Desert Island Duffel

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing, as the saying goes, and Leslie Johnson’s Mississippi Rag has devoted thirty years to keeping the swing alive. Her Bloomington-based newspaper is a torchbearer for early-twentieth-century ragtime and jazz. It may not have Rolling Stone’s circulation numbers, but it has worldwide reach; the Rag is read by jazz fans and musicians in 26 countries. (Locally, it’s available at Shinder’s and through www.mississippirag.com.) Contributors include modern-day ragtime master Butch Thompson and Will Shapira, longtime Twin Cities jazz journalist and Johnson’s husband. The Rag’s specialty is comprehensive profiles of the talented but obscure sidemen of the Jazz Age—like the recent eight-pager on trumpeter Ziggy Elman. It’s invaluable historical documentation of a set of artists often overlooked. For Johnson’s trip into our imaginary island exile, she chose five great singles from the heyday of traditional jazz.

1. Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five, “West End Blues.” There are some classics that just have to be in there, even though I thought, “Oh jeez, I’d really like to come up with different stuff.” But actually, you just can’t get any better than this. So guess what—that’s number one.

2. Benny Goodman, “Sing Sing Sing.” That’s the song from his 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. The whole concert is just fabulous, but that’s really a barnburner.

3. Jelly Roll Morton, “Mournful Serenade.” One of my absolute favorites. It’s melancholy and rhythmic and creates an incredible mood. Twyla Tharp, the dancer, did choreography to it for a single dancer who did the entire dance within a spotlight, confined just to that, and it was wonderful.

4. “Ragtime Nightingale,” which was written by Joseph Lamb, and I love it played by Max Morath. It’s a classic ragtime tune, with a lovely, irresistible melody. And Max has a touch on piano where he gets a certain poignance to his playing that’s very identifiable. We recently published a two-part article on Joseph Lamb—the first detailed article ever done on him—with the help of his daughter.

5. George Lewis’s New Orleans Jazz Band, “Burgundy Street Blues.” Lewis had a distinctive style. It has a lilting quality, a dancing quality, and yet on this song it’s sweet and mournful, and very true. He plays an Albert-system clarinet—that’s the old-style New Orleans clarinet. It has a woodier sound and a beautiful, rich lower tone. This blues I can listen to again and again and again. It just goes right to the heart.


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