Goofus Five
1924-1925
Personnel
Bill Moore, Red Nichols (cnt); Roy Johnston (tpt); Adrian Rollini (bs sax kazoo gfs); Irving Brodsky (pno); Tommy Felline (bjo); Stan King (drms kazoo); Herb Weil (drms); Jimmy Dorsey, Bobby Davis (reeds); Earnest Hare, Blanche Vincent, Billy Jones, Earl Richard and Ed Kirkeby (vcls).
Tracks
Tessie! Stop Teasin’ Me * Them Ramblin’ Blues * Go Emmaline * Hey! Hey! And Hee! Hee! (I’m Charleston Crazy) * Choo Choo (I Gotta Hurry Home) * Go ‘Long Mule * Everybody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don’t Love Anybody But Me) * Oh! How I Love My Darling * Oh! Mabel * I Ain’t Got Nobody To Love * Alabamy Bound * Deep Blue Sea Blues * You Better Keep The Home Fires Burning (Cause Your Mamma’s Getting Cold) * Hot Tamale Molly * I Had Someone Else Before I Had You (And I’ll Have Someone Else After You’re Gone) * I Like Pie, I Like Cake - But I Like You Best Of All * Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby * Honey, I’m In Love With You * Are You Sorry * I’m Gonna Charleston Back To Charleston * Loud Speakin’ Papa (You’d Better Speak Easy To Me) * Sweet Man * Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley * I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight * That Certain Party
Bearing in mind the period reign of these ballads, the clarity and sound quality of this album is really quite remarkable, which lends it greatly to benefit the enjoyment of listening to thee recordings.
To the knowledgeable recalling the art of the Charleston dance routines, it’s all here, infectious as it surely is for drawing in the interested listener who seeks to learn more about this old-time style of music, is made possible, coming with customary dedication from Timeless Records.
The core timbre emanates from the pianist Irving Brodsky, maybe ragtime, and banjoist Tommy Felline, who not only have a fine rapport with each other, are both featured on all of the 25 numbers, and that the originals were produced in the acoustical recording era of cylinders, discs, animal animations and piano-rolls, with the distinctive yet modern methods’ hidden vibrate sound - prominently, all thanks to the OKeh Records Company for dragging its feet in moving over to the electronic transducer production technique, non-chalantly, advertising True-tone Needles to give "the truest tone" to their music along the way.
In this Goofus Five album, one is afforded the semblance of this OKeh uniqueness in CD format of today.
On the opening four tracks, add cornetist Bill Moore, drummer Stan King on kazoo and Adrian Rollini on kazoo and goofus, to Brodsky and Felline, and you have the nucleus Goofus Five.
Goofus - a kind of two-octave keyboard-mouth-organ, manufactured in France in the 20s and played by blowing directly into it, or through a length of tubing that allows the instrument to be laid flat on the stage. Adrian Rollini, who features it to great effect, favoured this method.
Reedman Bobby Davis joins in on tunes five and six, with Rollini taking up the bass saxophone. Red Nichols, Bill Moore, Jimmy Dorsey and Bobby Davis then in intermittent numbers up to eighteen, and from there on, trumpeter Roy Johnston replaces cornetist Bill Moore, with Stan King being replaced by Herb Weil on drums on the last track. Vocalists are spread throughout.
A detailed booklet with photographs and fine artwork, including a discography and liner notes by Mark Berresford accompany the album.
The vocalists could have been music hall singers in the studio to promote well-loved popular songs of the day, adding time-honoured character to the tunes, sung with merriment by the 30s populous. Sadly, now almost forgotten, noticeably not being replaced by the Clap Hands Charley kind, but by the Glastonbury monotone sort raised over all shapes of peroxcided heads, whose bodies stomp dripping in mud up to their elastic lace trims regions - no, not there, naughty thoughts, but I’ll add, that where it will not be conducive to: You Better Keep The Home Fires Burning (Cause Your Mamma’s Getting Cold).
All good reason why Goofus Five and Timeless Records keep these tunes burning brightly.
The Davis alto and the Rollini bass saxophone make a very special combination. Indeed, in a not too much un-similar way on the Jimmy Dorsey one, where in Alabamy Bound we get to hear the banjo solo a bit, and on Hot Tamale Molly the clarinet of Jimmy.
The more I listen to these Goofus Five tunes, the more fascinating they all become.
The Irving Mills song Hey! Hey! And Hee! Hee! - I’m Charleston Crazy with cornetist Bill Moore and Adrian Rollini on goofus; the Walter Donaldson song Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby with cornetist Red Nichols and alto saxophonist Bobby Davis, and his other song I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight with Roy Johnston whose clipped articulated trumpet style with alto saxophonist Bobby Davis, and the Spenser Williams one Everybody Loves My Baby with Red Nichols and Jimmy Dorsey on alto, all make for stimulating contrasts, signifying in the main, the advancing known dance steps, from to, I’m Gonna Charleston Back To Charleston lifts one like me up, as if to glide on route to reach cloud seven.
Once an ideal instrument as a marching band time-piece the Bb bass saxophone became a substitute for the tuba, and then along came Adrian Rollini who was the first solo exponent of it. He developed it formally as a novelty instrument, then when switching to the baritone register of it, he perfected fine melody lines whilst with the California Ramblers, and the rewards of his endeavours can be heard so beautifully here on Goofus Five - It’s superb.
In 1927 whilst he, Adrian Rollini, was with the Fred Elizalde Orchestra at the Savoy Hotel, London for a period his playing influenced Harry Gold and thereon the bass saxophone became the principle instrument of the bandleader of the Harry Gold Pieces of Eight.
It’s influence. Goofus Five - let it be yours.
Ian King
Kings Jazz Review
Saturday the 13th of July 2002