THE EDDIE LANG

YOU NEED TO HEAR!

IN THREE PARTS

This section, "The Eddie Lang You Need To Hear!" is just that, an indispensable example of the guitarist's innovative work as a trailblazing jazz improviser, virtuoso, and genuine blues player. In addition, the section on Ross Gorman was a work in progress with the late Jeff Healey and is completed here in tribute to this fine musician, researcher, and collector.

PART ONE

The Trailblazing Jazz Improvisor

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

THE FACTS

This section resolves the issue regarding Eddie Lang’s presence on the 1925-1926 recordings by Ross Gorman. Jeff Healey & Mike Peters auditioned and confirmed Eddie Lang’s participation on all the sides listed.

The Ross Gorman sides featuring Eddie Lang are largely unknown, and those known have yet to be well documented. The Lang/Gorman dilemma resulted from poor discographic work, conjecture, and a willingness to toss out the names of Dick McDonough and Tony Colucci (both members of Gorman's band at the time) as the guitar soloist. (McDonough, at the time of this recording, was playing a tenor-guitar and didn't attempt to record playing the six-string guitar until 1927. As for Colucci, there are no examples of his guitar work in 1925 or 1926). The published accounts of a few of the Lang/Gorman recordings are often incorrect, and they have been repeated & repeated, with the misinformation invariably taking on a life of its own as gospel. What was all too obvious to Healey/Peters went over the heads of several credible authors and researchers; nonetheless, their tomes include these inaccurate conclusions. A few notable examples include Brian Rust's Jazz Records 1897-1942 and The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942 (Arlington House, 1978/1975), a colossal work of data compilation that fails to include Lang in any of the sides recorded by Gorman.

Another instance can be found in Lost Chords, White Musicians and Their Contributions to Jazz, 1915-1945 (Oxford University Press, 1999), by Dick Sudhalter. A good musician, an era expert, and a fine author (Bix, Man & Legend, Arlington House, 1974), Sudhalter got it all wrong in Lost Chords, a massive and, with few exceptions, extraordinary opus, this is surprising, as his work is well-researched, and he does seek counsel. His account on this matter is contained herein, showing that he received poor guidance. On the other hand, author Richard Hadlock was one of the few to get it right in his 1965 book Jazz Masters Of The Twenties (Collier Books), quoted below.

Well, the facts are the facts, and here they are.

Technically and harmonically, this is the work of a pioneering jazz & blues guitar master. There was only one guitarist with these chops and creativity at the time. It IS Eddie Lang displaying his extraordinary technique and inventiveness on guitar with Ross Gorman at the midpoint of the 1920s; his presence is undeniable.

Below are the six recording sessions from 1925 & 1926. Even more astonishing is that the charts for these sessions appear to be crafted or modified, especially for Eddie Lang's talents.

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

SESSION 1

1925, October 29 (Thu): Eddie Lang-guitar, banjo,  RECORDING SESSION, NYC.

Ross Gorman and His Earl Carroll Orchestra

W141214-3 I’M SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD-Columbia 498-D

W141215-2,3 RHYTHM OF THE DAY-Columbia 498-D

NOTE: RHYTHM OF THE DAY features two banjos playing rhythm; Dick McDonough and most probably Eddie Lang. There is no guitar solo.

The first of six Ross Gorman recording sessions featuring Eddie Lang on guitar is a defining moment for Lang. Eddie Lang was not a regular member of the Gorman band but was called into the recording session to play a feature role on one of Gorman's charts. Was the orchestration specifically written for him, or is it a modified chart highlighting his extraordinary talents? Whatever the case may be, the guitarist delivers.

When recording banjo and acoustic guitar players in the day (even into the nineteen fifties), the player sat on a stool or a chair placed on a riser near the microphone, which was on a stand. This would apply to Lang as he is very close to the microphone used for the session. Eddie has to wait halfway through the chart before making his entrance, and this is precisely when the score transitions to inspired. With his left hand positioned squarely in the middle of the guitar neck (prime real estate), Lang has his core single-string improvisational line worked out for 14 bars (in F) and blemishes it with bent notes, slides, and slurs. A two-bar trombone break (Miff Mole) launches an unaccompanied cornet (Red Nichols) and guitar duet as the orchestra lays out for eight bars. Eddie wraps up the bridge with his trademark augmented chord run and then accompanies the cornet for another six bars. But there's more. The orchestra returns for thirty bars (now in the key of Eb), and the guitarist is back with a two-bar single-string fill and then proceeds to accompany a clarinet, muted trumpet duo (catch the low G in his Eb chord and the slide to C7, very cool). Lang closes the record with an Eb7.

Can this be the first orchestra recording scored to feature a jazz guitar solo, along with jazz guitar accompaniment? The first "Solo Flight"?

This erroneous account is from Lost Chords, White Musicians and Their Contributions to Jazz, 1915-1945 by Dick Sudhalter (Oxford University Press, 1999).

Sometime in the year or so he spent with Gorman, McDonough began playing guitar with some regularity. He’s featured on “I’m Sittin’ on Top of the World,” both in a half-chorus solo and as a prominent rhythm accompanist in two passages with Red (Nichols) and Miff (Mole). The style is almost identical to that of Lang, both in the single-string solos and in the method of accompaniment - even to a two-bar whole-tone chordal substitution in the middle of a Nichols cornet solo.

NOTE: “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck ...”

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

SESSION 2

1925, November 24 (Tue): Eddie Lang-guitar, banjo, RECORDING SESSION, NYC.

Ross Gorman and His Earl Carroll Orchestra

W141307-4 I NEVER KNEW-Columbia 516-D        

W141308-2 SLEEPY TIME GAL-Columbia 516-D

By late 1925, Eddie was also recording with Ross Gorman’s respected studio band (with members often drawn from Paul Whiteman’s orchestra), along with other rising instrumental stars like Red Nichols, Miff Mole, and Jimmy Dorsey. On these dates, Lang’s guitar was sometimes featured as a solo instrument only while a conventional banjo played rhythm in the background.

With Lang’s arrival, arrangers began to recognize the potential of the guitar as a melody instrument. One of Gorman’s scores, Sleepy Time Gal, called for the unheard-of duet combination of baritone saxophone and guitar in a surprisingly modern interlude.

SOURCE: Jazz Masters Of The Twenties, Richard Hadlock (Collier Books).

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

SESSION 3

1926, March 24 (Wed): Eddie Lang-guitar, RECORDING SESSION, NYC.

Ross Gorman and His Earl Carroll Orchestra

W141860-1,3 NO MORE WORRYIN’-Columbia 615

W141861-2,3  I’D RATHER BE THE GIRL IN YOUR ARMS-Columbia 615

Throughout the period, Eddie demonstrated constant improvement and deepening in his command of the guitar and in his concepts of the harmonic language of jazz. With (Miff) Mole, (Red) Nichols, and (Jimmy) Dorsey exploring new ideas alongside him, Lang began to hit his full stride. On one Gorman title, No More Worryin’, he tosses off a virile, blues-touched solo, played partly with pick and partly with fingers. Other guitarists were amazed by Lang’s ability to tuck the pick into his palm, play with his fingers, and suddenly bring the pick bank again - all without disturbing the flow of his solo.

SOURCE: Jazz Masters Of The Twenties, Richard Hadlock (Collier Books).

This wrong account is also from Lost Chords, White Musicians and Their Contributions to Jazz, 1915-1945 by Dick Sudhalter (Oxford University Press, 1999).

Here and on such other Gorman records as “No More Worryin’” and “I’d Rather Be the Girl in Your Arms,” he’s (McDonough) quick, rhythmically agile, technically clean.

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

SESSION 4

1926, November 3 (Wed): Eddie Lang-guitar, RECORDING SESSION, NYC.

Ross Gorman and His Orchestra

11280-B IDOLIZING-Edison 51876

The tune IDOLIZING began making the rounds as a candidate for recording during the final months of 1926. Eddie Lang participated in three sessions that included IDOLIZING, two with Ross Gorman and one with the Jean Goldkette Orchestra (two takes are available). On all three, he is a featured instrumentalist. Sitting in as guest guitarist during an October Goldkette recording session for Victor Records, arranger Bill Challis scored Lang to provide obligato to Frank Bessinger’s vocal on IDOLIZING. Lang’s first recording of the tune finds him oblivious to the singer, having worked out what he planned to say in his 32 bars (16 bars of single-string, 8 bars of chord accompaniment, and a final 8 of single-string). As you can hear below, his performance is virtually identical on both takes.

Ross Gorman’s first recording of IDOLIZING was for the Edison label, and the number is orchestrated to take full advantage of the four-plus minutes of playing time afforded by the Edison system. Eddie Lang is given a full chorus to improvise and show off his stuff (32 bars, plus a two-bar break), a mighty showcase for the recently turned twenty-four-year-old guitarist, who delivers a smooth but bold single-string jazz improvisation wrapped around a blistering run @ 20 (on the excerpt).

When someone asks, “What’s the big deal about Eddie Lang?” play them this ...!

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

SESSION 5

1926, c. November 15 (Mon): Eddie Lang-guitar, RECORDING SESSION, NYC.

Ross Gorman and His Orchestra

2193-C IDOLIZING-Cameo 1063

NOTE: Recording date updated by Steven Lasker.

The Cameo records version of IDOLIZING by the Gorman band is taken at a quicker tempo. Again, it displays the guitarist's virtuosity across 32 bars, a two-bar break, and a four-bar whole-tone chord break that sets up the key change. Both of his solos on IDOLIZING are excerpted below.

And the complete Cameo recording follows …

EDDIE LANG RECORDING WITH ROSS GORMAN

SESSION 6

1926, December 7 (Tue): Eddie Lang-guitar, RECORDING SESSION, NYC.

Ross Gorman and His Orchestra

11297-F YOU’RE BURNING ME UP (TURNING ME DOWN)-Edison 51896-R

11279-G YOU’RE BURNING ME UP (TURNING ME DOWN)-Edison 51896

11279-H YOU’RE BURNING ME UP (TURNING ME DOWN)-Edison 51896-R

11354-B HAWAIIAN ROSE-Edison 51896-L

PART TWO

Virtuoso

Eddie Lang SOLOS, RUNS, FILLS (1925-1933)

The montages below of solos, runs, and fills illustrate Eddie Lang's ability to conceive jazz guitar lines and fills of immense repute. There was no one at the time who possessed the ability to originate and execute passages of a caliber like those found here. Oddly, he avoided displays of technique and creative line playing such as these in most of his improvisations, favoring simple, trumpet-like phrases, which he often graced with a blues moan (string bends). This he did to the detriment of his jazz guitar legacy, and the guitarist's footprint has unfairly suffered due to it.

Eddie Lang SOLOS, RUNS, FILLS Montage Pt. 1 (1925-1933)

I’d Rather Be the Girl in Your Arms (intro)-Ross Gorman and His Earl Carroll Orchestra (1926)

Four-String Joe-Joe Venuti’s Blue Four (1927)

Hurricane-Red Nichols and His Five Pennies (1927)

I’d Rather Be the Girl in Your Arms (solo)-Ross Gorman and His Earl Carroll Orchestra (1926)

Gettin’ Told-Mound City Blue Blowers (1925)

I’m Coming, Virginia-Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra (1927)

Jig Saw Puzzle Blues-Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang’s Blue Five (1933)

No More Worryin’-Ross Gorman and His Orchestra (1926)

If You Never Come Back-Mound City Blue Blowers (1925)

Feeling My Way (intro)-Eddie Lang & Carl Kress (1932)

Eddie Lang SOLOS, RUNS, FILLS Montage Pt. 2 (1926-1932)

Trumpet Sobs-We Three (1926)

Bad Habits-Boyd Senter (1927)

What Ya Want Me To Do-Clarence Williams & His Novelty Four (1928)

Kickin’ The Cat-Joe Venuti’s Blue Four (1927)

Pickin’ My Way-Eddie Lang & Carl Kress (1932)

Idolizing-Ross Gorman and His Orchestra (Edison-1926)

April Kisses-Eddie Lang (1927)

Wringin’ An’ Twistin’-Tram, Bix and Lang (1927)

PART THREE

Genuine Blues Player

BLUES IN F (1925)

With the Mound City Blue Blowers, Eddie Lang emerges as a distinct guitar soloist, fusing advanced harmonies and rhythms and a dazzling technique with the blues. BLUES IN F shows him to be as much a jazz guitar pioneer as he is a genuine blues player. In this slow, funky 12-bar, Lang's single-string guitar chorus, washed in bent notes (which he wrestles with throughout), expresses all that we've come to expect from a modern-day electric blues guitarist. This is not just one of the earliest, but potentially the earliest, blues guitar solo. The fact that a twenty-two-year-old Italian from south Philly is the first urban blues guitar player to record and could delve so deeply into the genre a century ago is a testament to his remarkable talent and creative ability, and a significant milestone in the history of blues guitar playing.

Here's Lang's BLUES IN F guitar solo (F natural-excerpted).

More examples of Eddie Lang’s work as a genuine blues player can be found @ Eddie Lang BLUES (coming soon).