|
Here is the first of two tracks we didn't have room
for on our collection of Art Hickman's Orchestra, The
San Francisco Sound. It was recorded on September 17,
1919, in the middle of a stretch of six straight
days the ensemble put in at the studio during their
cross-country trip to New York.
If you are a fan of waltzes, you will like this one.
But the writer of the notes for the CD, Bruce Vermazen,
wasn't too enthusiastic:
“Sweet and Low” has little to recommend
it, as the lead on its three unexciting strains gets
passed around from instrument to instrument, including
Doerr’s doleful baritone sax and an off-pitch
twinning of Douglas’s violin and a slide whistle.
Probably it is Hickman who plays the latter, since,
on other records, he and one of the banjo players
are the only musicians available for the task, and
no percussion is ever audible when the whistle steps
forward. This waltz was included in the first eight issued
sides, most likely to please dancers rather than
stationary listeners.
Check back for next month's
"Recording of the Month" for the other track left
off our Hickman collection, "In the Gloaming."
|
Shopping Cart | Checkout 
