Adrian Schubert's Dance Orch.,, -From: Big Bands Database Plus
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From: Big Bands Database Plus --- http://nfo.net THE GREAT
AMERICAN BIG BANDS
Adrian Schubert's Dance Orch.
All through the 1920s, it was a common practice for the various recording companies to employ a Musical Director. The record company would tell the MD what song they wished to record and to pay the MD a fixed amount. The MD would then gather together a group of sideman that he knew, and they would meet at the studio, cut the record, and be paid by the MD. The song would
then be issued under the name of that particular leader.
Among the the Leaders/Directors active at the time (recording for Perfect, Banner, Plaza, RCA, as well as for other labels at the same time) were men such as Adrian Schubert, Sam and Lester Lanin, Nathan Glantz, Ben Selvin, Vincent Lopez, and Lou Gold. Very often the same band would record under two (or more) names. For an example, Lou Gold could have used a group of musicians to record in the morning, and in the afternoon (after lunch), the same group would be back in the studio recording different songs under a different director and band name.
From a consideration of all the above, one can see how difficult it is to sort out just who recorded what! But one fact is certain. Adrian Schubert was very active all during the 1920s and made a great many recordings under both his own name...and other names. The 'Al Alberts Orchestra'
was one of the pseudonyms used for "his" band. Schubert, together with such other leaders as Vincent Lopez, Lou Gold and the Lanins were well known and immensely popular.
To amplify this concept, - consider the list of sidemen shown below. These 'studio' musicians were recording all through the 1920s for releases under the Banner, Cameo, Perfect, Plaza and Compo and many other labels. (This is only a small sampling of the musicians active in the
studios from 1920 through to 1930s.) These men were always in and out of the recording studios.
Sometimes, the name of a sideman was "attached" to a recording. In this way, if the Oriole label issued a song by the Lou Gold Orchestra, their subsidiary might issue the very same recording under the "Willie Creager Orchestra" name.
Trumpets:
Mannie Klein (aka: Mike Mosiello) (t) (sic)
Tommy Gott (t), (tb)
Bob Effros (t)
Trombones:
Tommy Dorsey (tb)
Tommy Gott (t), (tb)
Charlie Butterfield (tb)
Sam Lewis (tb)
Reeds: (cl and saxs)
Jimmy Dorsey (as, ts)
Tony Parenti (cl,as)
Benny Goodman (cl)
Andy Sannella (as, f)
Joe Dubin (ts)
Don Murray (cl), (ts,bsx)
Larry Abbott (cl,as, occas. vocal)
Piano:
Russ Carlson (aka: Roy Carlson)
Arthur Schutt (br)
Billy James
Strings:
not known (bjo)
Brass Bass:
not known (bb)
Percussion:
Joe Green (d)
George Hamilton Green (d, marimba)
Vocals:
Irving Kaufman (v)
Jack Kaufman (v)
Scrappy Lambert (v)
Leroy Montesanto (v)
Willie Creager (v)
Larry Abbott (cl,as, occas. vocal)
The recordings made by these men were released under a host of orchestra pseudonyms.
Adrian Schubert's Dance orchestra (for the British Imperial Label)
Adrian Schubert's Salon orchestra (for the Imperial Label)
Joe Dubin's Dance Orchestra (for the Apex label)
Dubin's Dandies. (for the Crown, Romeo, and also Banner labels)
Al Alberts and His Orchestra
Matty Crawford's Orchestra. (for the Crown label)
Buddy Bartlett's Orchestra (for the Crown label)
Imperial Dance Orchestra. (for the English Imperial Label)
Majestic Dance Orchestra. (for the English Imperial Label)
Roy Carlson's Dance Orchestra. (for the Jewel label)
Ernie Noble & His Orch. (for the Oriole label)
Fred Cooper's Dance Orchestra (for the Crown label)
Don Jose & His Orch. (for the Sterling label)
The Red Dandies. (for the Crown label)
Tom Gott and His Rose Room Orchestra (for the Oriole label)
Clarence Sherman's Orch. (for the Sterling label)
Al Lynch and His Orchestra (for the Domino label)
Pierrot Syncopators (for the Domino label)
Willie Creager and His Orchestra (for the Oriole label)
Ted White's Collegians; (for the Crown and Oriole labels)
Dixie Jazz Band. (for the Oriole label)
To further see this 'jumble' in action, one may consider the workings of the Scranton (PA) Button Company, who, between 1923 and 1930, released a number of records under the Jewel, Oriole and Challenge labels. They also exchanged material with the Pathe and Cameo labels. Many times the band listed (for example) as the "Dixie Jazz Band", was just another pseudonym used
by the 'Adrian Schubert Orch.', AND the same DJB name was also used by other totally different groups.
So we can see that labels such as Ajax, Banner, Oriole, and others were releasing dance records often with differing band names for the very same band. (Banner began producing 'Electrical Recordings in 1925.) And, the Banner, Cameo and Perfect labels were swapping recordings -at
random! (In addition to which, Banner was supplying an English label, Imperial, with a great many of Imperial's releases. The 'Imperial Dance Orchestra' as well as the 'Majestic Dance Orchestra' were the Imperial label's pseudonym for Banner studio recordings by the "Adrian
Schubert Orch.".)
To see how the very same song and orchestra was released on different labels with differing credits, consider this one example. The tune "It's In The Morning", was released on:
Crown 81142 and was credited to: Ernie Noble and His Orch.
Oriole 1392 and was credited to: Ted White's Collegians
OR for another example: the song "Just A Lone Hill Billy" (voc: Jack Kaufman - Irving
Kaufman's brother):
on Sterling 281287 was credited to: Don Jose and His Orch.
on Jewel 5824 was credited to: Dubin's Dandies
on Jewel 5840 was credited to: Roy Carlson's Dance Orch.
As seen from the above, all these men were really part of a larger group of musicians all of whom were working together in the recording studios. Any early releases were simply the same group
of men under a different band pseudonym. As can be seen, sorting out the 'who' and the 'what'
can be a fascinating game.
Among some of the songs recorded under the Adrian Schubert name are:
Adrian Schubert and Dance Orchestra, -"Sweetheart Memories"/"Ramona" (Imperial (4648)
1911
Adrian Schubert Orchestra, - "Beautiful Love," (v. Charlie Lawman) (Crown 78rpm)
Adrian Schubert's Salon Orchestra, - "Marie"/"Pagan Love song" (Imperial (2153)
Adrian Schubert Orchestra, - "Harvard Hop"
Adrian Schubert Orchestra, - "Syncopated Jamboree"
Adrian Schubert and His Salon Orchestra, - "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - 78 RPM, 1928
[Banner 6245]
Adrian Schubert Orch. - "Rainy Weather Rose"
Adrian Schubert Orch. - "In A Little Spanish Town", Apex label 78rpm
And as shown above, Adrian Schubert's Orch., was also heard under a great many pseudonyms such as the Rialto Dance Orch., and many more.
Adrian also composed some tunes, but the only one I have definitely tracked is the song "Jazzie
Addie" composed by Adrian Schubert, and recorded on March 2, 1918 by the Yerkes Jazzarimba Orchestra for Columbia Records (77702-2)