A Study in Frustration: The Fletcher Henderson Story

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A Study in Frustration: The Fletcher Henderson Story is a box set compilation surveying studio recordings of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra from 1923 to 1938, released in 1961 on Columbia Records, CXK 85470. It initially appeared as a four-album set produced by Frank Driggs and assembled by John Hammond, both of whom also wrote the liner notes. The set was part of a Thesaurus of Classic Jazz series on Columbia which included King of the Delta Blues Singers also worked on by Hammond and Driggs and released in 1961, the first album reissue of songs by blues legend Robert Johnson.

A Study in Frustration
Box set by
Released1961
RecordedAugust 9, 1923, to
May 28, 1938
GenreJazz
Length3:09:50
LabelColumbia
ProducerFrank Driggs
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Background

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After an absence of more than a decade, John Hammond returned to work for Columbia Records in the late 1950s. He envisioned a reissue project of musicians from the 1920s and 1930s who had been mostly forgotten by the record-buying public. Working with producer and record archivist Frank Driggs, the project entitled Thesaurus of Classic Jazz included anthologies and installments devoted to individual artists.[2] Retrieving copies of old 78 RPM records from various sources, including Driggs' personal collection, the pair assembled 64 selections to represent highlights of Henderson's output spanning 1923 to 1938.

The title of this volume, A Study in Frustration, stems from Henderson and his arrangers, Don Redman and his brother Horace Henderson among them, having invented the basic musical approach and vocabulary of the swing era in the 1920s only to have other bandleaders go on to much greater success using the Henderson formula in the 1930s. For instance, the Henderson orchestra recorded "King Porter Stomp" by Jelly Roll Morton three times to modest success: in 1928, 1932, and 1933, the latter two in arrangements by Henderson.[3] Benny Goodman took this same tune in the Henderson arrangement and recorded it in 1935; the record itself is acknowledged as a catalyst for the swing era, and Goodman playing Henderson arrangements at the Palomar Ballroom on August 21, 1935, is generally looked upon as the launch of the big band craze that would dominate American popular music through World War II.[4][5]

Content

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Included are selections made famous by the Henderson orchestra, including "King Porter Stomp", "Whiteman Stomp", and "Christopher Columbus", and the first recorded composition by Coleman Hawkins, "Queer Notions". Certain selections are credited to the Club Alabam Orchestra, or the Dixie Stompers, among other band pseudonyms.[3] Two notable recordings not included are "Down South Camp Meeting" and "Wrappin' It Up", the latter also proving a hit for the Goodman band.

Other than the Henderson brothers and Redman, arrangers included in the set are Benny Carter, Bill Challis, John Nesbitt; some are heads. Henderson sidemen would go on to success in other bands: Russell Procope, Rex Stewart, Ben Webster, and Cootie Williams with the Duke Ellington Orchestra; trombonists Benny Morton and Dicky Wells with Count Basie; and Roy Eldridge with Gene Krupa. Prominent jazz figures who passed through the orchestra were Red Allen, Louis Armstrong, Buster Bailey, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Edgar Sampson, Joe Smith, and Fats Waller. Waller allegedly sold several tunes to Henderson in exchange for a dinner of multiple hamburgers, among them "The Stampede", "Henderson Stomp", "Whiteman Stomp", and "St. Louis Shuffle", while the influence of Armstrong during his 1924–25 tenure changed the band's approach to both swing and solo work entirely.[3] Several Henderson sidemen soloists met with an early demise – Charlie Green, Jimmy Harrison, Tommy Ladnier, Kaiser Marshall, and Bobby Stark.

All selections had been previously on 78 records by labels such as Brunswick, Columbia, Paramount, Perfect, and Vocalion. The set documents some of his first recordings as a leader in 1923, to some of his last shortly before he joined the Benny Goodman Orchestra as an arranger and some-time pianist. Like all bandleaders of the time, Henderson recorded with vocalists, but only five songs on this set feature vocals.

A Study in Frustration was reissued on Columbia/Legacy as a three compact disc box set on June 14, 1994, packaged in the longbox format duplicating in full the original liner notes from the 1961 issue. A further reissue appeared in Europe on July 5, 2011, on the Essential Jazz Classics label, with truncated notes but including ten bonus tracks covering recordings in 1934 and 1936 that had not been included in the Columbia set.

Track listing

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In the compact disc versions, the song running order is the same with sides one through three comprising disc one, sides four through six comprising disc two, and sides seven and eight along with the bonus tracks comprising disc three. Arrangements by Don Redman except as noted; unknown for bonus tracks.

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."The Dicty Blues"Fletcher HendersonAugust 7, 19232:40
2."Teapot Dome Blues"George Lottman, Elmer SchoebelApril 15, 19242:58
3."Go 'Long Mule"Henry Creamer, Paul King, Robert KingOctober 7, 19243:07
4."Shanghai Shuffle"Larry Conley, Gene RodemichOctober 19, 19243:21
5."Copenhagen"Charlie DavisOctober 30, 19242:53
6."Everybody Loves My Baby"Jack Palmer, Spencer WilliamsNovember 17, 19242:53
7."How Come You Do Me Like You Do?"Gene Austin, Roy BergereNovember 22, 19243:13
8."Alabamy Bound"Bud Green, Buddy DeSylva, Ray HendersonJanuary 31, 19253:08

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Sugarfoot Stomp"King OliverMay 29, 19252:49
2."What-Cha-Call-Em Blues"Steve RobertsMay 29, 19252:51
3."T.N.T."Elmer SchoebelOctober 21, 19252:55
4."The Stampede"Fletcher HendersonMay 14, 19263:17
5."Jackass Blues"Art Kassel, Mel StitzelMay 14, 19263:14
6."Henderson Stomp"Fletcher HendersonNovember 3, 19262:53
7."The Chant"Mel StitzelNovember 3, 19262:58
8."Snag It"King OliverJanuary 20, 19273:12

Side three

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Rocky Mountain Blues"Patty Carroll, Ken Macomber, F. HendersonJanuary 21, 19272:46
2."Tozo"M.A. Cowdry, Fletcher HendersonJanuary 21, 19272:56
3."St. Louis Shuffle"Jack Pettis, Fats WallerMarch 23, 19273:02
4."Whiteman Stomp"Jo Trent, Fats WallerMay 11, 19272:47
5."I'm Coming Virginia"Donald Heywood, Will Marion CookMay 11, 19273:07
6."Variety Stomp"Jo Trent, Charlie Green, Fats WallerMay 12, 19273:04
7."St. Louis Blues"W. C. HandyMay 12, 19273:06
8."Goose Pimples" (unidentified stock arrangement)Jo Trent, Fletcher HendersonOctober 24, 19273:01

Side four

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Hop Off"Fats Waller, Spencer WilliamsNovember 4, 19272:58
2."King Porter Stomp" (head arrangement)Jelly Roll MortonMarch 14, 19282:56
3."D Natural Blues" (Bill Challis)Fletcher HendersonMarch 14, 19283:28
4."Oh Baby" (Fletcher Henderson)O. Murphy, B. DeSylva, W. DonaldsonApril 6, 19282:49
5."Feeling Good" (Fletcher Henderson)Owen Murphy, Jack YellenApril 6, 19283:29
6."I'm Feeling Devilish" (head arrangement)Maceo PinkardApril 6, 19282:48
7."Old Black Joe Blues" (head arrangement)George Lottman, F. HendersonNovember 19282:27
8."Easy Money" (Benny Carter)Gene Austin, Benny CarterDecember 12, 19283:06

Side five

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Come On Baby" (Benny Carter)Archie Gottler, Sidney Clare, Maceo PinkardDecember 12, 19282:57
2."Freeze and Melt" (Benny Carter)Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHughApril 19293:06
3."Raisin' the Roof" (Benny Carter)Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHughApril 19292:43
4."Blazin'" (Benny Carter)Joe SandersMay 16, 19293:00
5."Wang Wang Blues" (Benny Carter)Wood, Buster Johnson, Gus Mueller, BusseMay 16, 19293:06
6."Chinatown, My Chinatown" (John Nesbitt)William Jerome, Jean SchwartzOctober 3, 19303:05
7."Somebody Loves Me" (Benny Carter)B. MacDonald, B. DeSylva, G. GershwinOctober 3, 19303:06
8."Keep a Song in Your Soul" (Benny Carter)Alexander Hill, Fats WallerDecember 2, 19303:20

Side six

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Sweet and Hot" (Benny Carter)Jack Yellen, Harold ArlenFebruary 5, 19313:29
2."My Gal Sal" (Bill Challis)Paul DresserFebruary 5, 19313:30
3."Sugarfoot Stomp" (Fletcher Henderson)King OliverMarch 19, 19313:21
4."Clarinet Marmalade" (Bill Challis)Edwards, LaRocca, Ragas, Sbarbaro, ShieldsMarch 19, 19313:15
5."Hot and Anxious" (Horace Henderson)Horace HendersonMarch 19, 19313:23
6."Comin' and Goin'" (Horace Henderson)Fletcher Henderson, Horace HendersonMarch 19, 19313:12
7."Singin' the Blues" (Fletcher Henderson)Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHughOctober 16, 19313:08
8."Sugar" (Fletcher Henderson)Joe Young, George W. MeyerOctober 16, 19312:58

Side seven

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Blue Moments" (Fletcher Henderson)Fletcher HendersonMarch 11, 19322:37
2."New King Porter Stomp" (Fletcher Henderson)Jelly Roll MortonDecember 9, 19323:10
3."Underneath the Harlem Moon" (Fletcher Henderson)Mack Gordon, Harry RevelDecember 9, 19323:17
4."Honeysuckle Rose" (Fletcher Henderson)Andy Razaf, Fats WallerDecember 9, 19323:15
5."Yeah Man" (Horace Henderson)Noble Sissle, J. Russel RobinsonAugust 18, 19332:58
6."Queer Notions" (Horace Henderson)Coleman HawkinsAugust 18, 19332:51
7."Can You Take It!" (Fletcher Henderson)Fletcher HendersonAugust 18, 19332:52
8."King Porter Stomp" (Fletcher Henderson)Jelly Roll MortonAugust 18, 19332:59

Side eight

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Christopher Columbus" (Horace Henderson)Andy Razaf, Chu BerryMarch 27, 19363:05
2."Stealin' Apples" (head arrangement)Andy Razaf, Fats WallerMarch 27, 19362:59
3."Blue Lou" (Horace Henderson)Edgar SampsonMarch 27, 19363:10
4."Rhythm of the Tambourine" (Benny Carter)David FranklinMarch 2, 19372:41
5."Back in Your Own Backyard" (Fletcher Henderson)Al Jolson, Billy Rose, Dave DreyerMarch 22, 19372:35
6."Chris and His Gang" (Horace Henderson)F. Henderson, H. Henderson, J. DorseyJune 3, 19373:03
7."Sing You Sinners" (Fletcher Henderson)Sam Coslow, W. Franke HarlingOctober 25, 19372:45
8."Moten Stomp" (Fletcher Henderson)Bennie Moten, Buster MotenMay 28, 19382:44

2011 compact disc reissue bonus tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
17."Wild Party"Will HudsonSeptember 25, 19343:01
18."Rug Cutter's Swing"Fletcher HendersonSeptember 25, 19342:59
19."Hotter Than Hell"Fletcher HendersonSeptember 25, 19342:50
20."Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)"Gus Kahn, Ira Gershwin, George GershwinSeptember 25, 19342:36
21."I'm a Fool for Loving You"Sam M. Lewis, Pete WendlingApril 9, 19362:37
22."Moonrise on the Lowdowns"A.J. Neiburg, Jerry LivingstonApril 9, 19362:42
23."I'll Always Be in Love with You"Herman Ruby, Bud Green, Sam SteptApril 9, 19363:02
24."Jangled Nerves"Fletcher Henderson, Roger MooreApril 9, 19362:35
25."Grand Terrace Rhythm"Fletcher HendersonMay 23, 19362:41
26."Riffin'"Horace HendersonMay 23, 19362:20

Personnel

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References

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