Seeburg Style L piano: "Shorty George Blues"

A roughly 1920 Seeburg style L automatic piano. Common as dust in the 1920s, these fun little saloon pianos have had a fairly good survival rate with many still found around the country. The machine has a moderately rare mahogany case. The case was originally a nice two door case with leaded glass, but was modified well before I got the machine. The cut is
"Shorty George Blues" from a recut Capitol A-1958 roll.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• player-piano
• AMICA
• MBSI
• Fox
• Trot
• Seeburg
• Nickelodeon
• Model
• Player
• Piano
• Prohibition
• Roaring
• 20's
• twenties
• speak
• easy
• blues

[Yaledmot]

>But we can hear who the better player was...

It is still a machine faking a human...But it is one heck of a fun machine!

[KawhackitaRag]

FANTASTIC blues roll! I'd bet dollars to donuts this is a CAPITOL blues roll, not a "Clark" roll. A search of the Billings Rollography, for example, doesn't even turn up "Shorty George Blues" as having been made on a QRS word roll! (QRS supplied Clark). In fact, this tune IS on Capitol A-roll #2077, tune 6. I would also bet that this is Clarence Johnson (1900-1933) playing here. He was a terrific pianist and his virtuosity within the "straight-8ths" blues style was unsurpassed.

[Yaledmot]

The box reads: Clark Orchestra Rolls Capitol A 1958 ALL BLUES PROGRAM

This roll and the Ed Gaida recut roll on my other posting are mostly blues. This roll, however, is solidly blues. I'll try to record and post another entry today.

[Yaledmot]

I just realized another more recent film that had a large instrument--a Wurlitzer I think--was one of the Naked Gun films.

[05Toamasina1938]

@Yaledmot

probably a recut made by Don Rand using the Clark logo = Very stupid and confusing

[05Toamasina1938]

Compare this to Kansas City Man Blues and you ll agree that is the same pianist all along = Clarence Johnson

[Bumblebee38]

What a knowledge !!!

Thanks for all this !

[Bumblebee38]

Hi Man ....You really are an encyclopedia

[KawhackitaRag]

now, regarding QRS and Clark rolls:

"All of the hand played rolls were recorded in the studio in Chicago under the direction of Lee S. Roberts and Max Kortlander. Max was the real work horse. Rarely did any of the recording artists visit DeKalb, so we didn't know them personally. However, we all greatly admired and appreciated their talent and skill. Some rolls were recorded under a nom de plume, such as Scott and Watters who were really Roberts and Kortlander. Poetic license, I guess!

[KawhackitaRag]

According to the recollections (pgs. 721-722 in same book) of P.M. Keast, who worked at both the Clark and Capitol roll companies:

"Capitol Roll and Record Co. at Chicago, Illinois, 1924-1930:

Roy V. Rodocker (arranger, piano rolls, Automatic/coin piano rolls, organ rolls, head of department);

P.M. Keast (arranger, P.R., A);

H. Gullman (arranger P.R. and A., died in 1925);

plus one more person whose name I don't recall, who did a little bit of everything."

[KawhackitaRag]

According to page 719 of Q. David Bowers' "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments":

[regarding the Capitol roll and record company]: "...Their performances were first done on a recording piano. The arrangements then were edited extensively before they were issued on music rolls. The resulting rolls usually were about 50% performer and 50% editor so far as musical stylistic traits were concerned, but this editing was in excellent musical taste."

[KawhackitaRag]

When the A-rolls are converted to 88-note rolls (which has been done many times for these rare arrangements) you can set the tempo on your foot-pumped piano as slow or fast as you darn well please!

[Bumblebee38]

That s interesting ! Thanks

[Yaledmot]

Just checked--curiously, "Shorty George Blues" is selection #2 on the roll. It is entirely possible it was copied from another roll at the "wrong" tempo.