Jazznocracy by Alex Mendham and His Orchestra is a classic album of songs from the 1920’s and 1930’s which I highly recommend. The album came out in 2015 and is not easy to find, but Rivermont Records has it available. For anyone who is a fan of Alex Mendham, this LP is a must have.

For anyone who loves the music of the 1930’s, this cd is a must. The sound quality is outstanding. It is well worth adding to your collection. I am so happy to have found Rivermont Records.

The best modern LP I've ever bought with a great packing and fast shipping arrangement

The packing and shipping was fast and perfect and the record plays beautifully

The packing and shipping was absolutely fantastic and very fast and the record plays absolutely beautifully better than any vinyl pressing I've ever bought

Amazing sound and a beautiful record to look at

I’m very happy to have this missing link to all three of Danny Matson’s ragtime folios and feel truly honored to get what was apparently the last remaining copy. It was carefully packaged with the other items I ordered and arrived two days before what package tracking predicted. You can’t ask for more than that!

Great album with some classic Bix Beiderbecke numbers.

I usually prefer the original recordings of music from the 1920s and 1930s, scratchy though they often were. However, occasionally I like the more modern versions of this music as much or even more than the originals. This CD falls into that category. It is now one of my favorite CDs.

This was amazing and I loved every second of it.

Who better than The Arcadia Dance Orchestra to offer us the all-time most enchanting and enlightening history lesson about the American-born music that dazzled the world 100 years ago? Each tune on this alluring album is an exquisite *gem*. The arrangements and compositions are world-class, and the performances by each of the members of The Arcadia Dance Orchestra are impeccable. You'll definitely wish to practice your Charleston and Foxtrot steps while listening to this scintillating set of recordings recalling the urbane elegance, astounding innovation, and ebullient energy of early Jazz and Blues music!

There's a lot of unknowns that are just as great or even grater the the knowns. This CD Proves it.

Great album!

The well-researched and beautifully illustrated booklet enclosed with this CD (written mostly by Ralph Wondraschek, with additions by Randy Skretvedt and producer Bryan S. Wright), tells the reader that the “studio name” of “Dixie Daisies,” was, in fact, used by two different bands. The first ten tracks are by a studio group drawn from Sam Lanin’s Orchestra. The rest of the 26 tracks are recordings by a studio group drawn from Arthur Lange’s Orchestra (the sessions were apparently arranged by band leader Bob Haring). All were recorded in New York, and all were released on the “Cameo” label.

Cameo was one of a number of budget or “dime-store” labels, which sold for very modest prices compared to the big names of the time (such as Victor, Columbia, Brunswick, etc.) So in fact, these recordings are invaluable from a historical perspective, as they are the type of recordings which the most members of the general public would have heard as they would not have been able to afford the more expensive records of the time.

That being said, my favourites on this album are the first 10 tracks by the Sam Lanin alumni. Lanin was the one of the supreme band leaders of this time, and had some of the greatest popular music instrumentalists in the country in his “stable” at any given time. They are all flawless little masterpieces, these “Lanin” recordings. What is great about the booklet is that it talks in detail about many of these musicians. In particular, I enjoyed finding out about stellar trumpeter Jules Levy, whose playing I have long admired, but I knew nothing about him except his early death. In fact, I had never even seen a photograph of him before! It’s wonderful to finally be able to put “famous” names to mysterious faces.

Of the first 10 tracks, my favourites include (1) “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” with its slick arrangement and sweet little trombone glissandi at the beginning by Miff Mole, followed by a smooth saxophone solo, punctuated by call and response patterns between the sax and at least two muted trumpets (the booklet only mentions one – or perhaps it might be Mole’s trombone playing in a high register). This is followed by a smooth trumpet solo (using a lot of portamenti) going back and forth with the trombone, a few bars of “Spanish rhythms”, which is in turn followed by the obligatory “hot” chorus with (I presume) Levy playing with “flutter tongue” technique; (2) “Aggravatin’ Papa,” made famous by the jovial Sophie Tucker, with a wonderful long solo by Levy, followed by a clarinet duo using lots of portamenti, concluding with another hot solo by Levy; (3) “Pipe Organ Blues” with its unusual use of diminished chords in the opening passages, to the unexpected move to the flat sixth chord in some of the cadences, followed by a wistful short solo by Miff Mole (who is featured too rarely on these recordings) and punctuated by the use of the tubular bells – which one usually hears in high class bands such as Herb Wiedoeft’s Cinderella Roof Orchestra, and the ending which completely eschews all the percussion instruments; and (4) Beale Street Blues which has a sprightly speed all the way through featuring trumpeter Levy playing over a stop-time background followed by a sweet sax solo with Levy playing quieter and adding support. Tremendous musicianship. Mention should also be made of the pianist, Harry Perrella, who also appears on a couple of Smithsonian-Folkways re-releases and was a superior novelty piano player as well. We hear a few breaks given by him which hint at his superior skills.

Of the “Arthur Lange” sides, my favourites are (1) “Long Lost Mama” with the growling trumpet solo by Earl P. Oliver and a complimentary rollicking sax solo by Owen Bartlett; and (2) “The House of David Blues” with a brass duo starting the arrangement, followed by a saxophone duo accompanied by banjo, followed by a nice trombone solo doing a call and response with the trumpet. It also includes a great banjo solo towards the end.

Mention should also be made of the outstanding work by sound engineer Christian Zwarg, whose transfers leave just enough of the surface noise present so that it sounds a little bit like “tape hiss” from the 1960s and leaves us with some high frequencies. He excellently manages the noise, without interfering with any of the music.

I’ve listened to this disc multiple times and it seems to get better with every listening. I started off not being too sure about the musical quality of some of these records, but am now utterly convinced of their very essential nature. Kudos to Executive Producer Bryan S. Wright for bringing together these disparate elements (dime store records, outstanding musicians, excellent scholarship, wonderful engineering, amazing photos, beautifully written and designed liner notes) to create yet another outstanding addition to his catalogue and making these little gold nuggets available to the general public.

Highly recom...

My introduction to Frank Westphal’s work was a 78 rpm record I used to have in my collection, called “The Duck’s Quack” which I thought was a delightful novelty number with some good musical skills underneath. I wish that I had had the opportunity to hear more of his work before, so we are indeed fortunate to have Rivermont release this album

Much of Westphal’s work was recorded by Columbia Records (he was advertised as an exclusive Columbia recording artist). I and a number of other collectors have noticed a propensity of Columbia to record at too low a level on occasion. This results in a noise to music ratio which is often unfavourable to the music.

So I am delighted to report that Executive Producer Bryan Wright, who did all the transfers and digital remastering for this album did an extraordinary job of keeping the volume of the music at an excellent level and the “noise” to an absolute minimum. I honestly don’t know how on earth he managed to do it, but the proof is there on the disc. This enables the listener to truly enjoy these amazing arrangements and performances with minimum distraction.

Of all the tracks, my preferences are for (1) “If You Knew,” with its vital and rhythmic banjo solo at the end (it’s not common to hear extended banjo solos on dance band records during these years; and this and “Don’t Bring Me Posies” both feature Al Neilson on banjo); (2) “Those Longing For You Blues,” which features Westphal’s great piano prowess; (3) “State Street Blues” which features a great driving rhythm all the way through, lovely harmonies, unexpected use of rhythms and breaks; (4) Westphal’s solos of Zez Confrey tunes, “You Tell ‘Em Ivories,” and “Coaxing the Piano,” both of which feature a more laid-back tempo than Confrey’s recordings, changes in right hand patterns, more overt use of the sustaining pedal (Confrey didn’t use the sustaining pedal much in his recordings if I recall). These are exemplary and amazing historical documents which show that there was actually a great deal of subtlety and variety beyond the “stick to the written score-ism” that one hears in Roy Bargy’s and Confrey’s recordings of their own works). Westphal also adds his own cute little codas onto these pieces which are very effective indeed. These are phenomenally important 78s and I don’t know if they’ve ever been re-released since their original recordings; (5) “Bugle Call Rag” this is perhaps not quite as “hot” as the NORK recording of the previous year, but Westphal’s musicians do some unusual things with the rhythms, for instance for the one of the “bugle calls” at the beginning, the saxophone plays in triplets, which had not been done before; (6) “Two Time Dan” – a more “laid-back” foxtrot than we’re used to hearing, and thanks to Bryan Wright’s digital transfer, we can very clearly hear not just the starring soloists, but the brass bass, piano and banjo all providing a solid beat to all of this track; (7) a delightfully clear and rhythmic version of “Pianola” – another solo by Westphal; (8) “Home in Pasadena” – which is not a fast dance number, nor a “hot” rendition of a tune – it is a very simple, straightforward, and plaintive arrangement of a song with a melodious rhapsodic trombone solo – a song which might not otherwise have been given such a sympathetic rendition. Plain as the original song may be, it is given a stellar arrangement and sensitive performance.

Words must also be written about Mark Beresford, whose booklet once again gives us an exemplary written explanation which is neither dry history lesson nor uses folksy language – it treats its reader as an intelligent enthusiast and educates us on all the different musicians and goings on during Westphal’s career (I did not know that he was, at one time, married to Sophie Tucker!). Beresford also discusses in some depth, the importance of Chicago as a musical and cultural center and its importance to Westphal in particular.

There was only one track on this album which didn’t impress me 100%, and that was “Dustin’ the Keys.” I felt that Westphal’s interpretation was a little slow. But that is just my opinion. Overall, this is a really exceptional compilation of Westphal’s best work and shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he deserves far greater recognition than he ever received. I recommend this compact disc without reservation.