Are the "Elders" Recollections and Recognitions Reliable?
by
We have been discussing this question back and forth for a while. Through the courtesy of Dave G., I have very detailed information about the responses of Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden regarding the June 6, 1930 recording session of Irving Mills and His Hotsy Totsy Gang. As far as I know, the present consensus is that Bix played in that session. I certainly and fully believe that Bix is the cornet player. Also I note that this account is, in part, in disagreement with what Evans and Evans report.
From "BG on the Record; A Bio-Discography of Benny Goodman", by Donald Russell Connor, Arlington House Pub.
"A discographer has recourse to several sources. A prime source is the written record of a recording
company; when available these records establish dates, personnel and other details. For the session [Hotsy Totsy Gang, June 6, 1930] here in dispute – as for the great majority of pre-1935 recording sessions – these data do not exist. Record companies in that era did not keep detailed accounts as general practice.
A second source is existing discographies. This recourse is often no more than lazy convenience;
earlier discographers usually had no better hard information. Errors repeated from discography to
discography gain acceptance merely through reiteration. Earlier discographies offer no substantive data for either of the June 6 dates.
A third source is comment of participating musicians and opinions of other musicians familiar with the work of the artist in question. Here is a condensation of interviews with musicians about the Winn—Wills issues of June 6:
BENNY GOODMAN: On three occasions over time the records under discussion were played for Mr. Goodman. Between the personal interviews, identity of the cornetist was broached to Benny twice, via tape. Benny’s decision in each instance was that, aurally, the horn was not Bix’s, but belonged either to Sterling Bose or Jimmy McPartland. He reinforced his judgment with these observations:
1. Bix was a fabled character among jazz musicians and a personal acquaintance of Benny’s. Benny well remembers other records he made with Bix, and recalls dance dates with Bix. He felt he would remember
clearly Bix’s presence here, were it so.
2. In Benny’s judgment, Bix was not given to casual record dates, even at this declining stage of his career.
3. Benny did not recall that Bix was in New York in mid-1930 (As a matter of fact, Bix was in New York much of 1930.)
JACK TEAGARDEN: Jack’s opinion of the records was first sought in 1958. When shown the records he
disclaimed any knowledge of them, was positive that he had never made them, let alone Bix. They were then played for him and Jack exclaimed, “That’s me!” at the first trombone passage. As each solo cornet spot cropped up he listened intently, backtracked, played some several times. He finally decided that yes,
it was Bix. No, he did not remember the date at all, consequently did not recall Bix participating in these
records.
There is another instance of Big Tea’s “ear” for Bix. Jack was quizzed of DOWN BEAT’s “Blindfold Test,” issue of August 20, 1959. (Musicians are asked to identify unrevealed records, to comment and to “rate” them.) The first record spun for Jack was Red Nichols’ “Nobody’s Sweetheart.” This was his commentary:
Yeah! That’s Bix, isn’t it? And some of the Paul Whiteman boys. I can’t get the clarinet – it doesn’t sound quite like Don Murray. A little like Pee Wee Russell. But I’m pretty sure it was Bix, and the
arrangement was Bill Challis… They used to take some of the swing boys out of the Whiteman band and record them. It was sort of a friendship thing with Bix and he used a lot of Paul’s boys. I think Bill Rank’s on trombone… But you can still hear that big-hearted Bix in there.”
The cornetist, of course, was Red Nichols. Fud Livingston was the clarinetist, Glenn Miller the
trombonist. Jack had mistaken Red for Bix, and the other errors fell in line.
Jack was asked again for his opinion of the records, in the “Metropole” café in New York, after his heart attack and shortly before his death. Perhaps understandably, Jack on this occasion again failed to recall the date at all, thought he had not made the records.
GENE KRUPA: The records were first played for Gene in 1958, the day they were played for Jack. Gene listened to them alone, then with Tea and Bob Haggart present. Gene was also questioned about the date on three other occasions – twice by the author, once by a researcher interested in Krupa’s career. Gene disagreed with Teagarden when the records were spun for both of them, and on the other occasions.
His opinion remains constant, that Sterling Bose was the cornetist. He insists that he, on the session
himself, would have remembered Bix had Bix cut the records.
Sterling Bose, an unfortunate suicide in 1958, is not known to have been questioned. Jimmy McPartland, who some collectors believe may have been the cornetist, said he is not the cornetist. Bob Haggart, Jack’s thought that is was Bix, on the basis of certain recognizable idiosyncrasies of technique. It is understood that members of the Whiteman band contemporary with Bix hold differing opinions as to the
identity of the WINN-MILLS cornetist.
A fourth source open to a discographer is the consensus opinion of knowledgeable collectors. The authors consider a judgment so obtained as reliable. There is no consensus about the June 6 mystery.
Bix specialists who deny Bix’s presence suggest that comparison of the June 6 “Loved One” with Trumbauer’s “I Like That” (same tune, different title) offers proof that Bix was not on the Winn-Mills date.
They say further that other comparisons available – the few certain Bix records of this period – substantiate their judgment. Refuting this, those who champion Bix’s presence say that Bix’s work in 1930 was deteriorating, that this decline is responsible for subtle differences in conception, tone, and technique.
In sum, no one can state with certainty the identity of the cornetist on this session."
I would like to supplement this account with the following taken form "Benny Goodman-Listen to His Legacy" by D. Russell Connor, Studies in Jazz, No. 6, The Scarecrow Press, Inc. and the Institute of Jazz Studies, Metuchen, N.J., & London, 1988.
"On July 7, 1973, the author played the recordings in question for Jimmy McPartland, Bill Challis and Joe Tarto at a jazz seminar at Rutgers University. Their reaction was immediate and unanimous: not Bix. (Jimmy added that he was not the cornetist, he believed it might be Bose or even Mannie Klein, "who could play anybody's style.")
I think that these are fascinating accounts. I wish more of this had been done when the "elders" were alive. Now, the significance of these results depends on one's opinion about the presence or absence of Bix in the Irving Mills and His Hotsy Totsy Gang recording session. Those who believe that it is not Bix will have their opinion strongly supported by the "elders." On the other hand, those who believe that Bix played in the session -I count myself among those- will say the recollection and musician recognition of these "elders" are unreliable. The "experts" (Sudhalter, Sandke, Evans, the producers of Bix Restored, Brian Rust) all believe that Bix was one of the Hotsy Totsy Gang.
It is curious that the situation for the Hotsy Totsy session is the reverse of that for Sugar. For the former, the "elders" feel it is not Bix, but the experts believe it is. For Sugar, the "elders" have the opinion it is not Bix, but the experts feel it is.
Albert
Thanks to Dave for taking the time to copy the relevant information from BG on the record.