Page, abandoned hopes to get his own jazz band clicking and made a beeline to Shaw's initial rehearsal. Mike Bryan fluffed Bob Chester to strum a guitar, even taking lessons to brush up on the electric box which Shaw frequently likes to feature.

Musicians never before heeded a leader's call as these men heeded Shaw's. Trombonist Ray Conniff junked his own band in preference to holding down a chair in the Shaw unit.

Artie Works All Day!

Artie appears eager to get back in the game with a great band. During his recent rehearsals it has been a common sight to find him busy with the string section as early as 10 a.m. Along about 6 p.m., some eight hours later, he's still up there at Nola's working with the saxes, or brass.

"We hope it will be the finest outfit yet," Shaw told Down Beat. "The job ahead of us is tough and is going to take a hell of a lot of work on the part of every man. But I think we'll have something a little out of the ordinary to offer.

"The band is shaping up wonderfully so far," he said. "We'll be better able to tell exactly what goes, and which men will be permanently set, a little later, after the kinks are ironed out."

Shoots No Death Rays

When Artie asks for something, he gets it. The guys who blow the horns like his way of doing things, his musicianship, and his ideas. Watching him rehearse is a revelation. Shaw gets discipline without ever asking for it; without flashing a "death ray" at the sidemen.

Artie will be in action with his new crew very soon, playing theaters (at a reported price of $10,000 cash a week) and later, going on tour for his concerts. For the latter engagements he will augment his band about 20 pieces, bringing the full personnel up to about the 50 mark.

Victor Record Date, Too

Lips" Page was set for a trumpet chair with Shaw although there was talk, which no one could verify, that Henry (Red) Allen, Jr., also would be hired. Allen's band has had no work since leaving a Greenwich Village nitery Aug. 6.

Shaw will soon record six sides for Victor with his all-star group.

Dave Tough quit his drum-pounding assignment with Joe Marsala and joined Shaw. One of the best-liked rhythm masters in the business, Tough is making his debut as a tub-beater with Artie, most of his other big-band experience coming from Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.
To Stress U.S. Music
Artie will put much "new American music" in his books, including jazz arrangements of the blues and compositions by known and unknown American songwriters. It is his greatest ambition to make the public aware and appreciative of native music rather than European and Asiatic art which for years has been crammed down its throat. Music by Ellington, Handy, William Grant Still and other colored composers as well as the better music from the pens of Kern, Gershwin, Vernon Duke, Rodgers and Hart, De Rose and other top-notch writers will be emphasized by Artie as he swings around the nation on his first tour since he junked his other dance crew in November, 1939.
http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=stories&subsect=story_detail&sid=33