There are 24 tunes with two versions of Steppin’ and Breezin’ all recorded in New York. The letter Y replaces A at the end of Alabama in this Jelly Roll Morton number.

CBC 1-089 - Playing time 71.09

Personnel
See booklet for information on the album’s musicians. Several top musicians played in Selvin's orchestras from the Bar Harbor Society one to the Broadway Syncopaters as aliases, which in 1922, he had recorded some 250 titles. Perhaps some of them are among the unknowns here.

Tracks
Ben Selvin’s Dance Orchestra
Red Hot Mamma (1) * San (2) * Susquehanna Home (3) * Alabamy Bound (5) * I Can’t Realise (6) * Peter Pan (7) * Does My Sweetie Do (And How) (8) * Suite 16 (9) * Steppin’ In Society (11) * Charleston (12) * Loud Speakin’ Papa (14) * Breezin’ Along (16) * Charlestonette (18) * Spanish Shawl (22):

Moulin Rouge Orchestra
There’ll Be Some Changes Made (4):

The Knickerbockers
The Original Charleston (10) * Steppin’ In Society (13) * Breezin’ Along (to Georgia) (17) * You Told Me To Go (19):

Harmony Dance Orchestra
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby (15) * Dinah (20) * Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Doo (21):

Ben Selvin Voice
Poor Papa (23):

Radiolites
How Many Times? (24).

Compiled by Ate van Delden and Hans Eekhoff who also provide an excellent booklet of 36 pages for this CD album, which has inter-alia in it, a couple of double-spread photographs of the Ben Selvin Orchestras (circa 1925) of eleven and ten musicians respectively, one having an insert photo that is a copy of the one on the front of the Timeless Historical presentation discography cover, showing the opening track, Red Hot Mama (Blues) recording by the Vocalion record label, which in that year became a subsidiary of Brunswick (BRC).

Following the 1929 Wall Street crash, depression caused a severe drop in record sales that several record labels had to merge, and, a decade later saw an acquisition of the Brunswick Company take place by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) with innumerably ongoing changes happening in – Canada, Europe, the UK and beyond.

This CD booklet makes for fascinating and informative reading on Ben Selvin’s career in music, which lasted over forty-two years. He was born on the 5th of March 1898 and, died of a heart attack, on the 15th of July 1980, at 82 years of age.

His first hit tune was I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles at his first recording session in 1919 for Victor, and went on to have 13,000 recordings to his credit.

Ben Selvin with gold disc for Dardanella

*****

Ben Selvin started up his own company - Muzak, a spin-off from Associated Transcriptions.

In 1947 he became A&R (Artists and Repertoire) director of Columbia with notables such as Frank Sinatra clientele.

Ben Selvin was put off radio in its then present state as a menace to artists who broadcast, “its publicity value dwindles into insignificance when compared to the harm that it does.” Events in time improved to all round benefits as a result.

Sadly, as Ben Selvin went into obscurity his records went out of print, thus to be able to listen to these Timeless Historical tunes today is exceedingly remarkable.

The principle front-line instrumentalists playing in a variety of arrangements seem to be making music that talk out the tune titles giving each tune a unique flavour.

Red Hot Mamma – It’s not a Blues. It sure is a jazz number not known as such at the time. In the 20s the Fox Trot was the beat in mode in those days. The mood jazzing was a series of the era’s song standards that included the likes of - You’re the Cream In My Coffee, You're the Sugar in my Tea but this opening song - Red Hot Mamma has special jazz-dance steps to it, namely, Charles-ton, Charles-ton, closing on banjo look in. A nice steady piano influenced beat – it's how great thou art.

A new, or shall I say, a slight different sound that has a change in technique and style with a prominent double bass voice in There’ll Be Some Changes Made, with the two front-line brass instruments alternating in solos - a cymbal clang to finish.

An imitation railroad-clanging bell and, an I am a coming early morning train toot, hoot, toot, effecting awakening risings to form an increased village population - is Alabamy Bound, with that immaculate in unison tepee, tepee, tee trumpet sounds in the I Can’t Realise tune with the recurring theme on bass saxophone input. It’s all great beautiful stuff with nice piano-violin movements and again some fine Charleston dance measures, Selvin style of entertainment charm.

We are coming on to songs that I used to sing and, tunes that I used to mime to myself on, or dance to. How Many Times? Fred Elizalde played this tune in Hollywood in 1926, and, ten years after that saw Tiny Winters play it in London. Poor Papa (He’s Got Nothing At All) came out eight days earlier on the 10th of February in the same year 1926 in Chicago by Ted Lewis, and, Yes Sir, That’s My Baby the same year as Ben Selvin by Red Nichols who ran it in New York 1925 with his Varity Eight.
By the Radiolites the Irving Berlin song "How Many Time", "Poor Papa" and "Yes, Sir", all have vocals sung in that Roaring Twenties - The Great Gatsby manner. Note the difference with the first song recorded by Columbia’s latest electric system, and, the last one of the three that has a solo by an altoist, and has a touch of the Charleston, which is recorded under the early sound practice.

Dinah always has been a favourite of various bands, but with very much different arrangements, and, moving on to the mellow-toned with gutsy trumpet, Does My Sweetie Do said to be by an orchestra directed by Nathan Glantz with Earl Oliver on trumpet and not the Selman orchestra as noted, but can one really tell the difference ?

The Charleston has been recorded under several different names one being Is The Best Dance After All. In fact the Charles-ton, Charles-ton dance-step’s sounds, which run through most of the tunes on this album, has two versions, one being by Columbia, the other by Vocalion.

The Charlestonette, number has trumpeter Earl Oliver also as a member on the recording of this song with the Perry’s Rhythm Kings.
Paul Whiteman recorded it in New York during the same year as this Selvin one was recorded. Fred Rose and Paul Whiteman have been given credit for the Selvin tune.

The Steppin’, Speakin’ and Breezin’ numbers are all bright and breezy top old-time dancing tunes with nice piano work, and again to end up going to Georgia “I hear the voices calling” Charleston with a scintillating violin.

More of a song full of entertainments is Suit 16 Chicago style. One can hear soprano saxophone and castanets in Spanish Shawl – naturally so. Peter Pan is a pleasant catchy tune, which I did not want to end, no, not my childhood – the music Sir.

For that unique and beautiful sound go for You Told Me To Go, for it really is delightful and at 3.04 minutes, it’s one of the longest songs in the album, with a wonderful change in tempo to finish up on - attempt changing tempi.

The musicianship is simply superb, and I shall say that it would be difficult to find any other artists, jazz or otherwise, from anywhere in today’s world of music culture, to match this album's musician's musical skills and their professionalism.

It is no mean task to produce a unique jazzband/orchestra sound, which this CD has, embracing such beautiful innovative tone quality, therefore, I’d go on to say that it’s rewarding for anyone to own a copy of it – cherish it. It’s an album that I want more and more to listen to.

Ian King
Kings Jazz Review
Monday the 7th of August 2006