Brownsville Weekly News

pitti

ee

SATURDAY, OCTOBER. 18,- 194) -

- BER Ge SBE i OTe Megs Spy he eg SR ERE -_+
ere oa. Fg >

Oe we 0 ee eee se ee

Leas us od

pe

jess

ELLA FITZGERALD

The. story of ~

~Melinda, the Mousie,~

is fittingly memorialized by

Ella Fitzgerald in her new Decca platter which has the boys all rav
ing.

Often imitated, but rever equalled, Ella continues to click
despite all the dire predictions made by ~

~smart guys~ when she fell

heir = the late Chick Webb~s great orchestra.

Porgy And Bess ~
Back ToBroadway

a. ae By DOLORES CALVIN" "~*~
~~~ YORK~(C)~*Porgy and Bess~ TO HIT BROAD
WAY AGAIN!!.. Next week~s revival of Gershwin~s famed

~~Porsy and. Bess~ at the Maplewood Theatre (N. J.) with
nfost of the ~original cast is gems toa Broadway engage
mapt hater this season.

eset

casi

TRURER RRO E SE ~.

FOOTLITE
FLICKERS

By ALVIN MOSES

SERBS BEBE RHR BES

NEW YORK ~ (ANP) ~ Edith
Wheeler, a Wisconsin school marm,
writes us this week anent the hap
gs. to two leading Negro
andsmen. Commenting on ~CAB
CALLOWAY and the stabbing incident, the erudite teacher avers as
how....~eternally we live and remain the sterotype. Why must our
leaders (in their respective fields),
resott to such stupid. things as
brawling (I distinctly refer to Calloway showing off through some
~prowess of the fists), and....why
do our so called he-men carry
ms of destruction in their
pockets like unlicensed thugs? De
you think you can spare the space

in your splendid ~Flickers~ column |:

to voice miy sincere indignation
Over this type of shameless exhibition, that is precisely what it narFOws down to?~.

Commenting on the unfortunate
accident of JIMMY LUNCEFORD,
-wWho crashed in his private ~plane
Miss Wheeler says, ~Thank God,
we did not lose him, for he is a
real artist~ and gentleman. Won't
you suggest to Lunceford for me;
Alvin, ~that..he content himself
with train traveling until ~planes
become foolproof, for when the NEGRO RACE ~loses a genius, it is a
definite loss usually not replaced
= @ quarter. century or more.~. (Miss Wheeler,

youre compe of energy they expend in
attempting to service the public in
an unusual manner~it was a pleas-.
ute to find space for such a letter.)

THINGS~ WE MISS GREATLY ~

PROVOCATIVE fand she~s wot
that) =... Katherine ~Dunham,:dropping dnto that swank hill ~ speak,
~ ing a cold drink, aiid swapping

~about. Haiti-and the West Innatives ~whom ~she~ studied
(their si and~ dence
cratitey sagen ere rtwo ~years
eamethnepinest- imitating his -life2 song PAT ROONEY in =a
Miog; half step time routine at, where the drop of a
the course of his~ act

letters like |,

mpensate writers for the}::
' appendix this week which will

SWING OUT THE NEWS....
The Louis-Nova bout took honors
~of having the 3rd largest radio audience of any championship event

~,.54.1 heard. the scrap... Atltime record for fight broadcast ~au
| diences is held by Louis-Schemeling

of June, 1989 (63.6) with LouisConn mixup of June 1941,.... rated a second: (58.2)... Reports come
from Co-operabive ~Afialysis~ f
Broadcastind.

Our W.' C. Handy, along with
author Steward Holbrook will be
guest at the Philadelphia Book
Farm this week.....~Birth of the
Blues~ with Mr. Handy~s composition will soon hit Broadway...

Louis Armstrong was in Augusta,
Ga. last week resting before Orlando, Fla., engagement..
then work his way to Hollywood

to join the lights, cameras and stars |

for his new film all ~about himself,
on this thing called. jazz..

~Stories of the Underground Railroad~ by Miss Anna L. Curtis deals
with the/pre-War days and the migration of slaves to the North~..
It~s published by the Island Workshop Press, N. Y.,

IT CAN~T HAPPEN HERE

Recalls the headlines loaned Eddie (Rochester) Anderson when he
was supposedly sued for $500 on a
~fish story~ released by ANP!...
Well, Rochester did go fishing and
did miss his stage show 40 minutes,

but he didn~t pull $500 bucks out |

of, his pockets...The fish just
couldn~t do that to Rochester!... Jt also just can~t happen to
Barney Josephson. who licked the
jinx of 128 E. 58th street, where
there had been a string of club
failures before Cafe Society set up
housekeeping. can~t lick~. a pesky

cause him to miss the grand first
anniversary of the Uptown branch
of his 2-edition nite club..~. But
his stars and friends will probably

"| celebrate so heartily that he~ll know

ond hear how grand a\time they'll
have ge ey
DISC OF THE WEEK

~Hot Piano~ is the title of a new
album of Victor's in which Earl
Hines, Fats Waller, Duke. Ellington
adnnd Jolly-Roll's. syncopatons out
of a 1929 recording sensation...

He'll |.

-reedom Broadcast
She Sings About A Mouse

*| dence upon cotton and improved

~Kegee.

{ aide in eight expeditions to reach

~tions ~by Moussorgsky,

~:matize Negro activities in the fields

~

Henson, Count
Basie, ~Skegee.
Choir in Show

Program To Be
Heard on NBC,
Sunday at 12:30

WASHINGTON, D. C. Dr.
George Washington Carver, the
distinguished Negro scientist who
introduced the peanut as a Southern crop and then developed from
it 90. by-products of commercial
value, headlines the second broadcast in the ~Freedom~s People~ series over NBC~s Red network Sunday, October 19. Time of the broadcast is 12:30 to 1 p. m., EST.

This broadcast in the ~Freedom~s
People~ series; sponsorea by a national advisory committee of white
and Negro leaders in inter-racial
relations in cooperation with the
U. S. Office of Education, will dra
of science and discovery.

Dr. Carver, born a slave, is now
head of the research laboratories
he founded at Tuskegee Institute,
in Alabama. His work in solving
many of the South~s agricultural
problems has lessened its.depen
the South~s economic status | by
opening new avenues in farming
and manufacturing: The broadcast
will sketch his life story and he
himself will speak briefly from Tus
Mat; Henson, Robt. E. Pedry~s

the North Pole, will tell of his experiences in Peary~s sever failures
and final success on his eighth
attempt. Only Henson ~ remained
with Peary when they completed
the final stage of the expedition,
a trek of 400 miles across the Trozen Arctic, to plant the. American
flag at the Pole in April, 1909.
Today, Henson, a retired postal employee, is the only living American
who has set foot on the North
| Pole.
~Count Basié anti ~his ~orchestra,
recently voted first place among
Negro swing bands, will open the
show. The nationally known Tuskegee choir, directed by William L.
Dawson, will flank ~Dr. Carver's
words from the deep South, singing ~Climbing Jacob~s Ladder.~ The
Leonard De Paur chorus and the
35-piece NBC orchestra round out
the show from New York.

Grants from the Rosenwald Fund
and the Southern Education Foundation, together with broadcasting
facilities offered by NBC and net--
work stations, have made tne series possible.

Acting for the U. S. Office of
Education in cooperation with the
special committee are Dr. Ambrose
Caliver, senior specialist in Negro
education, and- William D. Boutwell, chief of the radio service.
Irve Tunick, veteran radio author,
writes the scripts. Original music;

and arrangements are prepared
by Dr. Charles Cooke.:

One of the radio~s newest stars
is New York City~s ten-year-old
Joyce Michael. She was heard 4p
the Columbia network on ~Burl
Ives Coffee Club~ last Saturday.
Youngest. of a family of five
children, Joyce has already appeared on such programs as ~Dr. Chris-.
tian~, Colgate ~Spotlight,~ where
she won the first prize, and ~We,
the People~. She sings without
~music and has perfect~ pitch and
rhythm. This time. on. Columbia
Joyce sang ~Yes-Indeed~

Kay Dunham In
Concert Dance
Tour Thru West

Gay Danseuse

Carries Troupe
Of Ballet Dancers

LOS "ANGELES, Cal the weet
that is this far-off section that is

lifornia, is in for a séason' of the

ost captivating and enchanting
exposition of the higher technique
employed in the art of undulating
movement ever seen in the perfection of primitive dancing since the
glittering.magnetic Katherine Dunham started her concert season
here.

Miss Dunham opened her concert season at Carmel, Cal., in Sunset fheatre October 10. Besides her
original troupe of ballet dancers,
Miss Dunham augmented the
group with sevefal additional girls
gathered locally.

From Carmel, the Dunham dancers moved into San - Francisco
where they:did a concert at the
Curran theatre on October 12th.
Santa Barbara, Calif. was. their
third concert date where they performed. at the Labero Theatre. The
Dunham group concludes its con
Paul Robeson Opener Of
N. C. State~s Season

DURHAM, N C:.~(SNS)~North
Carolina College began its 1941-42
series of lyceum attactions last
Monday evening with a concert by
Paul. Robeson, celebrated baritone
soloist ~and actor: ~

Mr. Robeson~s program consisted
principally of English, American
Negro, and Russion folksong~. Included among these were: Water
Boy, Ole Man River, Joshua Fit de
Battle of Jericho. Among the Russian songs weer several composilate nineteenth century Russian composer
and adapter of folk. songs.

A special feature on the program
was Robinson-La Touche~s Ballade
for Americans, a patriotic and challenging cantata for baritone solo
and chorus. In this number Mr.

anita was Corsxceniisae assisted fet

a chorus. of sixty-two students of

North Carolina College under~ the
direction of Samuel Hill of the Department of Music. In the solo
parts of this ballade the range and
volume fo Mr. Robeson~s~ voice
were especially noticeable, and in
his interpretation of the recitatives
there were evinced both the teennique and the singer ity of the
great actor.

The piano accompaniment ~ for
this number, as for the others sung
by Mr. Robeson, was played b
Lawrence Brown. A distinguishedf
pianist,: Mr. Brown was ~once accompanist for Roland Hayes and
has been Mr. Robeson~s accompanist since he began his career as a

Ste 4 meee:

Paste ar

ats PGI EDA ERITAL Su,

| his. own band...

eoncert singer some fifteen years
ago.

Hottest Army Band!
ls Boast Of 369th |

CAMP EDWARDS, Mass~(ANP)~The wafting: of a
torrid tdumpet pierced the cool morning air. As the last
note faded into spade and soft and moré~subtle.warblings of
'| a quartet of saxophones were dudible.. though a battery of machine guns spzted forth notes of
death, the rolling of a drum was heard, becoming louder and
louder until a mighty crush ~of cymbals bought the mits

cal festivities to an end.

It was the famed 369th Coast sicjans who compose the swing: or
artillery, anti-aircraft, band from |

~Harlem~a band recognized as the

greatest military swing unit organized in any Whited States camp
~completing its morning jam session.

~One more number and then
we'll call it quits for the morning~, said Warrant Officer Russell
Wooding of Washington,.D. C., director of the band.

PRIMED TO SWING

Propped on foot lockers, bunks
and chairs the 369th: jive artists
were jprimed to ~give out~. The
number was ~Anitra~s Dance~. On
the. down beat hot rhythm started
pouring out from every instrument
and after a few notes one could
readily observe that the boys were,
~in the groove.~ The band~s barrack could have been easily mistaken for one of Harlem~s jive
joints or rhythm rendezvous.

When the number was completed
and the men prepared to leave for
noon mess, Mr. Wooding said:

~There'll be plenty more after
dinner~, indicating that the 369th
musicians were:in for a long afternoon of jam and jive.

Although the men practice all
day, they enjoy it~all of them being members of famous Negro orchestras ~in civilian life and. atcustomed to long practice Semon.

COLORFUL HISTORY

Rey aoe

ee

~The - 3e9th~s bard ~his w coleetul|

and interesting history which dates
back to the days of World~ War
I. At that time the Harlem regiment was the 15th: New York infantry ~and the leader of its band |.
was ithe famous James Reece
Eurape,~known to the~ jazz world
as one of ~the greatest musicians
of the time. ~

When the 15th infantry went
across, Europe, assisted by Noble
Sissle, directed tthe band. When
the ~band started playing conventional] American marches the ~soldiers were left dazed and stupefied. What~ they heard were
mairches. in swing time... Jame~s
Europe and his boys had interpolated convention marches in swin;
version.

Upon returning; to the United
States Europe became engaged in

~a'fight and was fatally wotinded.

Before he died he said to Sissle,
who was at his beside: -
~Carry on as I*have outlined~.

the 369th band ~is today following.
In later yedrs Sissle quit to form
The 369th band,
owever, remained intact, but it
~vasn~t until 1936 Mr. Wooding became bandmastéer that it once
egain- started its upward climb.

IN THREE UNITS

The Harlem musical.
tion is divided into three units.
First, there is the regular army
band of approximately 60 men.
Chosen from~ this unit are 15~ mu
cert season here ~at the Philharmonic Auditorium on October 17.

- Foll the concert dates, Miss
Du and heft daricers will =
immediately into rehearsings -
their opening as headline stars 4
the new all-sepia show at Hollywood~s famed Troccodero cafe, The
Dunham group are favorites here
since their: wonderful performing in
the~ recent Ethel Wathers starred

east i a in ~the nti

| before the cameras: this week.
| which -is ~headed by. ~lovely Joan

celebrated ~dance director, ~had lots

kett, well known costume designer

And that is the tradition which | 8%8 in~~Lady For A Night~ ~

organiza,;

Then suddenly, as

~ehestra. Five trumpets, five saxophones, two trombones, ~a ~bass
arum and piano make up this outfit. Finally, there is a group of
five or six men who~ play oe
boogie-woogie and swing music.

Although the military band is
rated as the best at Camp Edwards
and probably in most army ~camps,
it is the swing orchestra which
holds: the interest of soldiers and
outsiders as well
V@arrant) Officer Wooding bas
been swamped with offers from,
Camp Edwards~ Service club: and
outside organizations seeking his
famous: swing band. From: Buzzards Bay td the tip of ~Cape Cod
the word has been ~passed that the
269th band has members who in
civilian life played with such: renowned Negro band leaders as Cab
and Blanche Calloway, Willie Bryant,~ Noble Sissle, Don Redman,
Benny Carter,,* ~Louis Armstrong,
Claude Hopkins and many others
whose names carry a touch of magic
ix swing circles.

Hattie Noel In
New Film With
Joan Blondell

L Paresh wen - t

The sing ~em ~n~ swing ~em Sistae

Resetin: Tharpe

guitarist and vocalist with dynamic Lucky Millinder~s orchestra, is
really: making a hit all up and down the line these ore bef pao

ings are still some of the most popular on the errant

By TED YATES

aes isa cat
Hyer i ni off
atid fad ages

NEW YORK~(TYP)~Leonard Harper, the. produces, inghe

didn~t have to call on the gods~fer luck was with him. ~ den
veteran producer had an abundance of talent to begin with

and, he went to town.

The result: This week Harlem
theatregoers are enjoying one of
the zippiest, funniest and most
tuneful musical comedy stage productigns at the Apolo. It hitsthe
scale; 100 ~plus. yas

Padio-and screenland~s Eddie
(~Rochester~). Anderson, of Jack
Benny fame, is top billed. The
Savoy Sultans render the ritsical

(

Babe Lawrence ~is the dep idaciiog

star, and he does remarkably.wW
with some very difficult ~steps. a

There~ are~ a couple of, acrobats
in the Floriday Aristocrats~they'te
~excellent. A whiff of coimedy by

met

Alberta Perkins and Sporteddée-and -

a back-to-the-origina] line. 2%.
ty. gals ~n~ giggles round ott:

~Keep Policy OF~
_ Using Race Stars.

NEW YORK~(TYP) ~ Delayed
two weeks because Joan Blondell
was stricken. with a thrdat~ ailment
Republie~s ~Lady: For A Night,~ the
$750,000 de luxe production, went

~Leigh Jason -directs the cast

Blondell; | John~ Wayne, Ray Middleton,,Blanche Yurka, ~ Hattie
Noel, Edith Barret, Philip~ Merivale
and Leonid ~Kinskey: Dave Gould,

to do with some of the new steps
that- will be featured in the ~latest
of Republic's~ films. Walter Plun
who had ~plenty to do in ~fitting the
stats~ for~ ~Gone ~With The Wind,~
~and. gn his job well, is responsible
for the gowns worn by the female

The~ casting of Hattie Noel in
~Lady ~Por: A- Night~ ts ~definite
proof that Republit Picttires: is continuing its~ policy~ to ~give Negroes
an opportunity to~ show~ their ~talents in motion rictures
~A long list of the sépia~~stars who
have~ heeti- seen ih~ Republic films
include, ~ ~among othets: Daisy ~Lée

per, Ernest Whitinan, ~Dorothy
Dandridge, Maftan Moreland, Clinton Radstagnd, Lillie ~Yarbo, Florence O~Brién, Darby
Toones and Smith; along
with Charles oes, Billy Mitchell,
Jesse Graves and --Gover
Hattie Noel is the intest to be feat
ured in a Republic Picture.

Andy Kirk Opens

iS
ree ~: t 2%

} ey

i oot ME a's Soa eS ae I.

Bie fh

tg

[RatING 1 T

PORE gig a5 DE BPN a late

HE RECO sit |

work~y offering: Me

By Praak: Marshall Davis

EIGHT BY SHAW, BY GOSH!

~Victor this week gatners eight
of Artie Show's most ~successful
sidés on this label and offers them
to you-in & special album. ~The
humbers were made with several
ot his~ recent bands prior tothe
current ~aggregation which has
Oran ~Hot Lips~? Paige as~'a member. Titles are FRENESI, BEGIN
THE BEGUINE, STAR ~DUST,
BACK BAY SHUFFLE, ~DANCING
IN THE DARK, TRAFFIC JAM,
poccare ed and SERENADE EQ

A: SAVAGE.:

Shaw~s ~Beguinc~ was the first
dise to bring him fame and it still
ranks as one of his- best performances. His ~Fenesi~ started the
popularity of that piece and introduced his new style band the
big: string section. There are~ no
vocals, and.the performancés rain
from the moody ~Dancing in ~the
Dark,~ to the boiling ~Serenade.~
His clarinet gets plenty of play on

all eight sides. This is a fitting-and |

representative collection. of, the
music of one of the leading ~present
day hot bands.

~Defense jobs mean more money
in circulation; and ~ more- money
means more records ": being
bought today than at any time in
-many years. The result is that the
companies are swamped with back
orders. Decca already has missed
releases for two weeks and Columbia has missed one in an effort-to
meet the demand. - Accordingly,
don~t be surprised\if this column
sometimes fails to;mention the output of one of the companies or talks
of a ~platter that you've already
bought or have been | hearing for

~several a: for sometimes the: Te

fi ey at

CO AO ATE

viewer has: to: wait.

cording to their patented
formul:. *lipover is. poland sbebes
their cic not jive style, w Ww

for a well balarce? ven
Sonny Dunham.6n <<~ ~jpd~. pl
in two styles. On the. slo+ 2 nd 5

mantic AS WE WALK INTO THE ss
SUNSET he is ina Glen~ ~Gtay ~ wena 5.8
particularly the. borne reget in ona ~
Coupled is MEMORIES: | You:
and Dunhani is on a Lunceford _, -
kick here as the ~sax phraseology ~"~?
will show. His sweet, high~ open ~ 2}
trumpet is excellent! arid far.~ hore: <~2-+7
successful than_ his Varsity: ' wa 7
of some months ago. = iste: | (8
ek

In a relaxed vein, Duke~ Elling. 228
ton~s Victor of JUST ~A-SETTIW ~
AND A-ROCKIN ~sounds ~just ** ike ~
its name. Blantonh~s bass ~leads off + wis
and there are- solos by Webster: + iG;
Nance, Bigard, Nanton 5 ce iat
This is happy, carefree musie ta: ~
only the Duke caii~ ~play it"On the~ *. *

Other side is a new

5 ie

~3 pi:

tori ty | 3ai

composi
Juan Tizol about~ his native Zand. ~a4

called MOON OVER. GCUBA<
which his rich artistry~ is' turriéd~
to an exotic rhumba.-~Hodge~s ~sd- ~
prano sax is heard/on this baunte ~
ing ~ composition _ nd oy ch en
~man. tries his band on
number for Decca, CO.
hs PLAT sana

ed rather straigh valf. ~ mot
then bounces lightly on~ out.:
side is I LOVE YOU- MORE, E
EVERY DAY a popular:
<7 s with...some d angst tart
v

Pane ee aS

He s Again Or

At am Saree mare *

AS BG

pe RIE ge

ae

a
133
2 aris

ant t
ED