The other day I had a few minutes between lessons, and randomly opened up the Hal Leonard "Real Book" Vol. 5 (reviewed here), to a tune called "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas." Remembering the song title from an R. Crumb cartoon, I looked at the tune a little closer, and had a flash of recognition: the chord progression is basically the same as Sonny Rollins' "Doxy." I'd always heard that "Doxy" was written on the chords to "Ja-Da" (1918), but the bridge of "Doxy" fits the "Ding Dong Daddy" bridge a lot better. Of course, that led to some clicking around.
According to Wikipedia, "'Doxy' was written by Sonny Rollins during his stopover in England on a European tour. Its name is given after a bread-spread that the band was eating in the hotel." Here's the first recording of "Doxy," with Sonny and Miles (1954):
Although it wasn't the first recording of "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas," one of the best is by Louis Armstrong (1930):
Here's another 1930 recording by Slatz Randall, posted as a 2-song medley (both sides of the record), with "Daddy" preceded by a tune called "Skirts," which has the same chordal template. You'll notice that Slatz's version of "Ding Dong Daddy" includes a lead-in section, sort of like the "verse" in many "Golden Age" standards:
In Louis' version, note the "Salt Peanuts" riff at the end of the trumpet solo - the first recorded use of this riff. Dizzy expanded it by two bars and used it in "Little John Special," a blues that he recorded with Lucky Millinder (1942):
In 1943 Dizzy re-framed the riff over (more or less) Rhythm changes, as the bop classic "Salt Peanuts."
But to get back to Louis - Here is a really great writeup by Armstrong expert Ricky Riccardi, with a wealth of interesting details about the song, Louis, Dumas (Texas), and much more.
In this article, the author mentions "How Come You Do Me Like You Do" (1924) as the source of the "Doxy" changes. Maybe. It's closer than "Ja-Da," but the bridge to "How Come" is still a bit different, ending on the tonic chord. I think "Ding Dong Daddy" is still a better fit. Or maybe "Skirts." Maybe all of them. You be the judge!
Mestre Acordeon and Mestra Suelly's B2B group is about 7 weeks into their 1-year bicycle trip from Berkeley to Brazil. As nearly as I can tell from their Facebook posts, they are somewhere near Santa Rosalia, halfway down Baja California. They can't post regularly, due to no internet on the road, but if you are interested in following their progress, here is the B2B Facebook page. Mestre Acordeon recently posted an enthusiastic and positive video message to his friends and supporters.
Two of the participants in the ride are blogging about the project:
The latest entry in our "who wrote it" chronicles comes to us courtesy of guitarist Hugo Wainzinger. Hugo told me about this one during a break at a gig last week.
First, a Henry Mancini tune, "Meglio Stasera (It Had Better Be Tonight)," from "The Pink Panther (La Pantera Rosa)." The film was released in 1964:
Here is Astor Piazzolla's "Contrastes," written around 1955. The theme in question starts at 0:40.
As they say, you be the judge. They are both great writing, regardless. I remember "Meglio Stasera" from my big band days, as a stock arrangement that we played as a ballroom samba (not a tango), for dancers.
A few years ago I got hold of O Melhor de Roberto Menescal, a collection of tunes by the great composer and guitarist. Menescal is a pioneer of bossa nova, best known to American jazzers as the writer of "O Barquinho (My Little Boat)" - but he's contributed far more than that.
Recently, I brought in his tune "Voce" to an adult combo class I teach. After the class Carlos, our sax player, checked out Menescal's website. It turns out that pdf's of every chart in the book are available there, as free downloads. If you are interested in checking out some beautiful, well-written bossas, here's the page on Menescal's website. Click the song title; it will show lyrics, and supply a pdf lead sheet for many (though not all) of the songs.
There's been some buzz (no pun intended) about a new plastic saxophone from the Vibrato Co., Ltd. The company is based in Thailand (here's the company website); the saxophone is distributed in the USA by Vibratosax USA (here's the American website).
I haven't played one yet.
Here's a video (thanks, Carlos!) with Jim Cheek doing a side-by-side comparison with a Yanigasawa A901. Jim sounds terrific on both horns, but you can hear the difference. The Yanigasawa has a crisper attack, and a richer sound, with more highs in the spectrum.
I listened to some of the video clips on the company website when my wife was in the next room. Her comment was that when played by a really good player, this horn is like a $10 bottle of Vino Nobile from Trader Joe's. I'll interpret: Not bad, especially considering the price, but it will never be a $50 bottle.
Here's a video interview with Piyapat Thanyakij, president of Vibrato Sax, at the NAMM show. There's a nice demo at the end of the clip by saxophonist Reggie Padilla, brother of the interviewer. Reggie's a great player. My friend Ken in Hawaii actually hipped me to him some while ago, when Ken's son was taking lessons with Reggie. Reggie makes the horn sound very good, but there's still a relative flatness to the tone.
Judging from the video clips on the company website, the mouthpiece makes a large difference in the tone (of course).
But really, why shouldn't someone be able to make a decent plastic sax, theoretically, anyway? We've had plastic clarinets for a long time, and they can be quite good, depending on the manufacturer. And of course, there was the Grafton plastic sax, in the 1950s. Charlie Parker played one at the legendary Massey Hall concert in 1953, and sounded just like he did on any other alto (allowing, that is, for the very low-fidelity recording techniques of the period).
Vibratosax makes several alto models, differing mainly in the composition of the polycarbonate. You can read more about this on the company website. Only altos so far.
Here's a "Repairman's Overview." Matt Stohrer lists some possible issues with the design and materials:
It sounds to me as though all-metal keywork might have been a better idea. In general, I'd worry about long-term durability.
Piyapat Thanyakij's talking point about the "waterproof" qualities of this horn reminds me of this classic video from Hermeto Pascoal. If you are looking to recreate this performance, a waterproof sax might be perfect for you:
I'm looking forward to checking out one of these horns. I'm sure it won't be long until a student walks in with a Vibratosax alto.
If you are an "early adopter" sort of person and just have to check out this horn, you can click here to buy one.
Mestre Acordeon and Mestra Suelly's B2B group is two weeks into their 1-year bike trip from Berkeley to Brazil; they should be somewhere around Santa Barbara right now.
The send-off party in Berkeley on Sept. 1 was a kick (no pun intended). I had the rare pleasure of playing tenor sax in the context of 20 or so capoeiristas playing berimbaus, pandeiros, and agogos, singing capoeira songs, while watching students and mestres playing capoeira in front of the stage. The energy was amazing. It was an honor and a privilege.
The B2B group will arrive in Los Angeles this week, and there are some events scheduled:
The best way to check their progress seems to be through their Facebook page.
