Hot Dance Tunes from the Roaring 1920s

In 2008, the ever-resourceful Vintage Music Productions label reissued 21 recordings made by violinist Paul Ash and his orchestra over a five-year period beginning in 1923, when Ash's unit was briefly billed as his "Granada Orchestra". Tracks 1-6 sample his output for the Brunswick label, followed by his crossover to Columbia in 1926. As is the case with every Vintage Music Productions release, the Paul Ash set is packed with old-fashioned vocals and authentic period dance band arrangements. The vocals on most of the Brunswick sides are credited to Paul Small, who shows up on quite a number of records from this period. Small is also heard on "I Ain't That Kind of a Baby," this collection's only example of what the Ash band sounded like with Danny Polo in the reed section. Most of the vocals on the 1926 recordings are credited to Milton Watson, who helps to generate a splendidly groundless sense of well-being during "Looking at the World Through Rose-Colored Glasses." "Let's Talk About My Sweetie" features Harry Maxfield, and the group vocal on "There Ain't No Maybe in My Baby's Eyes" is by the Foursome. "Thanks for the Buggy Ride" will doubtless seem noteworthy for the voice of Ash's pianist Harry Barris, famous for having sung with Al Rinker and Bing Crosby in the Rhythm Boys as featured with Paul Whiteman. Barris also wrote several pop and jazz standards, including "I Surrender Dear," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," and "Mississippi Mud." Other singers heard on this collection are Texas crooner Seger Ellis (on "Everywhere You Go"), Scrappy Lambert (on "What a Wonderful Wedding It Will Be"), and Irving Kaufman (billed as Frank Harris) on "Mary (What Are You Waiting For)" and "I've Been Looking for a Girl Like You." As nice as all these vocal tracks may seem, the instrumentals "Salty" and "Deep Blue" offer precious opportunities to concentrate on the players in the Paul Ash Orchestra, including reedmen Vernon "Mutt" Hayes and Herbert "Putty" Nettles.