Eubie Blake - The 86 Years of Eubie Blake 1968-1969 (2 LP columbia)

These two lps are a real masterpieces of music. Don't miss it!.

Review by arwulf arwulf
Recorded in 1968 and 1969, this record is by far the best way to get to know, love, and appreciate Eubie Blake, master of ragtime and gorgeous melodies. The taproot of jazz runs directly from Blake's generation up through all of those Eastern Seaboard ticklers, most significantly James P. Johnson and the school of what critics and historians have labeled Harlem stride piano. While his early historical recordings are wonderfully authentic, there exists no finer example of Eubie Blake on record than this double LP, covered with photos and informative liner notes and packed with Blake's incredibly dexterous performances. During his comeback as an aged wonder, there was a tendency for the public to regard him as little more than an entertaining curiosity. This attitude allowed for a superficial comprehension of Blake's background and served to trivialize his accomplished position in the evolution of 20th century music. 86 Years solves all of these problems. The first half of the program consists of rags. Blake plays them joyously, sometimes shouting and bursting into laughter as his hands work the keys. Eleven of these pieces are Blake originals, and on one or two occasions he prefaces the music with a story describing the circumstances under which the piece was composed. There's one by Joplin and two by John Philip Sousa, making for a strikingly accurate invocation of the musical scene within which Blake operated at the beginning of the 20th century. A portion of the album is specifically dedicated to theater music, and for most of these tunes Blake's old partner Noble Sissle is heard singing and chatting with the pianist. Whoever was responsible for recording these two elderly gentlemen and sharing the results with the public really did the world a great favor. Hearing them sing If You've Never Been Vamped By a Brownskin, You've Never Been Vamped at All is a rare treat. Finally, there are Blake's most harmonically advanced moments a medley of James P. Johnson melodies, a stunning realization of Luckey Roberts' Spanish Venus, and Blake's own masterpieces, unforgettably rendered Dixie Moon, Blues, Why Don't You Let Me Alone, Blue Rag in 12 Keys, and the lovely Memories of You. This is Blake at his ancient best.

Track listing:

1. Dream Rag
2. Charleston Rag
3. Maple Leaf Rag
4. Semper Fidelis
5. Eubie's Boogie
6. Poor Jimmy Green
7. Tricky Fingers
8. Stars and Stripes Forever
9. Baltimore Todolo
10. Poor Katie Red
11. Kitchen Tom
12. Troublesome Ivories
13. Chevy Chase
14. Brittwood Rag
15. Medley: Bleeding Moon/Under The Bamboo Tree
16. It's All Your Fault
17. "Shuffle Along" Medley
18. I'm Just Wild About Harry
19. Spanish Venus
20. As Long As You Live
21. Medley: Charleston/Old Fashioned Love/If I Could be With You
22. You Were Meant For Me
23. Dixie Moon
24. Blues, Why Don't You Let Me Alone
25. Blue Rag In 12 Keys
26. Memories Of You

Biography by Scott Yanow
Eubie Blake had a rather unique career. Although his main importance was as a songwriter for Broadway shows in the 1920s, late in life he became known as the last living link to ragtime. Blake always had a colorful life. He wrote his first rag, "The Charleston Rag," in 1899, spent years playing with medicine shows and in sporting houses, and by 1915 was teaming up with singer Noble Sissle in vaudeville. Sissle and Blake wrote for the 1921 hit show Shuffle Along (the first all-black musical) and it was followed by Revue Negre, Plantation Review, Rhapsody in Black, and Bamville Review. The team of Sissle and Blake, in addition to making recordings, were filmed for some early experimental sound shorts. Among Blake's hit songs of the 1920s were "I'm Just Crazy About Harry," "You're Lucky to Me," and "Memories of You."

Although he made some recordings in 1931, Eubie Blake generally had a lower profile for the next three decades. He worked with Sissle now and then and earned a degree from New York University, but was largely forgotten until 1969. That year he recorded a double LP for Columbia (The Eighty-Six Years of Eubie Blake) that amazed listeners who had never heard of him. During his remaining 14 years, Eubie Blake was a very popular performer, playing and singing ragtime-era pieces, charming audiences, making new records, appearing on Broadway in the 1978 show Eubie (he was 95 at the time), and running his own label, Eubie Blake Music. He continued performing until he was 98, and Eubie Blake made it to his 100th birthday with five days to spare.