Smiles and Chuckles

Track Listings

1. Smiles and Chuckles [Rag One-Step]

2. Torrid Dora

3. At the Chicken Chaser's Ball

4. Laf'n Sax

5. Passion Dance (La Danza Appassionata)

6. Lucille

7. Kitten Scamper

8. Golden Spur March

9. Silver Strand Waltz

10. Egyptland

11. Bull Frog Blues

12. Russian Rag

13. Comedy Tom

14. That Alabama Jasbo Band

15. Kismet [an Arabian Fox Trot]

16. Laughing Vamp [Fox Trot or One-Step]

17. Story Book Ball

18. Tucker Trot

19. Hey Paw! [A Rural Fox Trot]

20. Tom Brown's Saxophone Waltz

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews:

A Real Hoot!.......2003-08-10

Early in the 20th century the saxophone was a fairly unfamiliar instrument in North America, having been invented in the mid-1800s by the Belgian, Adolphe Saxe, for use in French wind bands. A group consisting primarily of the Brown brothers, from an Ontario family whose father was a local musician, began forming around 1903. With varying membership, and at times consisting of all six Browns, the group toured widely and successfully into the 1930s. When they started, the sax was a novelty; by the time they quit touring, the sax was one of the essential elements in jazz and dance bands. Those of us of a certain age--and those of you who watch the Cartoon Channel--know the visceral sounds of the baritone and bass saxophone from the cartoon scores of composers like Carl Stallings and his buddies. In my case, I was imprinted on those sounds and love them still.

The Royal City Saxophone Quartet from Guelph, Ontario, took it upon themselves to record many of the pieces their co-nationals, the Six Brown Brothers, recorded and made famous; this CD is the result. Using overdubbing--recording first a four-sax track and then adding the additional instruments as needed--there are 22 selections, plus a couple of bonus tracks where transfers of the original Brown Brothers recordings start a cut and are then joined seamlessly by their modern admirers, the RCSQ. Neatly done.

The music here consists of rags, waltzes, marches, some 'oriental' selections--the hootchy-kootchy music all the rage back then--and some foxtrots. There are also some specialty numbers that make use of 'tricks' specific to the sax, such as 'laughing' and animal sounds. 'The Alabama Jasbo Band' is a proto-jazz number. 'Parade of the Elephants' makes use of the humorous galumphing of the bari and bass sax, both played expertly by group founder, Ernie Kalwa, who says that excessive playing of the bass sax 'makes your lip feel like a foot.' I can imagine!

I grew up hearing this kind of music. Some of the 'marches' are actually polkas of the kind I learned at my local 'Bohemian Hall.' And even in the 1940s, in my rural Oklahoma area, there were bands that featured sax quartets playing much this sort of repertoire. I felt a shiver of nostalgia at hearing 'Golden Spur March' and 'The Silver Strand Waltz.' I laughed out loud at the take-off on Rachmaninoff's 'Prelude in C Sharp Minor' called 'Russian Rag.' The opening selection which gives this CD its title, 'Smiles and Chuckles,' did indeed make me smile and chuckle.

A thorough delight. Highly recommended to anyone who loves the sounds of old-timey sax music.

Scott Morrison

Track Listings:

Track Listings

Lark's Tongues in Aspic [Import] [Original recording remastered]

MTV Party to Go, Vol. 2

Movies

Mudarra: Songs & Solos for Vihuela & Guitar

Out of the Mountains: Essential Bluegrass [Import]

Poor Butterfly [Import]

Paul's Boutique

Las 15 Consagradas de Lupita d'Alessio

Latin Karaoke, Vol. 1 [Karaoke]

Live at the Bottom Line, New York 1983

Café del Mar: Chill House, Vol. 2

1. Smiles and Chuckles [Rag One-Step]
2. Torrid Dora
3. At the Chicken Chaser's Ball
4. Laf'n Sax
5. Passion Dance (La Danza Appassionata)
6. Lucille
7. Kitten Scamper
8. Golden Spur March
9. Silver Strand Waltz
10. Egyptland
11. Bull Frog Blues
12. Russian Rag
13. Comedy Tom
14. That Alabama Jasbo Band
15. Kismet [an Arabian Fox Trot]
16. Laughing Vamp [Fox Trot or One-Step]
17. Story Book Ball
18. Tucker Trot
19. Hey Paw! [A Rural Fox Trot]
20. Tom Brown's Saxophone Waltz