Hudson-DeLange Orchestra

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The Hudon-DeLange Orchestra was a big band that existed between 1936 and 1938 , led by Will Hudson and Eddie DeLange . During this time the orchestra recorded over 50 tracks for Brunswick ; most of them came from the two bandleaders. As a dance orchestra, it performed with great success in eastern colleges, ballrooms, and hotels in New England and the American Midwest. In 1938 their partnership finally broke up.

Band history

Eddie DeLange founded the big band in early 1936; "When he realized after a few weeks that he needed a lot more arrangements , he got in touch with Will [Hudson], with whom he had already written a few songs, and offered him a partnership in return for his arrangements." From then on, DeLange acted as the leader of the band and Will Hudson in the background as the musical director, who traveled around with the orchestra for about a week a month.

Hudson's simple, direct, yet "always musically high-quality and tasteful" arrangements usually went in two different directions; The band played light and somewhat faster swing numbers as well as calm, soulful ballads that preferred numerous woodwind passages played in unison . DeLange wrote the lyrics for a large number of ballads; these included "Deep in a Dream", "Heaven Can Wait" and "Remember When" as well as the team's most successful joint effort, " Moonglow ". Hudson in turn contributed a lot of instrumental numbers, including "Organ Grinder's Swing", "Sophisticated Swing" and "Monopoly Swing". There were also “half swinging” numbers like “Hobo in Park Avenue”, “Love Song of a Half Wit” and “Eight Bars in Search of a Melody”. The publisher Irving Mills was co-owner of the band and copyrights, and recordings were also made for his label Master Records.

Popeye

On January 18, 1936, the first recording session for Brunswick took place in New York, in which the two vocal numbers “It's a Lot of Idle Gossip” and “Tormented” (with Ruth Gaylor, vocals) as well as the instrumental title “Hobo on Park Avenue "And" Eight Bars in Search of a Melody "were recorded. "It's a Lot of Idle Gossip" was a song from the Hollywood Revels of 1936 ; "Tormented" was written by Will Hudson. "Hobo On Park Avenue" was a fast-paced swing number; “Eight Bars in Search of a Melody” became the orchestra's (first) signature tune.

At the next studio appointment on January 20, one of the orchestra's most popular tracks, Hudson's composition “Organ Grinder's”, was recorded alongside other singing numbers with Ruth Gaylor (“You're Not the Kind” and “The Moon Is Grinning at Me”) and “Monopoly Swing” Swing ”with the text by Mitchell Parish . The title was best known as the score in the Popeye cartoon of the same name by Dave Fleischer and in the version of the Chick Webb Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald . In addition to Hudson's "Mint Julep" and "Mr. Ghost Goes to Town ”and Louis Armstrong's popular jazz track“ When It's Sleepy Time Down South ”.

In early 1936, the Hudson-De Lange Orchestra consisted of James O'Connell, Steve Lipkins, Ralph Hollenbeck (trumpet), Edward Kolyer (trombone), George Bohn, Hugh Hibbert (clarinet, alto saxophone), Pete Brendel (alto & baritone saxophone), Ted Duane (clarinet, tenor saxiphon), Mark Hyams (piano), Cliff Rausch (guitar), Doc Goldberg (bass) and Ed O'Hara (drums). Many young musicians began their careers in this orchestra; Lipkins would later work for Tommy Dorsey , Hollenbeck for Hal Kemp , trombonist Kolyer for Al Donahue , George Bohn and Ted Duane for Jan Savitt . Bassist Dan Goldberg later played with Will Bradley , Ray McKinley , Glenn Miller , Georgie Auld and Gene Krupa and His Orchestra .

When recording in November 1936, trumpeter Jimmy Blake (who would later play with Red Norvo and Tommy Dorsey ) came into the big band and replaced Ralph Hollenbeck, who in turn switched to Hal Kemp ; Fredda Gibson was the new band vocalist, to be heard in "If We Never Meet Again" and "I'll Never Tell You I Love You". She soon made a career as a radio and record star under the name Georgia Gibbs . The mid-tempo number "Remember When", written by Hudson-DeLange, was performed by Eddie DeLange. At the last recording session of the year the orchestra took a. a. the two-part swing number "Love Song of a Half Wit".

The next recordings were made on March 10 and 11, 1937 in New York. The orchestra now consisted of Charles Mitchell, Howard Schaumberger, Jimmy Blake (tp), Edward Kolyer (tb) George Bohn, Gus Bivona (cl, as), Pete Brendel (as, bar), Ted Duane (cl, ts), Mark Hyams (p), Bus Etri (git), Doc Goldberg (kb) and Nat Pollard (dr); the band vocalist was again Ruth Gaylor ("You're My Desire"). The result was the instrumental numbers "Bugle Call Rag", "The Maid's Night Off", "College Widow" and Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust", with which Fats Waller was also successful in 1937 . Vocalist DeLange played the ballad with “Back in Your Arms”. The soulful instrumental number “Sophisticated Swing”, now the signature tune of the orchestra, was also recorded by Ozzie Nelson , Edgar Hayes , Bunny Berigan , Russ Morgan , Les Brown and Count Basie in the following years .

Eight other tracks were recorded on May 27th and July 1st. a. the instrumental number "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight" by James P. Johnson , as well as the songs "Popcorn Man", "The Least Little Thing to Do", "Your's and Mine" and with the new entry, vocalist Nat Wynn "I'm Feelin 'Like a Million," the latter a song popular at the time in the Josephine Baker version . Nat Wynn was then singer with Teddy Wilson , Hal Kemp and in 1940 with Raymond Scott .

After another recording session in August ("Mr. Sweeney's Learning to Swing"), the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra did not return to the recording studio until November 22, 1937; Tommy Dorsey joined the band with Joe Bauer (trumpet) for Jimmy Blake, with Betty Allen replacing Ruth Gaylor. The new singer is u. a. heard in "Rockin 'the Town," a song by Ted Koehler and Johnny Green from the Columbia film Start Cheering (1938) directed by Albert S. Rogell . At the following session on December 20, 1937, DeLange changed drummer Billy Exiner for Nat Pollard, and the singer Elise Cooper, heard in “Definition of Swing”, “You're Out of This World” and “Strictly Formal” ". Elise Cooper sang with Eddie Delange after the band ended, then with Tony Pastor and in 1942 with Bob Chester . Further recordings were made on January 24th and 27th and on February 5th, 1938 with vocalist Mary McHugh ("At Your Beck and Call", "Miracle at Midnight"). On April 8th there was a final change of line-up; Trumpeter Rudy Novak (who would later play with Gene Krupa ) replaced Howard Schaumberger, and woodwind player Charles Brosen replaced Ted Duane, who moved to Spud Murphy . Jayne Dover (“Why Pretend?”) Had the vocal part in this last recording session. The three instrumental numbers "China Clipper", "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else" and "On the Alamo" were also recorded.

“It didn't take long, however,” wrote the jazz historian George T. Simon, “until Will and Eddie, who were so different in character and appearance, got along worse and worse. So they dissolved their partnership in the spring of 1938 with unpleasant side effects. ”After the end of the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra, Hudson continued to lead the band with the existing line-up for a few months; DeLange in turn founded his own orchestra, with which he was to make recordings for Bluebird Records in 1938/39 . “Neither of them succeeded. So in 1941 they decided to try again on the team, but the company failed. "Will Hudson was then to arrange for Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band , Eddie DeLange settled in Hollywood to write for the film industry , a career which ended with his death in 1949.

Discographic references (compilations)

  • Hudson-DeLange Orchestra 1936–1938 ( Classics )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Don Tyler: Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-rock Era. McFarland, 2007
  2. ↑ a b c d e George T. Simon : The golden era of big bands. Hannibal, Höfen 2004, p. 236 f. ISBN 3-85445-243-8
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, accessed June 23, 2019)
  4. ↑ It's a Lot of Idle Gossip at Archive.org
  5. ↑ Dick Jacobs: Who Wrote That Song? Betterway Publications, 1988, p. 95
  6. ↑ Organ Grinder's Swing in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  7. ↑ See American Songwriters: An HW Wilson Biographical Dictionary by David Ewen. HW Wilson, 1987
  8. ↑ As Fredda Gibson, she also sang with Hal Kemp, Frankie Trumbauer and Artie Shaw .
  9. ↑ Don Rayno: Paul Whiteman : Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967 . Lanham: Scargrow Press 2009, p. 414
  10. ↑ See Rhythm Man: Fifty Years in Jazz by Steve Jordan, Tom Scanlan (1993), p. 34
  11. ↑ Start Cheering in the Internet Movie Database (English)