Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – February 13, 2024: A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton on Mardi Gras Day

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/63877.html

Theme: A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941) on Mardi Gras Day.

Jelly Roll Morton, whose birth name was Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, was a pianist, singer, songwriter and bandleader from New Orleans who was steeped in traditional music and was one of the first important composers in jazz. Morton died in 1941 at age 50 from respiratory problems related to a stabbing in 1938 from which he never fully recovered. Morton claimed to have singlehandedly invented jazz in 1902, a claim that few music historians accept, despite his immense contributions to the early development of jazz. Some of the songs on this show were written by Jelly Roll Morton, all were from his vast repertoire.

Jelly Roll Morton- Original Jelly Roll Blues

Birth of the Hot (Bluebird)

Dave Van Ronk- Mamie’s Blues

Sunday Street (Philo)

Dr. John- Milneburg Joys

Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Leon Redbone- Winin’ Boy Blues

Double Time (Warner Bros.)

Jelly Roll Morton- Mr. Jelly Lord

The Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 2: Anamule Dance (Rounder)

Paul Geremia- Dr. Jazz

Love My Stuff (Red House)

Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators- Wild Man Blues

Music from The Great Gatsby (Billy Novick)

Jelly Roll Morton- Shake It

Last Sessions: The Complete General Recordings (Commodore)

Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women- Sweet Substitute

Old, New, Borrowed & Blue (Alligator)

Dave Van Ronk- The Pearls

Sunday Street (Philo)

Amos Garrett- Michigan Water Blues

Acoustic Album (Stony Plain)

Dr. John & Danny Barker- I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say

Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Andrew Homzy Ensemble- Black Bottom Stomp

Hommage to Jelly Roll Morton (DSM)

Jelly Roll Morton- New Orleans Bump

Great Original Performances 1926-1934 (BBC)

Hot Tuna- Don’t You Leave Me Here

Hot Tuna (RCA)

Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- Wolverine Blues

Every Little Moment (Daring)

Wynton Marsalis & Catherine Russell- Make Me a Pallet on the Floor

Bolden: Music from the Original Soundtrack (Blue Engine)

Julian Fauth- Tricks Ain’t Walking

The Weak and the Wicked, the Hard and the Strong (Electro-Fi)

Jelly Roll Morton- Dirty, Dirty, Dirty

Last Sessions: The Complete General Recordings (Commodore)

Jelly Roll Morton- The Murder Ballad, part 7: Goodbye to the World, I Know I’m Gone

The Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 3: The Pearls (Rounder)

Henry Butler & Steven Bernstein- King Porter Stomp

Viper’s Drag (Impulse)

Dirty Dozen Brass Band- Kansas City Stomp

Jelly (Columbia)

Next week: Songs of Chuck Berry.

--Mike Regenstreif

 

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday January 31, 2023: Songs I’ve Heard Leon Redbone Sing

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59153.html

Theme: Songs I’ve Heard Leon Redbone Sing.

Leon Redbone, who died in 2019 at age 69, was a mysterious figure who played meticulous arrangements of old blues, jazz and Tin Pan Alley songs. 

Leon Redbone- Sweet Mama Papa’s Gettin’ Mad

Live_The Olympia Theater, Paris, France (Rounder)

The Hot Sardines- Lulu’s Back in Town

Welcome Home, Bon Voyage (Eleven)

Jeff Healey- Some of These Days

The Best of the Stony Plain Years: Vintage Jazz, Swing and Blues (Stony Plain)

Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- My Blue Heaven

Exactly Like Us (Rounder)

Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers- Shine On Harvest Moon

En Duo (Justin Time)

Leon Redbone- Champagne Charlie

Champagne Charlie (Warner Bros.)

Ry Cooder- Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now

Jazz (Warner Bros.)

Leon Redbone- Marie

On the Track (Warner Bros.)

The Whiteley Brothers- Crazy Blues

Bluesology (Pyramid)

Mose Scarlett- Somebody Stole My Gal

Precious Seconds (Borealis)

Hotcha!- My Walkin’ Stick

Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression (Hotcha!)

Paul Geremia- Nobody’s Sweetheart Now

Gamblin’ Woman Blues (Red House)

Leon Redbone- Louisiana Fairy Tale

Any Time (Rounder)

Mary Coughlan- Seduced

Tired & Emotional (EastWest)

Martha Seyler & Robert Resnik- Your Cheatin’ Heart

Martha Sings & Robert Plays (Martha Seyler & Robert Resnik)

Sneezy Waters, Ken Whiteley, Jackie Washington & Mike Regenstreif (2008)

Sneezy Waters- Lovesick Blues

Sneezy Waters Sings Hank Williams (Borealis)

Jackie Washington with Mose Scarlett & Ken Whiteley- I Ain’t Got Nobody

Sitting on a Rainbow (Borealis)

Leon Redbone- Ghost of the St. Louis Blues

Sugar (Rounder)

Patti Casey with Paul Asbell- Ain’t Misbehavin’

Just an Old Sweet Song (Long Shot Music)

Dave Van Ronk- Your Feets Too Big

Sweet & Lowdown (Justin Time)

Andy Cohen- Step It Up and Go

Tryin’ to Get Home (Earwig)

Roberta Donnay & The Prohibition Mob Band- When I Take My Sugar to Tea

Bathtub Gin (Motema)

Leon Redbone- Alabama Jubilee

Champagne Charlie (Warner Bros.)

Missy Burgess & Michael Burgess- When You Wish Upon a Star

Pour Me a Song (Patio)

Duke Robillard & Kelley Hunt- Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone

Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm (M.C.)

Leon Redbone- Polly Wolly Doodle

On the Track (Warner Bros.)

Next week: Songs Mississippi John Hurt Sang for the Library of Congress in 1963.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 1, 2022: Songs of W.C. Handy

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/55068.html

Theme: Songs of W.C. Handy. These songs were written or adapted by W.C. Handy (1873-1958). Known as “The Father of the Blues,” Handy was the first composer to publish blues songs.

W.C. Handy (1949)

Ella Fitzgerald- St. Louis Blues
These are the Blues (Verve)

Nat King Cole- Chantez Les Bas
St. Louis Blues (Capitol)
Bessie Smith- The Yellow Dog Blues
Bessie Smith: The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection (Big3)
Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton- Long Gone (From the Bowlin’ Green)
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra featuring Catherine Russell- Loveless Love (Careless Love)
Good Time Music: Community Music, Vol. 2 (Royal Potato Family)

W.C. Handy’s Beale Street- Way Down South Where the Blues Began
Where the Blues Began (Inside Memphis)

Louis Armstrong- Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet On Your Floor)
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
Mississippi John Hurt- Joe Turner
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)
Nat King Cole- Friendless Blues
St. Louis Blues (Capitol)
W.C. Handy’s Beale Street- The Jogo Blues
Where the Blues Began (Inside Memphis)

Eartha Kitt with Shorty Rogers & His Giants- Steal Away
St. Louis Blues (RCA)
Pearl Bailey- Shine Like a Morning Star
St. Louis Blues (Roulette)
Eartha Kitt with Shorty Rogers & His Giants- Hist the Window, Noah
St. Louis Blues (RCA)

Shirley Bassey- Beale Street Blues
Born to Sing the Blues (Philips)
Loudon Wainwright III with Sloan Wainwright- Ramblin’ Blues
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2nd Story Sound)

Jim Kweskin & The Neo-Passé Jazz Band- Memphis Blues
Jump for Joy (Vanguard)
Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton- Hesitating Blues
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
W.C. Handy’s Beale Street- Harlem Blues
Where the Blues Began (Inside Memphis)

Louis Armstrong- Aunt Hagar’s Blues
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
Odetta- Careless Love/St. Louis Blues
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)

Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators- Yellow Dog Blues
Music from The Great Gatsby (Billy Novick)

Next week: Boogie men and boogie women

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday September 28, 2021: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/53586.html

Theme: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)

All the songs on this show were recorded by Louis Armstrong sometime between 1926 and 1968.

Louis Armstrong (circa 1930)

Louis Armstrong- Where the Blues Were Born in New Orleans
Memories of New Orleans (Saga Jazz)

Jackie Washington & Mike Regenstreif (2008)

Jackie Washington- All of Me
The World of Jackie Washington (Borealis)
Samoa Wilson with The Jim Kweskin Band- After You’ve Gone
I Just Want to Be Horizontal (Kingswood)
Hotcha!- Ol’ Man Mose
Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression (Hotcha!)
Durham County Poets- St. James Infirmary
Hand Me Down Blues (Durham County Poets)
Louis Armstrong & Edmond Hall- My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It
The Great Chicago Concert 1956 (Columbia/Legacy)

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy- Struttin’ With Some Barbecue
Louie Louie Louie (Savoy Jazz)

Eartha Kitt with Shorty Rogers & His Giants- Hesitating Blues
St. Louis Blues (RCA)
Nat King Cole- Yellow Dog Blues
St. Louis Blues (Capitol)
Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton- Loveless Love
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)

Catherine Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Catherine Russell- Back O’ Town Blues
Cat (World Village)
Mose Scarlett- Sweet Georgia Brown
The Fundamental Things (Pyramid)
Billy Novick’s Blue SyncopatorsS- Wild Man Blues
Music from The Great Gatsby (Billy Novick)
Roberta Donnay & The Prohibition Mob Band- I’m a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas)
My Heart Belongs to Satchmo (Blujazz)
Louis Armstrong & Trummy Young- Now You Has Jazz
Armstrong Comes Alive (Jazz2Jazz)

Mike Regenstreif & Loudon Wainwright III (2015)

Loudon Wainwright III with Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks- You Rascal You
I’d Rather Lead a Band (Search Party)
Wynton Marsalis- Tiger Rag
Bolden: Music from the Original Soundtrack (Blue Engine)
Kermit Ruffins- When It’s Sleepy Time Down South
We Partyin’ Traditional Style! (Basin Street)
Louis Armstrong- Down By the Riverside
Louis and the Good Book (Verve)

Dave Van Ronk- Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
Hummin’ to Myself (Gazell)
Priscilla Herdman- What a Wonderful World
Daydreamer (Music for Little People)
Louis Armstrong- When the Saints Go Marching In
The Great Chicago Concert 1956 (Columbia/Legacy)

Louis Armstrong- Dr. Jazz
Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jellyroll (Audio Fidelity)

Next week: Songs of Autumn

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday April 25, 2020

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU in Ottawa heard live on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and then available for on-demand streaming. I am one of the four rotating hosts of Saturday Morning and base my programming on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches format I developed at CKUT in Montreal.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Saturday Morning was prerecorded at home and be streamed on-demand at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/47623.html

Rachael Sage- Open the Door

Character (MPress Records)

Tom Russell- Honky Tonk Quarantine

Unreleased – used with permission

Mary Gauthier- Mercy Now

Mercy Now (Lost Highway)

Ian Hanchet- I Shall Be Released

Dealin’ from the Bottom (of My Heart) (Ian Hanchet)

Moore & McGregor- Don’t Let Us Get Sick

Dream with Me (Ivernia)

Eliza Gilkyson- Promises to Keep

2020 (Red House)

Rachelle Garniez- My Sister and I

Gone to Glory (StorySound)

Corin Raymond- Half Past Remembered

Dirty Mansions (Local Rascal Records)

Stephen Mendel- Lucky Old Sun

Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)

Missy Burgess with the Blue Train- If I Fall in Love Again

Live (Missy Burgess)

Diana Jones- Better Times will Come

Better Times will Come (Proper)

Steve Forbert- Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues

Early Morning Rain (Blue Rose Music)

Tracy Grammer- If I Needed You

If I Needed You – single (Tracy Grammer)

Tom Russell & The Norwegian Wind Ensemble- Guadalupe

Aztec Jazz (Frontera)

Stephen Barry Band- Pickin’ the Blues

Live (Fix it in the Mix Music)

Extended feature: Songs of John Prine (1946-2020). The next 16 songs were written by John Prine, one of our greatest folk-rooted singer-songwriters. John passed away on April 7 from COVID-19. He was 73.

Steve Goodman & John Prine- Souvenirs

Affordable Art (Red Pajamas)

Joan Baez- Hello in There

Diamonds & Rust (A&M)

Tim Grimm- Sam Stone

Names (Wind River)

John Prine- Fish and Whistle

Souvenirs (Oh Boy)

Nicky Mehta- All the Best

Unreleased – used with permission

Valdy & Gary Fjellgaard- Speed of the Sound of Loneliness

Contenders Two: Still in the Running (Stony Plain)

Allison Brown- Angel from Montgomery

Everything That Shined (Allison Brown)

John Prine- Blue Umbrella

Souvenirs (Oh Boy)

Leo Gillespie- Aimless Love

Leo Gillespie (Leo Gillespie)

Tim & Mollie O'Brien- Unwed Fathers

Sugar Hill Records: A Retrospective (Sugar Hill)

Mark Haines & Tom Leighton- That’s the Way the World Goes Round

Hand to Hand (Borealis)

John Prine- Caravan of Fools

The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy)

Rob Lutes- Rocky Mountain Time

Walk in the Dark (Lucky Bear)

Bonnie Koloc- Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone

Timeless (Mr. Biscuit)

Johnny Cash- Paradise

Personal File (Columbia/Legacy)

John Prine- When I Get to Heaven

The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy)

Susan Werner- House of the Rising Sun

NOLA: Susan Werner Goes to New Orleans (Sleeve Dog)

Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- New Orleans Farewell

Lovely Sunday Afternoon (Daring)

Shelley Posen- Long, Long Tunnel

Unreleased – used with permission

Rosalie Sorrels- I Think of You

My Last Go Round (Red House)

Magpie- Old Devil Time

A Tiding (Longtail Records)

Pete Seeger & Arlo Gruthrie- Quite Early Morning

Together In Concert (Rising Son)

Deborah Holland- Will I Ever Be Loved

Fine, Thank You (Rage On Records)

Adam Karch- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

Everything Can Change (Bros)

Kat Goldman- Harvard Boys

Gypsy Girl (Kat Goldman)

Jackie Washington- The Joint is Jumpin’

The World of Jackie Washington (Borealis)

Martin, Bogan & Armstrong- Let’s Give a Party

That Old Gang of Mine/Martin, Bogan & Armstrong (Flying Fish)

Missy Burgess with the Blue Train- Basket O’ Blues

Live (Missy Burgess)

Rory Block- Prove It on Me

Prove It on Me (Stony Plain)

Katy Hobgood Ray featuring Dave Ray- Little Children’s Blues

I Dream of Water (Out of the Past Music)

Ken Whiteley- Lay My Burden by the River

Calm in the Eye of the Storm (Borealis)

Andy Statman- Raw Ride

Monroe Bus (Shefa)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on May 16 (for Alan Surmachynski) and on May 23.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Duke Robillard – Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm

DUKE ROBILLARD

Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm

M.C. Records

dukerobillard.com

mc-records.com

As I mentioned in my 2009 review of an album by Sunny and her JoyBoys, “I’ve been listening to bandleader, guitarist and producer Duke Robillard since he fronted the first Roomful of Blues album in 1977. I was very happy to have Duke as a guest a couple of times on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches radio show; once in the company of Kansas City legend Jay McShann, the late, great swing and blues pianist and singer. Of all of Duke’s many and varied recordings, my favorites are his swing and jazz albums. And this is one of his best swing and jazz albums.”

And the constantly delightful Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm may well be his best swing and jazz album yet. Duke plays acoustic archtop guitar throughout the 15 tracks and sings lead on three songs – and duets with Sunny Crownover (of Sunny and her Joy Boys fame) on another. There are absolutely fantastic rhythm and horn sections (including my old friend Billy Novick on clarinet and alto sax) and most of the lead vocals are handled by rotating cast of extraordinary Dames of Rhythm: the aforementioned Sunny Crownover, Maria Muldaur, Kelley Hunt, Madeleine Peyroux, Catherine Russell, and Elizabeth McGovern.

These songs – all, I believe date from the first half of the 20th century – swing hard in the hands of Duke and the band. The interplay between the musicians is always a delight and each of the singers more than rises to the occasion.

Even though these songs are all familiar, they all sound terrific. Some of my favorites include Maria Muldaur’s versions of “Got the South in My Soul” and “Was That the Human Thing to Do,” two more of the several Boswell Sisters numbers she’s done over the years; Madeleine Peyroux’s versions of Fats Waller’s “Squeeze Me,” and “Easy Living,” a Billie Holiday standard (she has the perfect voice to sing Billie Holiday songs); Kelley Hunt’s versions of “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone”; Sunny Crownover’s duet with Duke on “From Monday On”; and “Blues in My Heart,” sung by Catherine Russell, one of my favorite jazz singers.

The album ends with the band blazing through a hot version of “Call of the Freaks,” a great old New Orleans tune composed by Paul Barbarin and Luis Russell (Catherine’s father).

From beginning to end Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm is filled with nothing but great stuff.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif