ProJazz.net

Track listing:

1. Dixie [0:00]
2. I Wonder If You Still Care For Me [2:55]
3. Snow Flakes [5:47]
4. I Wonder Who (You’re Calling Sweetheart) [8:49]
5. Say, Persianna, Say! [11:51]
6. Idola [15:00]
7. Black Eyed Blues [18:16]
8. Blue Eyes Blues [21:24]
9. Alabama Blues [24:40]
10. Isle of Zorda [27:56]
11. Rock Me in My Swanee Cradle* [30:50]
12. You’ve Had Your Day [34:05]
13. Truly [37:14]
14. The World is Waiting For the Sunrise [40:03]
15. Don’t Bring Me Posies (It’s Shoesies That I Need) [42:39]
16. Two Little Wooden Shoes [45:43]
17. Early in the Morning (Blues) [48:25]
18. Blue (And Broken Hearted) [51:30]
19. My Buddy (waltz)* [54:27]

Ukrainian-born pianist and bandleader Michael “Mike” Markels (not Markel, as is often miswritten) led one of the finest society dance orchestras of 1920s New York. A favorite of the Upper East Side’s upper crust patrons, the band played an elegant combination of sparkling high-society music and ragged hot jazz. Originally a swaying quarter beat characterized the band, driven by banjoist Frank Gravito, but in late 1921 the band added the thumping bass saxophonist Keith Pitman, which gave the band a strong 2/4 feel under the banjo. Markels split the difference in his counterpoint, creating what the contemporary press called a “double beat,” which was perfect for dancing. As a result, the band’s popularity among the dancing crowd grew, as did their records. But perhaps the greatest addition to the band was Kansas saxophonist Loren “Mac” McMurray, in the summer of 1921. Mac, fresh from co-leading a band with Duke Yellman in Kansas City, moved to New York to play with Markels and began contributing his velvety saxophone on records with the band very soon after. “Dixie,” written by the band’s violinist Eddie Davis, was Mac’s first showcase number on record with the band, showing his technical facility even that early on in his discography. After a brief switch to Pathe (and a briefly featured second saxophonist), the band came back to Okeh and really came into its own sound-wise. By the beginning of 1922, the band’s “double beat” was fully developed, as “Idola” showcases beautifully. The band also began recording more interesting material, such as Birmingham composer Libbie Williams Mehr’s “Alabama Blues” and the 1922 Pathe short theme song “Isle of Zorda.” As the year went on, more familiar jazz standards to us today began popping up in the band’s recorded output, such as “The World is Waiting For the Sunrise,” and “Blue,” which Mac also recordedw ith his own band and the Virginians. Mac was also experimenting a lot in the Eddie Elkins band at the time with different instruments including the baritone saxophone, on which makes he made his recording debut on “Rock Me in My Swanee Cradle,” and plays again in perhaps his most “out” performance, the incredibly beautiful and complexly arranged “My Buddy,” cut just days before his untimely death at the end of October, 1922. With his passing, Markels had to reorganize his band and change its sound, ultimately hiring Victor Poynter as his replacement. This set of 19 sides by the Markels band showcases the group in its prime. Though the greatest hists by this band have already been reissued, here is an opportunity to hear some of their lesser known but no less exciting sides cut during their golden age.