Gene Kardos & Joel Shaw, Vol. 2 (1930s)

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In December 1931, Gene Kardos and His Orchestra were doing well, despite the
effects of the Depression. The band was regularly packing the Gloria Palast, a restaurant
and dance hall on East 86th Street in the Yorkville area of Manhattan where Gene had
grown up. They had been making records for the RCA Victor Company for six months, and
had already committed over twenty sides to wax.

Victor didn't always make it easy for people to find Kardos' records, however.
While most were properly credited, some of them had been issued under the name of
"Gene and His Glorians," and others as by "The Radio Rascals." In months to come, Victor
would release some of Gene's records under the names of Eliot Everett, Jean Calloway,
Rex Blaine, the Pan-American Dance Orchestra, Dickson's Harlem Orchestra, The New
Yorkers, The Gloria Palace Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Collegians, and the Village Barn
Orchestra. Likewise, while most of the Kardos records were on the parent Victor label, a
few were released on the budget-line subsidiaries of Timely Tunes, Sunrise, Electradisk and
Bluebird.

With this array of pseudonyms, one more alias didn't seem to make much differ-
ence. On December 19, 1931, Kardos and his group began recording for the Crown label,
a year-old concern that hoped to appeal to cash-strapped music lovers by offering "Two Hits
for Two Bits." The band's new name for Crown was "Joel Shaw and His Orchestra." There
really was a Joel Shaw—although his actual surname was Schwartz. The pianist had known
Gene Kardos since 1925, when both were playing the Keith vaudeville circuit in a six-piece
group. Kardos and Shaw had become the best of friends, which made him a natural choice
as the band's new "leader."

Virtually nothing is known about Shaw, but Gene Kardos' son Charles remembers
that the two musicians' association extended into the early 1950s, when Kardos was lead-
ing a small band at Zimmerman's Hungarian Restaurant, on 46th Street just east of Broad-
way. "Of all the people with whom my father played, Joel Shaw is probably the one person
whose name is more familiar than anyone else," Charles Kardos recalls. "My family would
go and visit Joel and his son in their apartment on West End Avenue in Manhattan. In the
summertime, my mother and brother and I would go to the Catskill Mountains, a big resort
in New York State, and my father would commute on weekends up from the city with Joel.
We have motion pictures of the two of them, my father and Joel, leaving to go back to the
city to work." The Kardos family still owns a portrait of Shaw, dated December 24, 1937 and
inscribed, "To Gene, my best friend." Shaw was one of the witnesses when Kardos married
Estelle Reich at the Municipal Building in New York on October 31, 1940.

A trim, handsome young man with dark hair and a winning smile, Shaw had an
unusual style as a band pianist. While not as flashy as Earl Hines and his "trumpet-style
piano," Shaw similarly played single-note accompaniments in octaves as a counterpoint to
the band. He had even delivered the vocal on Kardos' Victor record of "Corn-Fed Cal,"
singing with perhaps a bit more enthusiasm than accuracy. Still, he conveys a sunny,
outgoing personality—he sounds like someone who would happily be your friend for life.
Much of Shaw's story has been lost to the passage of time, and so has that of
Crown Records. The label was in business from October 1930 through September 1933;
most of its 532 releases were by a house band assembled by Adrian Schubert, who had
been an A&R man for the Plaza labels (including Domino, Banner and Regal). Crown might
well have had a connection with RCA Victor, too. Victor's custom division manufactured
Crown's pressings, and Crown may have also used the Victor recording studios in New
York.

Music historian Michael Brooks has written that Kardos lost his Victor contract
when that label's executives learned about his moonlighting with Crown. While Brooks is a
scrupulously accurate chronicler of the 1930s popular music scene, there may be reasons
to discount this. For one thing, Kardos' was not the only band working simultaneously for
both companies. Eubie Blake's Orchestra recorded for both in mid-1931, and so did Fletcher
Henderson (who was also making sides for Brunswick and Columbia). It's even possible
that Eli Oberstein, the executive who signed Kardos' band to Victor, may have had some-
thing to do with Crown; when he started his own Varsity label in 1939, Oberstein reissued 26
of the Kardos-Shaw Crown sides, as well as a number of the Henderson recordings.
Whether there was a connection between Crown and Victor or not, the "Joel Shaw"
sides on Crown are virtually indistinguishable from the Kardos recordings for Victor. That is,
with the exception of the slightly soggy first two tracks, "Who's Your Little Who-Zis?" and
"One More Kiss, Then Goodnight." These two midtempo numbers are cute but nothing
special—which is why they've been included at the end of this CD— and they certainly don't
convey the power of the Kardos band at full throttle.

The band's second Crown session, held on January 12, 1932, was much more
characteristic of the band. It included two songs that Kardos had already recorded for
Victor, but the Crown versions were markedly different. There would be very little repetition
of material; in fact, the repertoire for Crown was a bit more jazz oriented, drawing from hot
jazz standards ("Tiger Rag," "Clarinet Marmalade"), cover versions of hits by Cab Calloway
and Don Redman ("The Scat Song," "How'm I Doin'?"), and the hotter pop tunes of the day
("Oh! Mo'nah," "Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away.") The Victor sides are largely pop tunes
turned into jazz through Bernie Green's inventive charts and the band's energetic perfor-
mances; the Crown selections are more often out-and-out jazz to begin with.

The personnel of the band at Crown was evidently the same as on the Victor
sessions, even including vocalist Dick Robertson, who didn't appear with the band in live
performances but was a key ingredient to their sound on records. There's further evidence
to suggest that Kardos gave special care to his recordings; trumpeter Red Hymie recalled,
"We used stock arrangements when we played in public, but we had special arrangements
made for the recording sessions; Bernie Green usually would do those"
Green was already a master at his craft even though he was only 23 when most
of these records were made. Born in New York City on September 14, 1908, Green learned
arranging at the New York University College of Fine Arts, graduating with a Bachelor of
Music degree in 1932. In addition to his studies and his work with Kardos, Green was also
arranging for several radio shows. He continued in this realm for many years, writing themes
for programs such as The Clock and The Fat Man. His often comical arrangements were
prominently featured on the Henry Morgan ABC show of 1946-48. Later he graduated to
television, composing the themes for Mr. Peepers and Caesar's Hour. In the late '50s he
recorded an LP for Barbary Coast Records, Bernie Green Plays More Than You Can Stand
in Hi-Fi, and used tenor sax man Paul Ricci, a Kardos alumnus.

If the Kardos records on Victor bucked the trend toward sweet music that pre-
vailed in 1931-32, the Crown releases openly defied it. Popular music was undergoing a
drastic change in these years. Fast, dynamic, jazz-oriented music in the United States was
becoming the exclusive domain of black bandleaders like Cab Calloway, Don Redman and
Fletcher Henderson. The emerging white bands—Anson Weeks, Leo Reisman, Eddie
Duchin, Hal Kemp, Jimmie Grier, Freddy Martin, Enric Madriguera—could perform cheerful
and bubbly numbers with charm, but hot, fast, driving music wasn't their specialty. The
Kardos crew certainly played their share of pop novelties and even consented to a ballad
now and then, but they kept the tempo fast and the volume as loud as possible. "This band
could blow you out of the room," recalled Paul Ricci.

Kardos' men were united in their musical thinking, and in their admiration for their
leader. Jazz researcher Harold Smith spoke to many members of the Kardos band in the
early 1980s and preserved some of their fond reminiscences. Drummer Smith Howard
recalled, "We were a very fast, good-reading band, and there were hardly any mistakes
made at the recording studio.... We played the arrangement once, then we made the record!....
Due to the work we had—we later were playing Roseland, broadcasting, of course record-
ing, college dates, ballrooms and so on—there was no time for learning the arrangements,
so you had to be a tremendous reader."

The precision and torrid pace of the Kardos band's playing won admiration from
other, more widely known orchestras. Trumpeter Red Hymie and saxophonist Nat Brown
both proudly remembered battling the Glen Gray Casa Loma Orchestra at Princeton in the
early '30s; "We had such fast tempos, we were called 'The Machine-Gun Band' by the Casa
Loma," said Brown. Saxophonist Paul Ricci echoed those statements: "Boy, Gene's band
was tough! We played fast, and the arrangements had a lot of notes. I remember that
musicians would come to try out—and remember, you had to sight-read (we didn't have
much time for rehearsing)—well, they would take one look at our arrangements, pack up,
and leave without playing one note... Pete Salemi—Christ, he was great. He could play like
five trombones all at once. Moe Cohen was probably the fastest sax player I ever heard,
and Red Hymie was probably the closest thing to Berigan."

Kardos left a tremendous gift to posterity with his legacy of recordings. Several of
them won rave reviews in Metronome, which gave Gene such plaudits as, "Gene takes
plenty of liberty with this arrangement—it's aces high," "Gene's band hits it just right," and
"There's always a surprise in a Kardos recording." On the basis of these discs, his band had
the talent to become a nationally known headline attraction. Why, then, is the Kardos group
so obscure today that it's rarely mentioned even in histories of 1930s dance bands?
The main reason seems to be that Kardos just didn't like traveling, and with en-
thusiastic crowds filling the Gloria Palast every night there didn't seem to be any reason for
Gene and the boys to knock themselves out by going on the road. The Kardos band did
appear at ballrooms and theaters in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut during 1931
and '32, and at one point during that period the group went on its one and only lengthy tour,
an eight-month succession of one night stands playing the Eastern colleges. During the
summer of 1932, the band played its first extended engagement at the famous Roseland
Ballroom at 51st Street and Broadway in New York City, and would return many times in
years to come. But Yorkville and the Gloria Palast were home to the Kardos band in the
early '30s, and that's where Gene wanted to stay. Fortunately, Gene Kardos' records from
from this era - by any name, on any label - have traveled across the decades with all their
power and vitality intact.

-Randy Skretvedt

 

Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon
Kardos and company were first to record this doleful tune written by W. Mercer Cook and J.
Russell Robinson, which would be waxed by the Boswell Sisters, Chick Bullock and Dick
Robertson for Brunswick, and by Mildred Bailey for Victor. Even though this is a suicidal
torch song, it's taken at a fairly brisk tempo. The insistent rhythm section, with Max Goodman's
tuba playing a staccato note on all four beats of the bar, is a Kardos trademark.

Business in F
This fast, bluesy riff tune was written and arranged by Archie Bleyer, and also recorded by
Fletcher Henderson for Columbia. Kardos had recorded it for Victor in December 1931, but
this version is hotter and faster. Gene himself had handled the vocal at Victor, but here
Robertson expressively leads the band in a call-and-response refrain, with Shaw's piano
bubbling underneath.

Barnacle Bill (The Sailor)
Written and recorded in 1928 by Frank Luther and Carson Robison, this number's most
famous rendition is the May 1930 recording by Hoagy Carmichael and an all-star jazz lineup.
Kardos uses the same stock arrangement as Hoagy, but keeps the 6/8 tempo throughout,
instead of breaking into a 2/4 for hot jazz choruses as Carmichael did. Robertson plays both
Bill and the Maiden, and his vocal is so engaging that we'll forgive his fluff of "Hurry before
I brust in the door."

Sweet Violets
This is much more salacious than the expurgated version Kardos made for Victor, which
substituted trumpet, clarinet and trombone solos for the verses. As in the '40s novelty hit
"Shaving Cream," each verse comes perilously close to ending with the dreaded "S word,"
which isn't "Shnow." Kardos had in fact recorded it three times for Victor—one version was
rejected, one was released, and a third was issued as by "Bob Dickson," a pseudonym often
used by Dick Robertson. A hillbilly band called the Prairie Ramblers rechristened them-
selves the Sweet Violet Boys and cut a hit version of this for Vocalion in 1935.

Some of These Days
Sophie Tucker is indelibly associated with this Shelton Brooks composition of 1910, but the
Kardos-Shaw rendition seems to be inspired by then-recent recordings by Louis Armstrong
and Cab Calloway. The churning sax section after Robertson's Calloway-style vocal is a
highlight, as are the solo spots by trombonist Pete Salemi, trumpeter Red Hymie and pianist
Shaw.

Alexander's Ragtime Band
Kardos had cut this for Victor about a week before this Crown version. This arrangement of
the 1911 Irving Berlin hit is highlighted by some sardonic trombone glisses, with the clarinet,
trumpet and trombone heard in brief but effective solo spots.
Sing a New Song
A Depression era cheer-up song by Ned Wever and Milton Ager; Dick Robertson would wax
it for Brunswick 15 days after appearing on this Kardos-Shaw version. This is a more
straightforward performance than expected; Smith Howard underlines this with his drum
rolls and marching-band effects. Gabe Galinas' tenor sax does add some jazz at the finish.

If It Ain't Love
Kardos' men demonstrate how they could keep that driving rhythm going even on a ballad.
They provide plenty of muscle to this song (written by Fats Waller, Don Redman and Andy
Razaf for a 1932 Connie's Inn show called Hot Harlem) without sacrificing any of the tune's
beauty. Highlights include the lovely low-register clarinet, and the interplay between the
reeds and brass on the final chorus.

Business in Q
The entire song is based on a five-note phrase that musicians used as a private joke mean-
ing "Oh, you horse's ass!" This was written, and possibly arranged, by Archie Bleyer, and
was no doubt inspired by his earlier "Business in F." Although it's not much of a tune, the
arrangement is inventive and the fast, precise work from the reed and brass sections is
impressive. Sal Sussman's banjo is also heard to good effect.

My Extraordinary Gal
Kardos would remake this for Victor on April 7, 1932, just over a month after this Crown
session. The song is by pianist-vocalist Terry Shand, who would later write "Dance With a
Dolly," "I Double Dare You" and other hits. Galinas' tenor sax on the middle eight and
vocalist Robertson's inventive phrasing are standouts.

Oh! Mo'nah
A pseudo-gospel number written by Joseph Howard "Country" Washburne with Ted Weems.
"Mo'nah," incidentally, is a southern-dialect rendering of "mourner," not "Mona." On Kardos'
version, each section gets a chance to shine, and three guys from the band help Robertson
with the call-and-response vocal. (One of them sounds like Kardos, despite his son Charles'
assertion that "one thing he imparted to his sons was the inability to sing!") Robertson at
one point emulates the growly voice of Poley McClintock of Waring's Pennsylvanians.

Goofus
Wayne King had co-written and recorded this bucolic ditty for Victor in November 1930,
before he became exclusively concerned with waltzes. Red Nichols, with Robertson sing-
ing, would etch it {or Brunswick two months after Kardos. Nichols tried to ignore the hokum
and played it as straight as possible, but Kardos and company revel in the hick shtick. Nat
Brown plays a ricky-tick clarinet solo, complete with laughs, growls and smears; Robertson
shucks all the corn he can out of Gus Kahn's lyric.

Dinah
A jazz standard, written in 1925 by Sam Lewis, Joseph Young and Harry Akst, and popular-
ized by Ethel Waters in The Plantation Revue. Kardos' arrangement seems to be modeled
on the one recorded by Louis Armstrong with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band in May 1930.
Shaw's obbligato to Robertson's vocal stands out, as does Red Hymie's trumpet work.

Mouthful O' Jam
This obscure song about a musician who runs afoul of the law thanks to the wicked wiles of
his gal, Bedeliah, is really a showcase for Robertson—although Sammy Caspin's trumpet
lead and Shaw's piano are effective.

Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away
Carmen Lombardo, of all people, wrote this snappy tune and Joe Young provided the lyric.
Ben Selvin and Johnny Hamp also recorded it, but it's hard to beat the Kardos-Shaw ver-
sion. Nat Brown gets several solo spots on clarinet, Sal Sussman's banjo helps keep that
rhythm going, and the whole band joins in on the last chorus. Nobody whistles, though.

Darktown Strutters' Ball
Another Shelton Brooks composition, written in 1917 and frequently recorded. Kardos'
version is taken at a moderate tempo, but it's a deliberate, driving performance. Robertson
takes several liberties with the melody, and a muted trumpet, trombone and clarinet share a
chatty three-way conversation after his vocal.

Call of the Freaks
This blues-based novelty was written and recorded by Luis Russell. It's also known as
"Garbage Man Blues," which is what Milton Brown and his Brownies would call it on their
disc of April 1934. Kardos portrays the refuse worker at the outset. Joel Shaw takes the
vocal, and after we've stuck out our collective can, we're rewarded with some impressive
Nat Brown clarinet, a call-and-response vocal chorus with Shaw doing some scatting, and a
growling trombone statement from Pete Salemi.

How'm I Doin'?
Multi-talented Don Redman wrote this and recorded it for Brunswick in February 1932, and
Waring's Pennsylvanians covered it for Victor that April. Salemi's jaunty trombone chorus is
a highlight, and Robertson has fun employing a Deep South dialect on the scatty vocal.

The Scat Song
This was a Cab Calloway number, recorded by him for Brunswick in '32 and again for Victor
the following year. Rather than improvising the scat singing a la Calloway, Robertson sticks
to what's written, which allows us to hear the complete lyric. The precision of the brass and
reed sections is breathtaking, as is the accuracy of tuba player Max Goodman.

Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day
Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler wrote this for Cab Calloway to sing in The Cotton Club Pa-
rade. The Boswell Sisters and Billy Banks' Orchestra also recorded it. It's one of several
sequels to Cab's first hit, among them "Kickin' the Gong Around," "Minnie the Moocher at
the Morgue," "The Ghost of Smoky Joe" and "Jerry the Junker." Moe Cohen's tenor sax gets
a chance to shine, and Smith Howard's drumming is solid.

When You're Getting Along With Your Gal
Kardos may have first heard this while at a Victor session on May 5, 1932, because Dell
Lampe and his Orchestra cut it immediately before Kardos' session began. The saxes
sound a bit Lombardoish on this bouncy number, but that insistent rhythm section keeps
them from drifting too far into the land of the Royal Canadians. Shaw actually gets a piano
solo, allowing us to hear his stride technique.

Who's Your Little Who-Zis?
This is the first Kardos-Shaw track for Crown and it's frankly less exciting than most. This
tune, written and popularized by Ben Bernie, is cute but doesn't offer much potential for
jazz. There's a more legato approach to the rhythm, and a violin (probably played by Kardos)
has been added. We don't know who's whistling the melody in the background on the last
chorus!

One More Kiss, Then Goodnight
Peter DeRose, of "Deep Purple" fame, co-wrote this with Louis Herscher and Charles Tobias.
Goodman plays his tuba only on beats one and three of each bar, a more sedate rhythm
than the driving pulse he usually employs. Galinas plays some impressive, moody tenor,
and a bit of the true Kardos sound emerges after the vocal. It's a pleasant way to say
goodnight to one of the finest bands of the early '30s - that is until the next volume in this
series is issued.

The Selections:

All selections were recorded in New York. All originally issued as by "Joel Shaw and his
Orchestra."

Personnel: Gene Kardos - leader; Sammy Caspin, Red Hymie - t; Pete Salemi - tb;
Moe Cohen - as; Gabe Galinas - as-ts; Nat Brown - as-ts-cl; Joel Shaw - p; Sal
Sussman - bj-g; Max Goodman - bb; Smith Howard - d. Brian Rust's American Dance
Band Discography lists Mike Doty on clarinet/alto sax, but the personnel list compiled by
surviving members of the band and researcher Harold Smith does not include him. Dick
Robertson - v on all selections except those noted (credited to "Bob Dixon"). Arrangements,
unless otherwise noted, are by Bernie Green.

1. Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon (3:00) 1/12/32. Matrix 1629-2, Crown 3273.
2. Business in F (2:46) 1/12/32. Matrix 1628-1, Crown 3271. Arranged by Archie Bleyer.
3. Barnacle Bill (the Sailor) (2:59)1/12/32. Matrix 1631-1, Crown 3273.
4. Sweet Violets (3:12) 1/12/32. Matrix 1630-5, Crown 3271. Add the band as vocalists.
5. Some of These Days (2:57) 2/2/32. Matrix 1670-1, Crown 3285.
6. Alexander's Ragtime Band (3:05) 2/2/32. Matrix 1671-2, Crown 3285.
7. Sing a New Song (2:53) 2/2/32. Matrix 1672-2, Crown 3300.
8. If It Ain't Love (3:09) 2/2/32. Matrix 1673-1, Crown 3298.
9. Business in Q (2:43) 3/4/32. Matrix 1691-1, Crown 3304. Instrumental. Possibly arranged by Archie Bleyer.
10. My Extraordinary Gal (3:09) 3/4/32. Matrix 1692-2, Crown 3302.
11. Oh! Mo'nah (2:51) 3/4/32. Matrix 1693-1, Crown 3300. Add vocal trio, one of whom is possibly Gene Kardos.
12. Goofus (2:54) 3/4/32. Matrix 1694-1, Crown 3302.
13. Dinah (2:58) 3/14/32. Matrix1699-1, Crown 3319.
14. Mouthful O'Jam (3:20) 3/14/32. Matrix 1700-1, Crown 3312.
15. Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away (2:53) 3/14/32. Matrix 1701-3, Crown 3311. Add the band as vocalists.
16. Darktown Strutters'Ball (2:59) 3/14/32. Matrix 1702-1, Crown 3319.
17. Call of the Freaks (2:54) 3/14/32. Matrix 1703-1, Crown 3312. Substitute Joel
Shaw and the band - v for Robertson. Add Gene Kardos - speech.
18. How'm I Doin'? (2:49) 6/12/32. Matrix 1743-1, Crown 3333. Add the band as
vocalists.
19. The Scat Song (2:43) 6/12/32. Matrix 1745-2, Crown 3333.
20. Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day (3:01) 6/12/32. Matrix 1744-1, Crown 3332.
Add the band as vocalists.
21. When You're Getting Along with Your Gal (2:45) 6/12/32. Matrix 1746-2, Crown 3332.
22. Who's Your Little Who-Zis? (2:56) 12/19/31. Matrix 1566-2, Crown 3244. Add Gene Kardos - vn; unknown whistling.
23. One More Kiss, Then Goodnight (3:01) 12/19/31. Matrix 1567-1, Crown 3244. Add Gene Kardos - vn.

Acknowledgments:

Randy Skretvedt wishes to thank Harold Smith, Andy D'Arienzo and John Leifert
for their pioneering research into the life and career of Gene Kardos. Thanks also to Will
Friedwald for his generosity. And special thanks to Charles Kardos for providing many
insights about his father.

The inspiration for this series of four CDs comes from a 2-LP set on Kardos done
in 1984 by the above mentioned Harold Smith. Hal reissues under the Park Lane label and
resides in New York. He is a record collector and music researcher covering the period
between the late twenties and early thirties. The cover photograph of Joel Shaw is from the
Frank Driggs collection.

The Playlist:
1. Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon (3:00)
2. Business in F (2:46)
3. Barnacle Bill (the Sailor) (2:59)
4. Sweet Violets (3:12)
5. Some of These Days (2:57)
6. Alexander's Ragtime Band (3:05)
7. Sing a New Song (2:53)
8. If It Ain't Love (3:09)
9. Business in Q (2:43)
10. My Extraordinary Gal (3:09)
11. Oh! Mo'nah (2:51)
12. Goofus (2:54)
13. Dinah (2:58)
14. Mouthful O' Jam (3:20)
15. Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away (2:53)
16. Darktown Strutters' Ball (2:59)
17. Call of the Freaks (2:54)
18. How'm I Doin'? (2:49)
19. The Scat Song (2:43)
20. Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day (3:01)
21. When You're Getting Along with Your Gal (2:45)
22. Who's Your Little Who-Zis? (2:56)
23. One More Kiss, Then Goodnight (3:01)
Playing time: 69:47

Produced by: The Old Masters, P.O. Box 25358, San Mateo, CA 94402.
Digital Sound Restoration by: George Morrow, Echo Productions, 23673 Connecticut
St., Suite 2, Hayward CA 94545.

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