Black Manhattan:
Music of the Legendary “Clef Club”
BLACK MANHATTAN: THEATER AND DANCE MUSIC OF JAMES REESE EUROPE, WILL MARION COOK, AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGENDARY ‘CLEF CLUB’
(New World Records 800611-2):
Performed by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Rick Benjamin, conductor;
featuring Edward Pleasant, baritone, and Awet Andemichael, soprano.
Introducing:
- “The Castle Perfect Trot” (1914), James Reese Europe – Ford T. Dabney.
- “Carolina Fox Trot” (From the Ziegfeld Follies of 1914), Will H. Vodery.
- Overture to In Dahomey (1902/03), Will Marion Cook.
- “Deep River: Old Negro Melody” (1916), arr. Harry T. Burleigh.
- “Sambo: A Characteristic Two Step March” (1896), Will H. Tyers.
- “When the Band Plays Ragtime” (song,1902), Bole Cole & the Johnson Brothers.
- “Castle House Rag” (1914), James Reese Europe.
- “Smyrna: A Turkish Serenade” (1910/1914), Will H. Tyers.
- “Ballin’ the Jack & What It Takes to Make Me Love You” (medley fox trot, 1914),
Chris Smith & James Reese Europe. - “Meno D’Amour” (intermezzo, 1906), Will H. Tyers.
- “Hey There! (Hi There!)” (one step, 1915), James Reese Europe.
- “Tar Heel Blues Rag” (1915), J. Tim Brymn.
- “Congratulations” (“the Castles’ Lame Duck Waltz,” 1914), James Reese Europe.
- “Strut Miss Lizzie” (fox trot, 1921), J. Turner Layton/arr. Will Vodery.
- “Panama: A Characteristic Novelty” (1910/1911), Will H. Tyers.
- “The Clef Club March” (1910), James Reese Europe.
- “Under the Bamboo Tree” (song, 1902), Bob Cole & the Johnson Brothers.
- “Cocoanut Grove Jazz” (1917), J. Tim Brymn.
- “Swing Along!” (1902/1912), Will Marion Cook.
“Want wings anybody? They’re yours for the asking, thanks to these splendid performances
by Rick Benjamin and his Paragon Ragtime Orchestra…This release is delectable…”
– FANFARE magazine
“Black Manhattan…offers the most representative sampling of composers and songwriters active in the New York African American entertainment scene during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Moreover, the recording remains particularly useful to jazz educators because it presents in clear audio fidelity the artists and music that helped establish the foundation for big bands in the 1920s and 1930s.”
– AMERICAN MUSIC magazine
The Clef Club of New York City, Inc. was a fraternal and professional organization founded in 1909 to showcase the quality, dignity, and professionalism of African-American performers. The Clef Club was also the home of several once-famous black composers, ten of whom are now honored on this revelatory new CD. Produced by Grammy winner Judith Sherman, this fine digital recording features the PRO performing 19 stirring rags, fox trots, marches, songs, novelties, and other “hits” (most never before recorded) by Clef Club composers; it also includes a 40-page illustrated historical booklet. In addition to music by Jim Europe and Cook, highlights include works by Will Vodery (mentor of Duke Ellington and Gershwin), songs by the brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamund Johnson, and the first published rag by a black composer – William Tyer’s 1896 “Sambo.” Through its rare and irresistibly charming music, Black Manhattan weaves an African-American story of talent, persistence, and courage that will thrill and inspire.
Click here to learn about PRO’s sequel to this album – BLACK MANHATTAN VOL. 2
