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Your Favorite Obscure Artist Recommendations.

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
Charles Remue and his New Stompers, a fine Belgian orchestra which waxes about fifteen sides in 1927. They had a pleasant swinging lilt to their dance numbers, which must have been quite popular with dancers. Their unusual arrangement of the traditional children's lay "The Bridge at Avingnon" is particularly nice, as are their own "Vladivostok" and "Slow Gee-Gee", their versions of the standards "Doctor Jazz", "Tempeokee", and their arrangement of Boyd Senter's "Slippery Elm".

Boyd Senter is another obscure artist who's work is, perhaps unappreciated. His most famous sides consist of unmusical "gas-pipe" clarinet clowing, but late on he mad a fair number of really excellent jazz discs with his "Senterpedes", a very good, hard-swinging band, which included the Dorseys, a super rhythm section consisting of Eddie Lang on guitar, Vic Berton, drums, and Frank Signoreli, piano, and a superb, though lamentably unknown trumpeter Mickey Bloom.

Thomas Morris' various groups also dwell in unjust obscurity. His 1923 OkeH recordings under the "Thomas Morris and His Past Jazz Masters are pretty uniformly good, with "Lonesome Journey Blues", "Original Charleston Strut" and "Those Blues" being particular stand-outs. Note that on these sides Bubber Miley plays SECOND cornet! Morris' "Seven Hot Babies" sides are also very good. They include my favorite recording of the "Jackass Blues". Their "Georgia Grind" is also excellent as is "Ham Gravy"

The Blue Ribbon Syncopators are another little-known group whose music is worth seeking out. Try their "Blue Ribbon Blues" or "Whale Dip" on your machine! "Blue Ribbon Blues" is particularly interesting, in that it is a very early (April 29, 1925) example of a white band that could actually do a quite creditable job of playing the Blues.

First, last, and always, though, by favorite obscure band would be Gowan's Rhapsody Makers, on the strength of their manic rendering (to be rendered, as in to be torn apart) of "I'll Fly to Hawaii".
 

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
Ethan Bentley said:
Jackie De Shannon's "Bette Davis Eyes" I like the 1920's jazz feel.


The WHAT?

"1920's jazz feel"?

I suppose, if by "1920's jazz feel you mean any music that includes a horn.

For a real "1920's jazz feel" try


[YOUTUBE]zQWKhi59jR0[/YOUTUBE]


[YOUTUBE]S8lDALxs9ZE[/YOUTUBE]

or


[YOUTUBE]TZSf6mb5oZo[/YOUTUBE]
 

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
Chas said:
I'll start this with a wonderful (Tuscarora Indian) Rockabilly artist, Ben Hewitt. He wrote and recorded some really amazing songs on the Mercury label, but, sadly, very few. He was ably backed up by a really under-appreciated lead guitarist, Ray Ethier, who was originally from Quebec.

My Search

Whirlwind Blues

You can pick up the album "You Got Me Shook" from the excellent "Bear Family" Label out of Germany.

Unfortunately "My Search" was pulled before I could listen to it. "Whirlwind Blues" is really fine, the vocal is a might pitchy for the first chorus, but all-in-all is is really more interesting musically that some songs in this style that became actual hits. Thanks for introducing us to this puzzlingly obscure artist.
 

Kahuna

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Moscow, ID
The Six and Seven Eights String Band of New Orleans - New Orleans flavored jazz on string instruments. If anyone here is a fan of R. Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders this is kind of the forerunner of that type of music. Supposedly they were a favorite of Franklin Roosevelt.
sixseveneightsstringband7Quicke-mailview.jpg
 
Last edited:

S_M_Cumberworth

One of the Regulars
Messages
114
Location
Japan, formerly Los Angeles
A Japanese artist named Yoeko Kurahashi. She's got a retro vibe, and her song writing is superb. Her album Modern Girl is a classic in my eyes.

[video=youtube;zb3dyyZCGgE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb3dyyZCGgE[/video]
 

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