The 78 RPM Sound Of Gilbert Watson And His Orchestra 1925 To 1926

On  March 12, 2014 I published a blog dealing with Canada’s Gilbert Watson and his Orchestra, and that I would be receiving sound files from his son. Those sound files have now been uploaded, and contain eight tracks of music that was recorded between 1925 to 1926 by the Compo Company, Lachine, Quebec, and released on several of their labels. The other two tracks that were recorded are not present, unfortunately. The track list is as follows:

 

1. Apex 728 Lonesome Me

2. Leonora 23016 That’s All There Is

3. Leonora 23016 Bamboola

4. Apex 728 Don’t Wake Me Up

5. Domino 21563 I Just Want To Be Known As “Susie’s Feller”

6. Microphone 22544 How Could Red Riding Hood?

7. Domino 21563 St. Louis Blues

8. Microphone 22544 Don’t Be Angry With Me

 

https://soundcloud.com/ken-mcpherson/gilbert-watson-and-his

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curtis Mosby’s Dixieland Blue Blowers At Solomon’s Dance Pavilion in L.A. 1925

Curtis Mosby led a busy life as a promoter, drummer, bandleader and club owner, during the 1920’s in California. He had his own band in 1921 and also recorded with Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds between 1922 and 1923. He moved to Los Angles from Oakland, California. He is known to have recorded later for Columbia, between 1927 and 1929. The promotion for his appearance at Solomon’s Dance Pavilion was placed in the September 9, 1925 edition of Variety.

Ben Pollack And His Orchestra Before Victor 1925

According to a September 1925 issue of Variety, the Ben Pollack Orchestra from Venice, California, had been playing an exclusive engagement at the Venice Ballroom. The most important part of this insert, was the mention of all the musicians in the orchestra at the time. Notice how Benny Goodman is addressed and the fact that he plays saxophone in addition to the clarinet. The other, better known original member of the band mentioned, was Gil Rodin, who would later form his own group, and record for Crown Records in the early 1930’s. 

Ross Gorman And His Earl Carroll Orchestra At The Earl Carroll Theatre 1925

I stumbled upon an interesting full-page advertisement placed in the July 1, 1925 issue of Variety, depicting Ross Gorman, and the names included in the orchestra that would appear at the Earl Carroll Theatre on July 6th. The most notable were Miff Mole and “Red” Nichols. Don Voohrees is mentioned as manager and musical director.

Gilbert Watson And His Orchestra 1925 To 1942

Most Canadian jazz collectors of the 1920’s would say that the Gilbert Watson Orchestra, was the first to record jazz. Gilbert Watson was born in Glasgow, Scotland on October 31, 1896, and died in Peterborough, Ontario on August 12, 1959. He studied piano with Michael Hambourg and Harvey Robb, and played at the Allen Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. He worked for several music retailers in Toronto, including Mason and Risch (in the Victrola department) and Whaley Royce (as store manager).

In the mid 1920’s he formed his own dance band, which played at the Prince George Hotel, where he was heard on the Toronto radio station and, from 1935 to 1942. The band also appeared in dance pavilions around Toronto. In 1929 the orchestra also performed a recital at Massey Hall in Toronto, a first for Massey Hall. The seven or eight musicians made a total of nine sides for the Compo Company of Lachine, Quebec, first recording on July 12, 1925 and then again on November 15, 1926. Six sides released in 1925 appeared on the Apex and Starr labels, while the three sides made in 1926 appeared on the Domino label. It is not clear if any of the recordings ever showed up on other Compo labels such as Lucky Strike and Microphone.

Watson retired from music in 1942 after the Old Mill band broke up, and opened a Summer resort, Gil-Mar Lodge, and a dance hall at Sturgeon Lake in the Kawartha region of Ontario. Below is a photographic history of the Watson Orchestra, some pics are seen here for the first time! The first set shows the band in 1925 and 1929, and the second line shows The Old Mill Orchestra, along with some personal photo’s of Gilbert Watson and sheet music.

Most of this information has been provided to me by Gilbert Watson’s son, Doug, for whom I am very grateful. I hope to upload some recordings of the Gilbert Watson Orchestra in the near future.

 

Regal “O” Machine 1925

Here is another example of Australian gramophones, this time from the year 1925. Looks like a great table top model, and, the Regal “O” can play both 10 inch and 12 inch records. From the April 8, 1925 edition of The Sydney Mail.

 

Isham Jones Appears At The Orpheum Theatre in Milwaukee 1925

Brunswick recording artist Isham Jones and his Orchestra will appear  all week at Milwaukee’s Orpheum Theatre, according to this June 16, 1925 insert, found in The Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

 

 

Victor Records Canada Announces VE Process 1925

Victor Records Canada, based in Montreal, Quebec, announced the revolution of recording electrically, with the new VE process, as seen in this July 9, 1925 insert, in The Montreal Gazette.

Bell Record’s at Grant’s Department Store 1925

The November 13, 1925 Schenectady Gazette carried this advertisement for Grant’s Department Stores, claiming that they were the only store in New York State that stocked Bell records.

 

Coon-Sanders Nighthawk Orchestra at the Wisconsin Roof 1925

An insert in The Milwaukee Sentinel on April 26, 1925 announces the one night appearance of the Coon-Sanders Nighthawk Orchestra at the Wisconsin Roof.

 

Four More Paramount Race Records Advertisements 1925

Here are four of my favorite Paramount Race Records advertisements drawn from February to April copies of the Afro-American newspaper, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1925.

 

Campbell-Cason’s Christmas Sale Of Columbia Phonographs 1925

 

From the December 17, 1925 Florence,Alabama Times Daily.

A Cheney Phonograph in Your Home For Christmas 1925

According to the December 17, 1925 edition of The Milwaukee Journal, The Boston Store will deliver a Cheney Phonograph to your home, just in time for Christmas.

 

T.N.T. by Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1925

The orchestration of T.N.T. on Columbia 509 D, makes it one of my favorite Fletcher Henderson recordings. Just look at the lineup in the session, and you will see why:

Coleman Hawkins (cl,ts,bass sax ); Louis Armstrong (ct); Elmer Chambers, Joe Smith (tp);
Charley Green (tb); Buster Bailey (ts) Don Redman (as,ts,arr); Fletcher Henderson (lead + p);
Charlie Dixon (bj); Ralph Escuderos (tu); Kaiser Marshall (dm)
New York City, October 21 1925