Teddy Brown And His Band - So Is Your Old Lady (HOT!)

Teddy Brown And His Cafe De Paris Band play the popular song "So Is Your Old Lady", featuring a red hot trumpet chorus by Max Goldberg:- TEDDY BROWN AND HIS CAFE DE PARIS BAND: Teddy Brown, xylophone, directing: Max Goldberg and Freddy Pitt, trumpets / unknown, trombone / Alec Lajoie and Maurice Harford, alto sax / unknown, tenor sax / Teddy Sinclair, violin / George Fisher (Fishberg), piano / Percy Martin, banjo / William Vick, brass bass / Eddie Schaff, drums / Lionel Rothery. Recorded London, August 20th, 1926 4456-2 So Is Your Old Lady Imperial 1627 Although this record was waxed in August 1926, a full year after electrical recording was introduced to the UK, it is in fact an acoustic recording….and a rather boxy one at that! The Crystalate Gramophone Company, the manufacturers of Imperial records, did not switch over to electrical recording until 1927. Their first attempts at electrical recordings weren't exactly impressive either, but the Imperial label was aimed at the cheaper end of the market and the records sold well to an audience that couldn't afford to be discerning. Teddy Brown takes his xylophone out for a spin after the rather heavy-handed vocal by Lionel Rothery, who sounds as if he is unfamiliar with the melody of the song. Brown's xylophone solo is light, nimble and rhythmic, in stark contrast to his own heavy frame - but it was the incongruity of Brown's musical dexterity set against his rotund feature that won over audiences and made him a larger than life entertainer in British dance venues and music halls, and well as on BBC radio and in films and newsreels. His highly successful career lasted until shortly before his death in 1946. Brown's xylophone solo is followed by a full chorus of hot trumpet by Max Goldberg. Born in London but raised in Canada, Max arrived back in London with the Buffalo Band in 1925 and stayed until the 1950s, playing with almost every well known British dance band, including Ambrose, Jack Harris, Bert Firman and Sydney Lipton. As well as being a superb lead trumpeter, Max was also a first class jazz soloist, as can be heard here. In fact, this is one of the rare occasions when a Teddy Brown recording features an instrumental solo in addition to that by Brown himself. An American by birth, Teddy Brown was born in 1900 as Abraham Himmelbrand. He had a classical musical education and played in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra before moving across to popular music. As a dance band musician, Brown initially worked in (and recorded with) Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orchestra (1917-19) and also performed on Broadway. After leaving Earl Fuller's outfit, he became a member of Joseph C Smith's band at New York's Hotel Plaza (1919-24). He came over to London with Smith's band in the autumn of 1925. The following year, he formed his own orchestra, playing at the Café de Paris in London's West End. Brown went on to play in other nightclubs, both in London and Paris, including the Kit Kat Club. The custom-made Besson xylophone he played had a five-octave range, one more than the usual xylophone. In addition to the xylophone, Brown also played the saxophone and drums/percussion. Teddy Brown's skilful xylophone playing continues to influence new generations of percussionists, most notably the American musician Josh Duffee, a drummer/percussionist and bandleader who specialises in recreating authentic 1920s popular music. Josh has paid tribute to Teddy Brown in concerts worldwide, both with his own dance band as well as a member of other outfits. (Thanks to Jonathan Holmes for his help with some of the photographs)