A History Of Blue Note Records: 1945

Art Hodes' Hot Five – October 12 1945

Screenland August 1947 Volume 51 Number 10

ART HODES HOT FIVE: Dixieland gets a stupendous shot in the arm and you in your lucky ear with the release of a new Blue Note album. For the first time on one record you get Sidney Bechet, ‘Wild Bill’ Davison, Art Hodes, ‘Pops’ Foster and Fred Moore. And the result is fireworks—six dynamic sides, each a masterpiece of hot jazz. Selections of tunes is superb—"Save It, Pretty Mama,” “Darktown Strutter’s Ball,” “Shine,” “Memphis Blues,” “St. James Infirmary,” and “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” all played in the inspired and passionate fashion that has made these guys Jazz greats. (Blue Note album 103)

Blue Note 103 Liner Notes

The importance of BLUE NOTE's present Album is considerably more than that of the merely excellent jazz music. The gifted performers who here comprise the Art Hodes' Hot Five have produced a unique Album because they have a lucid appreciation of the underlying values of that music, and are aware of the fact that they appear at the attenuated end of a musical era. They play passionately, but like good artists anywhere, they have a canny sense of perspective. The past of jazz provides their common vocabulary. The old expressive, communicative values that have survived three decades of commercialism are their rhetoric and metaphor. Their music, therefore, profoundly tradition as it is, implies an attitude of re-capitulation. Its ardor and directness of feeling suggest the culmination of a style, while, on the other hand, its new technical resources and formal modes suggest syntheses for future jazz creation.

This Album consists of six celebrated selections that have remained in use for a decade or more, and still persist as springboards for jazz improvisation. The Art Hodes' Hot Five introduces, besides Art Hodes at piano, "Wild Bill" Davison, cornet; Sidney Bechet, soprano saxophone and clarinet; George "Pops" Foster, bass; and Fred Moore, drums. Bechet plays clarinet on two record sides [SAVE IT PRETTY MAMA and WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS], Davison does not play the trumpet, but rather the old-fashioned cornet, with its particular elegant preciseness of tone.

The overall identifying emotion of each of the numbers here is given by the cornet-clarinet (or soprano sax) duet. Bechet plays with rending nostalgia, using an expression that requires an exhaustive dynamic range. Davison's expression is fulsome and eloquent, but finds its perfect mold in the sheer melodic line that he creates. However, Bechet and Davison together play with a deeply-felt rapport, ever appropriating elements of each other's styles. The basic duet begins and consummates a number, and generally pervades it. The duet takes multiple outward forms, ranging from simple note-for-note harmony to the simultaneous playing of melody and countermelody by each instrument in almost unnoticeable alterations.

The scope and quality of the accompanying six numbers may be only briefly summarised. SAVE IT PRETTY MAMA, is straightforward and consise. Cornet and clarinet begin at once together, and although the clarinet has a solo later, the cornet never sounds alone. An expressive piano solo, heightened by equally expressive drums and bass employs a tremolo figure - a poignant use of this old device - from which issue two brief, lively melodies in the bass and treble respectively.

Two choruses of galvanic teamwork by cornet and soprano saxophone begin DARKTOWN STRUTTERS' BALL. A "break" motif that launches the saxophone solo anticipates the markedly rhythmic version of the melody in this and in the subsequent cornet solo. This record side is distinguished by its sustained melodic interpretations and its rippling, ambulatory rhythm and seems to recall an old tradition of playing that is no longer frequently heard.

SHINE is here played fast with steadily mounting intensity and emotion. Strong rhythm is a prominent feature as well as terse, highly-charged interspersed solos. The cornet provides a violent climactic chorus over a provocative, prodding soprano saxophone.

MEMPHIS BLUES, long associated with W.C. Handy, has an opening cornet-soprano sax duet that is unusual among these sides. A soprano sax solo in Bechet's best "dirty" style is outstanding, as also is a piano solo with that characteristic tremolo figure, this time in a boogie woogie context.

ST. JAMES INFIRMARY has novel elements, not least among which is a vocal section by Fred Moore, the drummer. This is sung in a king of speech that is Northern-urban and shrewdly knowing. One vocal chorus has a disarmingly piano obligato: the two other choruses have low-pitched soprano sax and cornet obligato producing sharp, restrained commentary. The instrumental duets that follow are duets in the best sense of the word, since there is no definable melody except in terms of both instruments playing at once. Although the melodic intervals are large, a nice effect is secured by cornet and soprano sax playing in very close, audicious harmony.

Finally, in WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS, a peculiar drum beat dominates most of the record, displacing the usual upbeat with a quantitative implied stroke. This movement largely determines the number's melodic structure.

There are no lesser works in this Album. In their equal forcefulness, they are masterpieces of hot jazz.

MAX MARGULIS

Seventeen September 1947 Volume 6

Ari Hodes' Hot Five (Blue Note) This fine hot jazz album features the great Sidney Bechet on soprano ax
and clarinet, "Wild Bill" Davison on the cornet, Fred Moore, drums, Pops Foster, bass, and Art himself on piano. Each of the jazz classics follows a similar pattern: the cornet and clarinet lead into the melody, then the rhythm picks up. Shine burns the needle up. It has a very fast tempo, the instruments work all around the theme and gradually speed up with a driving beat, as the sax and cornet each holds its own. Memphis Blues features a beautiful soprano sax solo by Bechet, and some extra-special piano. There's even a touch of boogie thrown in the band finishes the set. St. James Infirmary, the mournful blues, has a vocal by Fred Moore which is definitely not sad. Even if you think you're through with jazz, try this. It's timeless.

Dan Morgenstern – Hot Jazz at Blue Note CD Liner Notes

Shine is a politically incorrect song concocted in 1924 by three African-American songwriters. Lyrics aside, Ford Dabney's melody is good for blowing, as both Louis Armstrong (1930) and Stan Getz (1955) have notably shown. Wild Bill and Bechet take it about as fast as this rhythm section can handle, and just steamroller it. It's interesting how Art finds a way to handle the tempo; then Wild Bill mows 'em down and Sidney jumps in with both feet. The esthetics of this sort of performance are not far removed
from some of Jazz at the Philharmonic or Big Jay McNeely!

Photo by Francis Wolff

Sidney Bechet 1998 CD Issue Liner Notes

Responsibility for Sidney Bechet, Wild Bill Davison and Art Hodes coming together for these sessions is shared among several people. In 1938, John Hammond presented Sidney Bechet, among others, at Carnegie Hall, where Alfred Lion heard him. Among the performers at the Hammond concert were Meade "Lux" Lewis and Albert Ammons, and a few days later, Lion recorded them. The results were good enough to sell, and the sides initiated the Blue Note label. Lion promptly recorded Sidney Bechet as well (Blue Note 6). Nick Rongetti liked post-Chicago jazz and featured it at Nick's to the exclusion of all other varieties of jazz. Bechet and Davison both played at Nick's and they may have played together there or at jam sessions organized by Nick's guitarist and talent scout, Eddie Condon, or by Milt Gabler (of Commodore Records). They first recorded together for Blue Note on an Art Hodes session in October 1945, when Davison was featured in quartet, then playing at the Village Vanguard.

Leonard Feather - BLP 1203 Liner Notes

All six tunes on Side 1 are the products of an eminently successful session made under the direction of Art Hodes, with Bechet switching to clarinet on Save It Pretty Mama and Way Down Yonder. The very slow and funereal St. James Infirmary, with its semi-comedy vocal by Freddy Moore, was a Louis Armstrong record item in 1928. Memphis Blues, W. C. Handy's first song hit, goes back almost a half-century, having originated as an election song for Boss Crump. Aided by Art's sensitive piano and Pops Foster's powerful slap-style bass, Bechet and Davison were ostensibly so stimulated by each other on their first joint session that their soaring spirits are reflected in truly rousing performances. The even level of excellence of the six selections can be fully appreciated now that they can be heard uninterruptedly on one LP side.

The Record Changer August 1947

Art Hodes’ Hot Five

The "Hot Five" consists of Hodes (piano), Sidney Bechet (clarinet and soprano sax), Wild Bill Davison (cornet), Pops Foster (bass), Fred Moore (drums). It was a fine idea, choosing six jazz standards including the pleasant Memphis Blues, and placing them in the hands of musicians who are among the best of those now based in New York. I get from these sides, however, a program of tension just the other way around from that produced in "South Side Shake." The Hodes' Hot Five does its best at the beginning. After the first or second chords the music becomes crowded or indifferent and there are no surprises left. In Shine, taken at an exceedingly fleet tempo, the initial thematic duet between Davison and Bechet is a lovely instance of collaboration. Hodes' solo, which follows, lacks ideas—as do most piano solos taken at this speed—but it is normally rhythmic and sustaining. After that is heard a succession of Bechet and Davison displays with Sidney rolling up and down in his roller-coaster style and Davison pushing himself off-pitch on occasion. The final chorus is evidence that partnership has been dissolved under the demands of tempo. I believe the key to the failure of this album can be found in the words "featuring Bechet and Davison" which appear on the labels. Both soloists have done remarkable virtuoso work in the past, Bechet on any number of records, Davison notably on the Commodore Confessin'. Perhaps it seemed wise to join their virtuosity. But the "feature" or the "virtuoso" performance is alien to the forms of jazz and cannot be made the basis for development as the Hodes' Hot Five attempts. This attempt further establishes the reason for the split that exists between the excellent rhythm section and the equally excellent melodic team. The Blue Note surfaces are very raw.

The Complete Art Hodes Blue Note Sessions Mosaic

The great Sidney Bechet, for whom Hodes had appeared twice previously in a sideman s role, now returns the compliment. playing for Art. It might well have been the pianist's idea to team Bechet with the redoubtable Wild Bill Davison, a match that would lead to three more Blue Note sessions for these two, and many gigs. Wild Bill (Wobble to his friends) plays such a potent, driving horn that Bechet doesn't compete with him and seems to enjoy playing a second part to Bill's straight-forward, swinging lead. He even uses his clarinet extensively on this session—a sign that he was in a mellow mood.

SAVE IT PRETTY MAMA is a good Don Redman tune, introduced by Louis Armstrong. The combination of Bill's punchy guttural lead. Bechet's woodsy clarinet. and Art's tremolos creates a nice knobby texture. Pops Foster and Freddie Moore have a compatible conception of where the beat is and plenty of energy. Art keeps that rolling feel going in his solo. Sid starts down low. growls a little, tongues up to the higher notes. and plays around the melody (a sign that he liked it). In the closing ensemble. he curls around the cornet's thrust. This little band swings.

WAY DOWN YONDER NEW ORLEANS is an indestructible tune that has been treated to immortal performances (Bix and Tram. Pres and the Kansas City Six). This one may not be on that exalted plane, but it will do very nicely, thank you. The ensemble is clean. neatly launched by Art's jolly introduction. and well supported by Pops' velocity and Freddie's steady press roll (a lost art, that). Bechet doesn't hesitate, moving his solo right out of the starting gate. It's a good one (clarinet again). and Davison gets off a typical chorus, playing things that would sound corny coming from others, but seem perfectly fitting from him. In between, Art plays a special solo, rolling on in. doing his personal version of stride, and winding up with some usual [or his generation of pianists. His time is damn good, as always. Bill adds some of his patented smears in the finale, Sidney picks up his soprano on MEMPHIS BLUES, which has an arranged intro for the horns. Foster's terrific here, propelling the beat as only he can. Simple stuff, perhaps, but what a punch! The soprano adapts well to the cornet's lead, and there's density to this ensemble texture, a very lowdown chorus from Art along the way. and then the hornmen just keep going on the tune's third strain. riding all the way.

SHINE'S very fast, the band hitting all four from the start. Sidney is again on soprano. At this clip, Art just bounces along on a skeletal outline of the melody. while Bill's phrases are rudimentary Armstrong. Bechet sounds joyous; he loved speed. The two closing ensemble choruses find him really digging in. ST. JAMES INFIRMARY offers Moore's comic singing—an acquired taste—but one can focus on Bechet's accompaniment without fear of missing anything significant. Bill takes one of his rare muted solos, followed by Sidney in a stern mood. The legato finish to the ensemble is a surprise.

Two takes of DARKTOWN STRUTTERS' BALL conclude this excellent session. Sid stays on soprano tar the first, and the two ensemble choruses rock along at a nice clip, the second the soprano now assumes the dominant role, though Bill states the melody that would normally function as the lead. Arranged riffs launch the soprano solo, which leaves one wanting another chorus. Bill enters prematurely and then seems a bit embarrassed. Art takes a gentle chorus, and then the protagonists come back for one apiece, Bill livelier this time. For the second try, Bechet picks up his clarinet; the opening is not together, but dig that Sidney! Bill's better, Art does his roll, Pops picks up on it, and they go out duetting. The rhythm section has a lighter feel on this take, appropriate for the clarinet. Sid hits a slight clinker in this second solo, but such things never bothered him. Cornet is nice and loose on his solo return, and his ensemble lead is better here. So is the ending.

The Complete Blue Note Sessions of Sidney Bechet Mosaic

Presumably all the jazz here is in a sense "traditional," yet on turning to the next session, under Hodes' name, we find something utterly different from the foregoing, and the point is underlined if we compare the first item, SAVE IT, PRETTY MAMA, as played here with Bechet's 1940 Victor performance with Stewart and Hines. This is also the first of four dates with Davison, as maligned a figure as Johnson has been a misunderstood one. In reality his simple basic virtues provide an apt foil to Bechet's infinite resource, and they are heightened, in these performances and elsewhere, with a biting attack, a wide, fast terminal vibrato and a diversity of growls and rasps used even at slow tempo. Davidson's work has immediacy, an abruptness, that suits this music very well, as is demonstrated by the opening and closing ensembles of SAVE IT, PRETTY MAMA, where cornet and clarinet interlock excellently. Bechet stays closer to the original tune than usual in his solo, and this in fact is an especially melodious performance.

Lucid ensembles are a feature of this session, as WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS indicates, and there is a beautifully shaped clarinet solo here, form and content being exactly matched. Davidson's solo is extravagant in gesture yet precise in effect. For MEMPHIS BLUES Bechet shifts to soprano saxophone and contributes good counterpoint to the cornet lead in opening and closing ensembles. Davidson's angularity and violent syncopations—his "wildness' '—splendidly complement the reed instrument's impeturbable melodic flow.

At the fast pace adopted for SHINE the rhythm section is less heavy then hitherto, although this increase of speed is unhelpful to Hodes. Davidson's solo may be described as an imaginative misreading of the melody, but Bechet can think of enough tunes of his own and admits allegiance only to the simple chord sequence. His last vocal accompaniment in this set, this time on soprano saxophone, occurs in ST. JAMES INFIRMARY and he goes on to a solo that effaces all memory of Moore's singing. Perhaps the secret of the success of the cornet and clarinet or saxophone duets here is that Davidson plays variations on the melody while Bechet invents entirely new ones on the chords. A point of interest of the two versions of DARKTOWN STRUTTERS' BALL is that we find our hero playing it first on soprano saxophone and then clarinet. Yet we have heard enough by now to realize that there is no basic change in the ensemble tactics when he goes from one instrument to the other, so the previously unissued clarinet performance cannot claim revelatory status. On the familiar take, with soprano saxophone, Bechet's new melody is the lead while the original tune is treated by Davison as the secondary part. Each of them takes two stinging solos. In the clarinet version the cornettist offers a more oblique reading of the theme and both he and Bechet are more restrained in their solos.