48 - Of The Best - 48 by Rhythmic Eight

Rhythmic Eight

48 - Of The Best - 48

Format: CD
Label: Retrieval
UPC: 0608917905922
Catnr: RTR 79059
Release date: 02 October 2009
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Label
Retrieval

UPC
0608917905922

Catalogue number
RTR 79059

Release date
02 October 2009

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

The Rhythmic Eight's leader Bert Firman was commercially minded enough not to wander too far into uncharted territory: his small band would be indubitably hot, but it would still acquiesce to the needs of those who bought records for the simple pleasure of listening or dancing to the latest popular songs. I

Most of the tenor sax and clarinet solos from mid-1928 up to mid-1929 were taken by Johnny Helfer, who, like Sylvester Ahola and Perley Breed, hailed from Massachusetts. Ahola recalled that the New England sidemen had a style that differed from their New York compatriots; in particular, they were concerned with developing a distinctively smooth embouchure. An interesting aspect is that the band never employed the services of a trombonist.
The solos bounce along merrily above a rhythm that is light and uplifting – unusually so for British recordings of the time – and the obvious empathy between the musicians is warm and welcoming. In the imprecise nomenclature of jazz, the style of the band falls into the "hot dance music" category; there are elements of the "chamber jazz" genre typified by Red Nichols and his Five Pennies, and there are also hints of the Frank Trumbauer recordings featuring Bix Beiderbecke, but these aspects do not fully account for the overall structure and approach of the band.

The jazz solos that are so much a feature of the Rhythmic Eight's recordings. We find Arthur Lally, a superb musician whose baritone and bass sax solos have, in the past, been mistaken for the work of Adrian Rollini. Lally was certainly influenced by Rollini, who, as a member of Fred Elizalde's Savoy Hotel band, was yet another American visitor to London in the late 1920s. Tellingly, before the arrival of Rollini, Lally's baritone solos on Firman recordings were rather staccato, but after Rollini's arrival they became more relaxed and legato in style. Lally also contributes some fine alto sax solos on a number of Rhythmic Eight sides: notable examples are to be found in Don't Be Like That, My Troubles Are Over, I Faw Down And Go "Boom!" and Umtcha Umtcha Da Da Da. In addition, Lally sings – though "talks" might be a more apposite description – the second chorus of This Is The Way The Puff-Puff Goes (Johnny Helfer "sings" the first chorus). Who else but the Rhythmic Eight could turn such a trite comedy tune as this into a polished gem?

More often than not, standard stock arrangements were used by the band; when special arrangements were occasionally commissioned they were usually penned by Arthur Lally. Examples of Lally's excellent scores include Don't be Like That, Shout Hallelujah! 'Cause I'm Home and I Faw Down And Go "Boom!". Even the stock arrangements were often quite heavily re-worked, especially as Lally encouraged his colleagues to add their own ideas.

By the Spring of 1930, the sound of the Rhythmic Eight began to change perceptively. Following the economic slump that hit Great Britain in the early 1930s, there was a general shift towards more straightforward and sentimental renditions of dance numbers, and a consequent move away from the interpolation of jazz solos. In addition, Sylvester Ahola, the Rhythmic Eight's most important soloist, was effectively stymied in early 1930 by a group of British trumpet players (headed by Max Goldberg), who complained through the Musicians' Union that Ahola was a foreigner taking their work.

By 1931, the Rhythmic Eight was virtually indistinguishable from the myriad of other recording studio outfits that turned out the latest dance hits, with the number of hot solos having decreased markedly. The band's last recording session took place in September 1932. Luckily, through these rare Zonophone recordings, we are able to enjoy the Rhythmic Eight at its peak, playing small band jazz – or hot dance music, if you prefer! – of the highest order.

Der britische Bandleader Bert Firman nannte seine kleinen Formationen, die in der Regel eine Mischung von amerikanischen und britischen Musikern waren, 'Rhythmic Eight'. F�r das Label 'Zonophone' (dessen musikalischer Leiter er auch war) entstanden zwischen 1927 und 1932 mehrere hundert Aufnahmen.

Artist(s)

Rhythmic Eight

Danny Polo (saxophone)

Danny Polo was one of the best swing clarinetists. Born in 1901, he inherited the clarinet talent from his father, and played this (alongside sax and guitar) in the Majestic Band (a local marching band) when he was eight. As a teenager he formed a novelty duo with pianist Claude Thornhill. Polo worked with Elmer Schoebel in 1923 and shortly after with Merritt Brunies, had gigs with Arnold Johnson , Ben Bernie and Jean Goldkette in 1926). In 1927 Danny went to Europe, playing with Ambrose in London on and off between 1930-35. He returned to the U.S. late 1935, but came back to Britain three years later, working again with Ambrose and in Paris with Ray Ventura's Orchestra. He definitively returned to the States in 1939. Polo worked with Joe Sullivan, Jack Teagarden (1940-42 including the soundtrack of the Bing Crosby film "Birth Of The Blues") and Claude Thornhill's Orchestra. When the latter was drafted, Polo led his own bands in the Midwest, rejoining Thornhill in 1947 for some of his finest recordings. Then he unexpectedly fell ill and died in 1949. He had appeared as a sideman on many recording sessions with European bands and with Thornhill, where his cool-toned clarinet gained the admiration of Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan. This cd contains the recording sessions he led of his own in London and Paris in 1937-39.

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Sylvester Ahola (trumpet)

Sylvester 'Hooley' Ahola was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on 24th May 1902, of Finnish immigrants. He began drumming at the age of six, switching later to cornet. He played professionally in various New England bands, before joining Paul Specht's outfit in New York in late 1925. In April 1926, the Specht band journeyed to London for a two-month engagement at the Royal Palace Hotel in Kensington. London made such a profound impression on the young trumpeter that he vowed to return if the opportunity arose. Hooley left Specht's outfit in February 1927, then worked in several other well-known New England and New York bands, most notably the California Ramblers, which included Adrian Rollini on bass sax. In September 1927, Ahola joined...

Sylvester "Hooley" Ahola was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on 24th May 1902, of Finnish immigrants. He began drumming at the age of six, switching later to cornet. He played professionally in various New England bands, before joining Paul Specht's outfit in New York in late 1925. In April 1926, the Specht band journeyed to London for a two-month engagement at the Royal Palace Hotel in Kensington. London made such a profound impression on the young trumpeter that he vowed to return if the opportunity arose. Hooley left Specht's outfit in February 1927, then worked in several other well-known New England and New York bands, most notably the California Ramblers, which included Adrian Rollini on bass sax.
In September 1927, Ahola joined the band Rollini assembled for the Club New Yorker, which featured some of the best white jazz musicians of the time, including Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer from Jean Goldkette's band, which had recently split up. Although he only worked alongside Bix for a few weeks, until the club shut down due to poor business, the legendary cornetist exerted a long-lasting influence on Ahola, as many of the recordings he made in Britain testify.
While in New York with Cass Hagan's band, Ahola learned that Reggie Batten, a bandleader from the Savoy Hotel, was in New York looking for a first trumpet player. Such was Hooley's reputation that Batten signed him up straight away without even auditioning him, and Hooley and his wife Saima voyaged to England in mid-December 1927. Initially, he held the first trumpet chair in the New Savoy Orpheans, transferring to Ambrose and his Orchestra at the May Fair Hotel in October 1928, where he stayed until he returned to the USA in September 1931.
The third member of the "front line" for the first couple of sessions was another New Englander, Johnny Helfer, who played clarinet and tenor sax but about whom little else is known. He may have been recruited by Howard Jacobs, because both hailed from Boston, Massachusetts, and when the latter returned from the States in early 1927, Helfer appeared with him in the line-up of the Sylvians at the Berkeley Hotel. Helfer, like Ahola and Lally, was also part of the Firman stable at Zonophone, and also participated in New Mayfair Dance Orchestra recordings under Carroll Gibbons' and then Ray Noble's direction between 1928 and 1930.

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Barney Sorkin (bass)

Perley Breed (vocals)

Some of Perley Breed's best work in an all-too-short career (he died in the 1930s as a result of alcoholism) was recorded while he was with the Rhythmic Eight.

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Frank Guarante (trombone)

At the end of 1927, Guarente left England with the Savoy Orpheans to tour Europe yet again. His place in the Rhythmic Eight was taken by fellow American Sylvester 'Hooley' Ahola, whose technical skill as a lead trumpet player, combined with great ability as a jazz soloist, was ideal for a band that relied on versatility. Sylvester Ahola retained a great deal of respect for Breed's work and stated that, in other circumstances, Breed could have become one of the most eminent saxophonists in the world.

At the end of 1927, Guarente left England with the Savoy Orpheans to tour Europe yet again. His place in the Rhythmic Eight was taken by fellow American Sylvester "Hooley" Ahola, whose technical skill as a lead trumpet player, combined with great ability as a jazz soloist, was ideal for a band that relied on versatility. Sylvester Ahola retained a great deal of respect for Breed's work and stated that, in other circumstances, Breed could have become one of the most eminent saxophonists in the world.

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Johnny Helfer (clarinet)

Max Goldberg (trumpet)

Arthur Lally

Arthur Vincent Lally was born in Seaforth, just outside Liverpool, in December 1900, the oldest of six children. His father James taught young Arthur to play the cornet; he switched to trombone before his teens, and by 1914 he was also proficient on trumpet, piano, violin and clarinet, and in demand to play for brass bands and orchestras. During World War One, he worked as a steward on the ocean liners, and purchased his first saxophone whilst on shore leave in America. Once home, he played in a Liverpool dance band, before moving to London, in company with bandleader Fred Spinelly. There he joined the New Columbians, appearing at the Hammersmith Palais de Danse and Rector's Club in Tottenham Court Road,...

Arthur Vincent Lally was born in Seaforth, just outside Liverpool, in December 1900, the oldest of six children. His father James taught young Arthur to play the cornet; he switched to trombone before his teens, and by 1914 he was also proficient on trumpet, piano, violin and clarinet, and in demand to play for brass bands and orchestras. During World War One, he worked as a steward on the ocean liners, and purchased his first saxophone whilst on shore leave in America.
Once home, he played in a Liverpool dance band, before moving to London, in company with bandleader Fred Spinelly. There he joined the New Columbians, appearing at the Hammersmith Palais de Danse and Rector's Club in Tottenham Court Road, where the Original Dixieland Jazz Band had introduced jazz to Londoners just a few years before. This was followed by a stint with John Birmingham, who was the resident bandleader at the Hotel Cecil prior to Jack Payne's arrival in February 1924. Lally then moved on to Ciro's Club where he played in violinist Jean Lensen's band.
In mid-1926, Lally stepped up in the London dance band scene, joining the famous Savoy Orpheans at the Savoy Hotel, where he playing alongside Herb Finney, an American whose hot alto sax playing was an early influence. Lally remained with the Orpheans until the Spring of 1927, when he joined the band at the Devonshire Restaurant, directed by Bert Firman. Firman was also the Musical Director of Zonophone records, HMV's cheaper sister label, and as a result Lally started recording extensively with the Zonophone house band around this time. In fact, throughout this period, Lally was in constant demand for recording sessions - an article in the Melody Maker claimed that he "....has recorded for nearly every gramophone company in England". Even allowing for journalistic hyperbole, this was no great exaggeration.
In September 1928, Ambrose recruited Arthur Lally to replace American saxophonist Perley Breed, who had returned home. Ambrose was then resident at the exclusive May Fair Hotel in Berkeley Street, and membership of his orchestra was regarded within the profession as the pinnacle of success. Lally must have impressed Ambrose because, at the end of April 1929, he was appointed leader of Ambrose's subsidiary group The Blue Lyres, which had a long residency at the Dorchester Hotel.
Just under two months later, Lally was also leading the new Decca studio group featured on this CD. As discographer Brian Rust notes in Jazz and Ragtime Records, these recordings are of "a remarkably high standard from the point of view of a hot dance music collector"; indeed, they are amongst the most prized records within the "hot" British dance band category.

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Bert Firman

As director of light music at Zonophone (a sister label of HMV), Bert Firman already had several years experience directing dance music recordings and realised that a small jazz-flavoured band could tap into a developing market for dance records containing hot solos.
Bert Firman was born Herbert Feuermann in 1906. His mother was Polish and his father was an Austro-Hungarian musician who had emigrated to London in the 1880s. Although Bert had three elder brothers who were all musicians, he set his young heart on becoming a doctor, a professional career that would have normally been met with approval from a dutiful parent. However, Firman senior apparently responded "No!, your brothers are musicians, your cousins are musicians, your uncles are musicians, I am a musician – you will be a musician!" And so, in deference to his father's wishes, Bert followed his brothers Sam, John and Sid in their musical footsteps.
Aged sixteen, Bert Firman was one of the youngest bandleaders in the world. Later in the 1920s, he repeated his success at the Hotel Metropole with bands at the Devonshire Restaurant and at the Carlton Hotel. In early 1924, a recording scout from the Gramophone Company reported that the band at the Hotel Metropole sounded suitable for recording. The demand for dance records was burgeoning and good bands were needed. After a short period Bert was offered the position of director of light music at Zonophone.
Bert Firman directed the first Rhythmic Eight session at the Gramophone Co's Hayes, North London studios in November 1927. The band's early recordings feature the Americans Frank Guarente on trumpet and Perley Breed on saxophone and clarinet. As leader of the Georgians, a band-with-a-band established by American bandleader Paul Specht in the early 1920s*, Frank Guarente was one of the first wave of American musicians to play extended dates in Europe, capitalising on the success that the Georgians' Columbia records had enjoyed in Great Britain, France, Germany and other European countries. In 1927, after having toured much of the European Continent, Guarente joined the Savoy Orpheans at the Savoy Hotel; while in London, he also took part in a number of freelance studio recordings organised by Firman, including the first few Rhythmic Eight sessions.

Rhythmic Eight

48 - Of The Best - 48

About the album

Artist(s)

Rhythmic Eight

Danny Polo (saxophone)

Sylvester Ahola (trumpet)

Barney Sorkin (bass)

Perley Breed (vocals)

Frank Guarante (trombone)

Johnny Helfer (clarinet)

Max Goldberg (trumpet)

Arthur Lally

Bert Firman

Composer(s)

Press

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