The California Ramblers (as the Golden Gate Orchestra) play a red hot version of "Charleston", one of the most iconic songs of the 1920s and the epitome of the so-called "Jazz Age".
Red Nichols and Frank Cush - trumpets / Tommy Dorsey - trombone / Jimmy Dorsey or Bobby Davis - alto sax, clarinet / Arnold Brilhart - alto sax / Freddy Cusick - tenor sax / Adrian Rollini - bass sax, second piano / Irving Brodsky - piano / Tommy Felline - banjo / Stan King - drums. New York, April 2nd, 1925.
10292-A Charleston Edison 51542
There are few better or more spirited versions of "Charleston" than this, released on the 1/4 inch thick Edison Diamond Disc. This is an acoustic recording and the famous Charleston is taken at a slightly slower tempo than recordings by other bands, thanks to the extended recording time of the Diamond Discs.
Following a verse and chorus led by the brass (in which Red Nichols expertly weaves a bit of jazz into the melody lines) and sax sections, there are some typical breaks by Adrian Rollini on his bass sax. According to Brian Rust in "Jazz Records", the piano duet that follows features Irving Brodsky and Rollini. However, I'm not sure that there would have been enough time for Rollini to put down his leviathan and join Brodsky at the keyboards, as I can hear him pumping away on the bass sax just before the piano duet (though it's true that there is no bass sax heard for several bars after the piano passage!). Then follows a fine alto sax solo by Jimmy Dorsey (or possibly Bobby Davis) and subsequently a couple of stop-time breaks by the band to accentuate the Charleston theme, and then it is a really nice romp to the finish by the whole band, who remain in a laid-back mood throughout. Incidentally, this is the less common take A.
Like acoustic Pathes, these Edison Diamond Discs are difficult to restore due to an enormous amount of rumble that is invariably present, partly caused by the fact that they are vertical (hill and dale) recordings and partly because although the record surface on these discs is nice and smooth, it is just a thin laminate on a core composite material made of wood chip and resin, all of which is pressed at very high pressures and temperatures, leading to an uneven laminate surface. I have managed to remove almost all the rumble and to bring the music to the fore.