I organized my first band in 1977, and have been a band leader since then. Playing music eventually became my second career. I reached a "major watershed" in my musical career in August, 1996, when I played in the First Annual Washboard Concert at the Great Connecticut Jazz Festival. In 2002 I attended the 2nd International Washboard Festival in Logan OH, playing in the Washboard Concerts, and banjo in 2 parades and jam sessions; had so much fun playing and meeting a bunch of great musicians that I'll make that a regular event.
Banjo--2 Dale Small custom "short scale" plectrums designed for guitar tuning. They have a great sound, ring nicely all the way up the neck for soloing, and loads of punch for playing rhythm even in a 1920s orchestra. I started playing on tenor banjos, which go "thunk" rather than ring because the strings are too loose when tuned like the four high strings on guitar. The Small plectrums sounded infinitely better, and enabled me to improve my playing, so that my bands sound better, and other bandleaders became willing to use me as a substitute.
2/22/04
2003 was my first year going to banjo fests, and I noticed
for the first time the distinctive sound of B&Ds, wondered whether
a short-scale neck would alter the sound, because what I was hearing would
be a good alternate sound.
At Allenberry last, standing upright on a display table directly behind my book display was a B&D Silver Bell. It was next to a tenor, which was next to a plectrum. The neck of this B&D was between the tenor and plecrum lengths, so I put it next to my Small and found it to be a short-scale plec. Talk about fate!! Bud Wachter was in the room, so I asked him for his opinion, and after he played it, he said the price was a bargain. I really liked the loud, bright sound, so I bought it. It's apparently recent clone, with an Oetinger tailpiece, and he and the seller thought it might be a Dale Small--but there's no indication of the maker outside, or inside the resonator, no name or serial number.
Whatever it is, I've been playing it almost exclusively, and my guys really like it. We decided that my Smalls are particularly good for indoor trio-quartet gigs, whereas the B&D will be especially good for outdoor gigs, or where there's a noisy crowd. It's much lighter than my Smalls, so it's good for gigs where I have to stand, or march. My Smalls have good low end, which the B&D lacks, and the latter is much brighter--one of my colleagues said it's more "banjoey".
Keyboard--Since most of my piano gigs require an electronic piano, I've had a succession of keyboards over the years. My main piano is the P-80 that I bought 8/27/01; it has a really nice baby grand sound, and an adjustable action that feels great, being stiff enough to practice on and build up my chops. 88 keys, only 37lbs. It has a variety of sounds some of which promise to be useful, others that aren't really worth much, especially since they left off vibes. It replaces the Kurzweil 1000SE, a 76-key box with a lot of sounds that can be modified infinitely--I bought it primarily because it had a great piano sound, secondarily because it had other sounds like the B-3 organ that I wanted. Problem is that it uses dual-function buttons and a menu system that is so complicated that it's a full-time job working out on it to remember how to use it. In the course of playing, one can easily hit the buttons because they are so near the keys. So during the first dance, I might start out on Grand Piano and hit Honky Tonk piano. Or hit a combination of buttons that takes me out of play mode entirely; the only way to get back to play is to turn the piano off and on again, which by default takes it back to Grand Piano... I gave my Ensoneq electric piano which has ten buttons, several nice sounds, but no organs, to a relative who's been aching to have a piano.
Guitars--I've never learned to play 6-string guitars, so I've tried to find 4-stringers that have enough sound to power everything up a 10-piece band. I used to power the Sultans Big Band with a Gibson flattop round hole tenor, using a Barcus-Berry pickup attached at the low string end of the bridge. Worked fine. Recently I sold a Gibson T-50 archtop f-hole tenor that I hadn't had a chance to use much, because it didn't have anything near the carrying power of an L-5 6-string, nor was it cutaway, so I couldn't solo in the upper frets as I can on banjo. I bought a National Triolian resonator tenor; this metal-bodied baby from ca. 1929, which resembles the National 6-string guitars, blows away the L-5, but sounds more like an amplified guitar ala Charlie Christian, rather than the nice chunk-chunk Freddie Green sound I'm looking for. However, I found it to be perfect for playing in a jug band. Recently I bought a National Tricone resonator plectrum, metal, pear-shaped, that is a lot mellower than the other one, and is more nearly what I'm looking for; the pear shape enables me to reach the frets that are on the body, unlike the guitar-shaped National, so I can do a lot more high register soloing.(Lawrence Marrero played one with George Lewis' band) I picked up a Vega archtop f-hole cutaway 6-string that became my machine of choice. I thought to convert it to 4-string (I hesitated to take the two bottom strings off for fear of the neck warping due to uneven pressure, but they get in the way, even though I tie them down--which subjects me to incessant ribbing from my colleagues...). At Great Conn. Jazz. Fest. 1998 I saw a Gibson L-4 cutaway that had been converted to 4-strings by shaving the neck on either side between the pegboard and the body to the appropriate width. That is a viable option, though I also considered having a new neck put on. The guitarists who've played it love it so much I'm hesitant to convert it, but it only cost $700 and the object is to have fun, so why not? Decisions, decisions. I also have a lovely red Gibson ES335 and an unspeakably ugly Fender Telecaster, neither of which I've had much time to play, though the itch is powerful...
I found a great workaround for the tenor guitar problem. Ovation Celebrity CS 257, shallow body model. The cutaway, curved-backed body is made of space-age "plastic" so it's very light, but has a good sound and plenty of punch. It has a built-in pre-amp with volume and graphic eq to amplify the accoustic sound. The neck is a bit narrower than usual, and with the two low strings off, is comfortable and doesn't look quite as silly with only 4 strings as the L-5 or Vega. ( I don't feel constantly that the other musicians or audience are gonna break out laughing "Hey lookie there, Hezzie, when you gonna learn the other two strings?" "Bandleader payin' you so lousy you can't afford the bass strings?.") $429, $60 for the custom, molded case. I had a chance to play a gig on one 12/1/00, bought one 12/4. It ain't sexy, but it works much better for me than the others, including the fact that the shallow body helps me play vigorously without irritating my right shoulder bursitis...
April 2006
At the GLIB banjo bash, I bought a solid-body electric
guitar with a plectrum banjo neck. Haven't had a chance to do anything
serious with it, but I'm hoping it will enable me to sell the Telecaster
and ES-335.
Washboard--I have a Ralf Reynolds special, a double made with a mexican board with a galvanized insert, and a Columbus with a stainless steel insert, that are hinged together. The ridges of the stainless insert (which is a cut down frattoire) are smaller and closer together, which produces a much different, and louder, sound than the regular galvanized insert. It's got a strap so I can wear it, and open the boards up. At GLIB I heard a washboard with a zinc insert that seems to have a more flexible volume than either galv or stainless.
"D-Cup Chords" For Dixieland
and 1920s Music.
"Codpiece Chords" For
1930s-40s Sweet and Swing Music.
In 2000 I published the first of
my series of "Fake books", which have melody line and chords.
"Dixieland Fake Book"
"30s-40s Fake Book"
"Gig Book"
In 2005 I published Dixieland Fake Book Vol. 2.
In 2006 I'm trying to finish 20s-30s Fake Book.
In 2007 I hope to publish 2 more chord books.
My game plan for the future is to play a lot more music in the DC-Baltimore area, and even better, play music around the country, and even abroad, and make some CDs.
My pre-1942 favorites (in no particular order): Artie Shaw orchestra (1938-1939); Benny Goodman, virtually everything (1933-1939), Sextet (whenever); Teddy Wilson (whatever and whenever); Fats Waller; Duke Ellington (late 1920s to 1934); Fletcher Henderson (1928-->); Bix Beiderbecke; Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers; Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (early 1930s version); Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang; Casa Loma Orchestra (early 30s)
I love the popular, dance, film and show music from the 1920s and 1930s, particularly the classic 20s sound of the larger dance orchestras--Jean Goldkette, the California Ramblers, Ipana Troubadors, George Olsen, the Bert Firman bands (Savoy Orpheans and Rhythmic Eight); vocalists such as Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, Rudy Vallee, Al Bowlly, Ethel Waters, Ruth Etting, Fred Astaire; the early 30s 2-beat and society music of Ben Selvin, Fred Rich, Gus Arnheim, Benny Goodman (!) I also enjoy the British dance bands, particularly Harry Roy and Ambrose.
My more recent favorites (in no particular order):
Ralph Sutton, Dick Wellstood,
Ted Des Plantes, stride pianists, (as soloists, and in various band
combinations). James Depogny plays various old piano styles, including
Jelly Roll Morton and a wicked Teddy Wilson--Saw him once with Brooks
Tegler, my favorite swing drummer, and Ron Hockett on Clarinet,
bringing back the Goodman small bands in truly full glory...a moment of
heaven... Louis Mazetier is a great French stride player whose quartet
Paris Washboard is a regular at the Great Connecticut Traditional
Jazz Festival.
Dick Hyman (piano, organ),
has done a magnificent job over the years in reviving the old American
jazz and pop music. I have a ton of CDs by New York-based bands that include
musicians from the circles of Dan Barrett (trombone), Keith Ingham
(pianist), Marty Grosz (guitar), Randy Sandke (trumpet),
Vince Giordano (tuba, bass sax, upright bass), Andy Stein
(violin), Howard Alden (guitar, banjo); these musicians mix and
match in all sorts of combinations on various labels. I fell hook, line
and sinker for the Mark Shane-Terry Blaine partnership; Mark plays
Teddy Wilson and stride piano, and Terry sings the Billie Holiday and Fats
Waller repertoires; their band includes cornetist Ed Polcer and
clarinetist Alan Vache; I heard them at the Great Connecticut Jazz
Festival in August, 1996, and enjoyed their live sets as much as their
CDs; they really make 30s music live again!
I'm a fan of several dance orchestras
that revive the music of the 20s and 30s. The
Royal Society Jazz Orchestra
has been around forever, playing a wide variety of sweet, pop, and
jazz tunes with verve, authenticity, and a delicious, often wacky, humor;
I had a chance to spend several sets with them at the Great Connecticut
Jazz Festival in August, 1997. The Pasadena Roof Orchestra from
the UK has several albums, most notably a Boswell Sisters CD with the Swing
Sisters that's truly as much fun to hear as the original. I can't get
enough of the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra--I just joined an eMail
list that's interested in 20s-30s vintage arrangements and music, got a
request from PDO leader Michael Law to trade charts, instead asked for
their other CDs. Charleston Chasers and Mora's Modern Rhythmists
are great revival bands. One of the truly outstanding revival CDs is "Fade-in",
by Crazy Rhythm Hot Society Orch.; the title reflects the fact that
some tracks start out with the original record, then fade in to the modern
orch.; hot hot hot, expertly played.
My favorite dixieland bands include Turk Murphy and the Original Salty Dogs. I do have a preference for the "West Coast" style, and highly routined/arranged bands. I don't care for "Chicago" style bands, because they have too many strings of solos and the drummers tend to use the ride cymbal too much--I hate ride cymbals.
Favorite CDs from later periods include Louis Prima with Keely Smith (my favorite female vocalist) and tenor cat Sam Butera (Sam is still rockin' and rollin', touring around the country and putting out hot CDs); Doo Wop versions of old tunes; "jump blues"; vocalists such as Dean Martin and Vic Damone; remakes of classic 50s Rock 'n Roll.
I bought many new "swing" CDs by bands such as Royal Crown Review, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Time Operator, Indigo Swing, Mighty Blue Kings, The Big 6, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the recordings of which are found in the Top-40, not the jazz or Big Band sections, because their fans include many teenagers and the younger generation, and they were doing some interesting things with the old styles. Several of the bands seem to have disappeared, others have changed directions--SNZ's 4th CD abandons swing altogether, sounds like pop rock or sumpin' I can't identify.
I enjoy several British bands who recreate combinations of swing, jump blues, and Prima: Ray Gelato's Giants (Gelato is a really fine vocalist and tenor sax man); Sugar Ray's Flying Fortress, and King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys; the last two feature vocalists that one may have to get used to, but they also write and play some great arrangements with loads of verve.
My collection is
cataloged in several databases (.dbf format),
which I'd be happy to eMail (zipped) to anyone who requests them.
At various times, I worked extensively with books on these topics in Farsi (Persian), Urdu and Indonesian, although my actual knowledge of these languages is only to the extent to which they use Arabic-based scripts and vocabulary; I could also have worked, a bit more knowledgeably, with Turkish. My working knowledge of French and German enabled me to deal in a very general way with Spanish, Italian and Dutch; I know the Russian alphabet and basic Russian bibliographic terminology.
I have an abiding interest in Islam, its history, theology, problems and prospects in the 20th century, and the organization of Islamic works in libraries. I am not an expert in the field, but I have had a continuous intense exposure to the entire spectrum of Islam's written literature during my career.
I have an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the School of International Service, American University (1970), and other graduate study at Princeton University, the School of Advanced International Studies, and Georgetown University. My BA (1962) is from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College)
I wrote The Islamic Near East and North Africa: An Annotated Guide to Books in English for Non-Specialists, Libraries Unlimited, 1977, 375 pp., LC 76-218, and from 1969-1979 wrote ca. 500 reviews of books in my fields for Library Journal, American Reference Books Annual, and other periodicals; I had a book review column in the short-lived British periodical New Middle East.
Revised 5/16/06