Bee Palmer, Frank Trumbauer "SINGIN' THE BLUES" (1929)

SINGIN' THE BLUES
Frank Trumbauer and His Orchestra
vocal by Bee Palmer
(Sam Lewis / Joe Young / Con Conrad / J. Russel Robinson / special lyrics - Ted Koehler)
Recorded Jan. 10, 1929, New York City

Personnel:
unknown - trumpet
Bill Rank - trombone
Frank Trumbauer - c-melody sax
Chet Hazlett or Charles Strictfaden - Alto sax
Irving Friedman - clarinet, tenor sax
Lennie Hayton - piano
Snoozer Quinn - guitar
Min Leibrook - bass sax
George Marsh - drums
Bee Palmer - vocal
Bill Challis - arranger

Paul Whiteman sponsored this session with sidemen of his orchestra with Frank Trumbauer as the director.

The orchestra plays an arrangement built on the saxophone solo created by Tram on February 4, 1927; this part is followed by Bee Palmer singing on the same melody as Tram's solo, then scat singing on the solo played by Bix Beiderbecke on the original Okeh recording. Snoozer Quinn, the guitarist, emphasized that Bix was attending this session, but the few cornet (or trumpet) notes played on "Singin' the Blues" make identification impossible.
(notes from "Bix" by Jean Pierre Lion and Gabriella Page-Fort)

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  Music

[jazzgirl1920s]

Great pictures of Bee Palmer. Fortunately test pressings of this session were found so we can actually hear her voice. Otherwise how she sounded without recordings would never be known like legendary New Orleans cornet players Emmett Hardy and Chris Kelly who never recorded. The only disappointment about this recording is there is no solo by Bix as musicians interviewed about the session seemed to have remembered.

[bsgs98]

I suppose this recording was meant to feature Bee. After all, she was "singing" Bix's solo from 1927. But a Bix solo would have been great!

[Sam Mckinstry]

I'm sorry I'm only hearing this now. Bee Palmer's power in carrying a song and her ability to put passion into her vocalising of Bix's solo is just stunning. What great testimony it also is to what they thought of that amazing and still touching Bix solo.

[Gene Miller]

I had been curious about Bee Palmer's singing since reading Ralph Berton's reviled by Bix scholars book, Remembering Bix. I would call her a not terribly successful Madonna type of her day-not a very impressive voice and a pusher for publicity. Still, it's nice to know what she sounded like, and yes, too bad Bix was not on the session. The trumpet does not sound sufficiently Bix-like to be Andy Secrest who could attain a pretty plausible Bix sound.

[usasians]

It is amazing that this great band performed at Cleveland's The Golden Pheasant (a Chinese restaurant / American nightclub) that was owned/managed by Jun Bing Mar. More in can be found at Jun Bing Mar's Facebook page.

[Michael Enders]

A nice version is:" Ballhausvideopics!"

[joemaranzano]

Maybe, Tram plays alto sax here...

[bsgs98]

You can get the transcription for the Trumbauer sax solo from saxsolos(dot)com. Very reasonably priced.

[Mare Clydesdale]

SHE'S got quite the voice.

[sunvana]

the poster-

Helen Keller?

the world's wonder woman?

she had an act?

[khobgood]

Nicely put together!