Black Manhattan Vol. 1: Theater and Dance Music of Europe

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Catalogue No: NW80611
Label: New World
Length: 67 minutes

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Ford T. Dabney, James Reese Europe: The Castle Perfect Trot

Work length2:15

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Will H. Vodery: Carolina Fox Trot

Work length2:44

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Cook, W: Overture to "In Dahomey"

Work length8:19

$1.50

$2.10

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

trad.: Deep River: Old Negro Melody

Work length2:23

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

William H. Tyers: Sambo: A Characteristic Two Step March

Work length3:09

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Bob Cole, Johnson Brothers: When the Band Plays Ragtime

Work length3:13

$1.00

$1.40

Edward Pleasant
Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

James Reese Europe: Castle House Rag

Work length2:09

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

William H. Tyers: Smyrna: A Turkish Serenade

Work length4:39

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Chris Smith, James Reese Europe: Ballin' the Jack / What It Takes to Make Me Love You--You've Got It

Work length1:45

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

William H. Tyers: Meno D'Amour

Work length4:48

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

James Reese Europe: Hey There! (Hi There!)

Work length2:40

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

J. Tim Brymn: The Tar Heel Blues Rag

Work length2:33

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

James Reese Europe: Congratulations ("the Castles' Lame Duck Waltz")

Work length4:57

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Layton, T: Strut Miss Lizzie

Work length2:02

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

William H. Tyers: Panama: A Characteristic Novelty

Work length4:49

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

James Reese Europe: The Clef Club March

Work length2:49

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Johnson Brothers, Bob Cole: Under the Bamboo Tree

Work length5:07

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

J. Tim Brymn: Cocoanut Grove Jazz

Work length3:05

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

Cook, W: Swing Along

Work length4:04

$1.00

$1.40

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Rick Benjamin

About
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About

The Clef Club of New York City, Inc. was a fraternal and professional organization for the advancement of African-American musicians and entertainers; all of the composers on this recording were members or closely affiliated with the Club. The "Clef Club" was founded toward the end of 1909 in New York by James Reese Europe and his associates. Their mission to highlight the value, dignity, and professionalism of African-American performers was a great success and did much to change racial attitudes at all levels of white society. It quickly became a "who's who" of early twentieth-century black music and show business. With its reputation for reliability, gentility, and quality performances, the Clef Club soon gained the favor of the loftiest of New York's white society; it became the very height of fashion to announce that one had secured a genuine "Clef Club Orchestra" for an upcoming social event.

The composers featured on this revelatory recording represent the cream of Black Bohemia's musical life-the movers and shakers who paved the way for the music of the better remembered "Harlem Renaissance" of the 1920s. And while their names are obscure today, all once enjoyed national reputations in white America as well, feeding its burgeoning interest in black music, theater, and dance. Taken altogether, the talent, persistence, cooperation, and courage of these pioneers is an amazing American story that deserves to be better known. The recording features nineteen works by ten composers and is accompanied by a 40-page booklet. In addition to those by Europe and Cook, highlights include works by Will Vodery, an acknowledged influence on Ellington, and the first instrumental rag ever published, Sambo: A Characteristic Two Step March (1896), by Will Tyers.

Black Manhattan Vol. 1: Theater and Dance Music of Europe

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