The Unknown Nordskog 3040-Burtnett and Miller Famous Orchestra

I recently acquired a west coast recording on the rare Nordskog label, performed by the Burtnett and Miller Orchestra. The Brian Rust dance band or Jazz discographies fail to mention that the two collaborated in 1923 and hired west coast musicians in Los Angeles, California. A newspaper article mentions the joining of Earl Burtnett and Ray Miller, as Burtnett and Miller Famous Orchestra. What is interesting about this particular record is that the labels have been placed on the wrong side of the record, as the 3040 B appears in the inner grove with the A side label. The record has only one side of Jazz interest, where the orchestra performs “Lady of the Evening”. There are some interesting solos. The recording has been uploaded for you to listen to.

 

 

 

Abe Lyman

 

(From Wikipedia)

Larger version of Abe Lyman Orch Abe Lyman & Hotel Ambassador Orchestra, from 1922 sheet music cover, scanned by Infrogmation ( talk ) from original in own collection (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Abe Lyman’s Orchestra in 1922

Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade.

His name at birth was Abraham Simon. Abe and his brother Mike changed their last name to Lyman because they both thought it sounded better. Abe learned to play the drums when he was young, and at the age of 14 he had a job as a drummer in a Chicago café. Around 1919, Abe was regularly playing music with two other notable future big band leaders, Henry Halstead and Gus Arnheim in California.

In Los Angeles Mike opened the Sunset, a night club popular with such film stars as Mary Pickford, Norma Talmadge, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. When Abe’s nine-piece band first played at the Sunset, it was a success, but the club closed after celebrities signed contracts stating they were not to be seen at clubs.

For an engagement at the Cocoanut Grove in The Ambassador Hotel on April 1, 1922, Abe added a violinist and saxophonist. Opening night drew a large crowd of 1500 guests in the Cocoanut Grove, plus another 500 more outside.

After the band cut their first record under the local label Nordskog Records, they moved a year later to Brunswick Records in summer of 1923. There they made many recordings and were one of Brunswick leading orchestras straight through 1935, when Lyman signed to Decca. (In late 1937, Lyman signed with Victor where he was assigned their Bluebird label. He recorded prolifically for them through 1942.) The Lyman Orchestra toured Europe in 1929, appearing at the Kit Cat Club and the Palladium in London and at the Moulin Rouge and the Perroquet in Paris. Abe Lyman and his orchestra were featured in a number of early talkies, including Hold Everything(1930), Paramount on Parade (1930), Good News (1930) and Madam Satan (1930). In 1931, Abe Lyman and his orchestra recorded a number of soundtracks for the Merrie Melodies cartoon series.

Notable musicians in the Lyman Orchestra included Ray Lopez, Gussie Mueller, and Orlando “Slim” Martin.

During the 1930s, the Lyman Orchestra was heard regularly on such shows as Accordiana and Waltz Time every Friday evening and on NBC, Coast to Coast. Lyman and his orchestra sat in for Phil Harris on the Jack Benny program in 1943 when Harris served in the Merchant Marines.

When Lyman was 50 years old, he left the music industry and went into the restaurant management business. He died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 60.

Nordskog Records

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nordskog Records was a small record label based in California in the early 1920s that produced some interesting historic recordings.

Nordskog Records was founded by Andrae (Arne Andreas) Nordskog (1885-1962) of Santa Monica, California in 1922. The label’s recording studio and factory were located in Los Angeles, California. The label succeeded in only issuing a total of 27 double-sided disc records, but not for lack of trying to issue more. Nordskog had no record pressing plant, and indeed there were none located in the western United States at the time. Nordskog contracted with the Arto Records company of Orange, New Jersey to press their records. Wax masters were shipped across country by railroad; early on many masters melted on the trip across the desert. By some accounts, among the recordings lost were sessions by Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver. Among the records which survived to be pressed were the only recordings of Eva Tanguay, early sides by Abe Lyman‘s Orchestra, Henry Halstead‘s Orchestra, and a number of recordings by Kid Ory‘s band. The Ory sides were the first recorded jazz by an African American band from New Orleans. (Contrary to what has been said by some imprecise sources, jazz, African Americans, and New Orleans bands had all been recorded earlier, but Nordskog captured the first instance of those three elements in one place at the same time.) The Ory sides were also issued on the Sunshine Records (USA) label.

In 1923 Arto filed for bankruptcy. Nordskog sued for the return of some 80 not yet issued Nordskog masters, together with mothers and stampers (see: gramophone record) then in Arto’s possession, but failed to regain anything. This was too big a blow for Nordskog, and Nordskog Records went out of business shortly after pressing a few records in Santa Monica.

The labels proclaim Nordskog records to be “The Golden-Voiced Records”, but audio fidelity of Nordskog Records is below average for the time. Nonetheless, because of the historic importance and legendary rarity of the records they are much sought after by record collectors.