“THE WOOF SONG” (1937), or A WOOF A DAY KEEPS URGENT CARE AWAY

Everything I know about alternative medicine at home I learned from the gifted practitioner Dr. Winston Comba of Richmond, Virginia, so this post is a small thank-you to him.

For those of you wondering why such a post is on JAZZ LIVES, which should be properly devoted to hours of coverage to your favorite band or musician, whom everyone knows is the greatest ever, be patient.  (Or don’t.)

Thanks to Confetta-Ann Rasmussen, the hardest-working woman west of the Rockies, for pointing me to this: Bert Lahr’s “The Woof Song,” from the 1937 film LOVE AND HISSES.  Some sources say that the sequence was deleted before the film’s release, although not everyone agrees.  Lahr was cast as “Sugar” Boles, which should give an idea of the film’s comic subtleties.  LOVE AND HISSES depicted the feud between columnist Walter Winchell and bandleader Ben Bernie, with, alas, forgettable songs by Gordon and Revel and dubbed singing by Simone Simon.  It is not a film I feel a deep need to see, but Lahr’s bit is wonderful, and relevant here.  “The Woof Song,” misheard as “Wolf,” on one site, was written by Norman Zeno and Will Irwin — a vaudeville turn full of hot-music references.  See if you catch the most prominent ones:

Immediately, it’s clear that Stuff Smith’s I’SE A-MUGGIN’ (the second side, with the counting game) is being referenced, as is Cab Calloway, TIGER RAG, SWEET AND HOT, YOU RASCAL YOU, and more.  Perhaps Jolson is being evoked on SHOE SHINE BOY, and there’s the obligatory high-note trumpet passage (the band is Ben Bernie’s, according to Mark Cantor).  It’s a Wonderful Woof, isn’t it?

May your happiness increase!

ONE-NIGHT STAND! DAN LEVINSON’S PALOMAR TRIO (April 29, 2010)

Benny Goodman was and is such a powerful influence on generations of musicians — especially clarinetists — that there are many players still living off of the King of Swing’s solos.

But Dan Levinson, who plays a number of reed instruments with great skill and understanding, is head and shoulders above the Kinglets. 

He can, upon request, rip off choruses that will make you think you are back at the Madhattan Room with your best girl or fellow in 1937; he can play a lovely ballad.  But he’s not a copyist or an imitator at heart.  Rather, he’s someone who understands the jazz and pop of that period (and of earlier eras) so that he can improvise on a song that didn’t exist in 1937 or he can make, say, CHINA BOY, sound new. 

One of Dan’s groups (he is a man of many affiliations and associations) is his Palomar Trio, which pays tribute to the California spot where Benny and his band caught fire in front of a large popular audience.  The other members are the swinging marvel Mark Shane on piano, and the ebullient Kevin Dorn on drums. 

They’ll be appearing at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, New Jersey, on Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 7:00 – 9:30 PM.  The club is at 24 Main Street.  For reservations or information (there’s no cover charge for the music, but there is a $15 food and drink minimum per person, and the menu is — as the name would suggest — Asian), call (973) 822-2899 0r or contact info@shanghaijazz.com.  The club’s website is www.shanghaijazz.com.  

I’ll be there!