Four Hands, No Waiting by Andy Cohen & Jack Radcliffe

He knew he had it in him to follow, study, perform and promote the music of

the southeast quadrant,America's musical mother lode.

A list of Andy's musical friends and acquaintances would fill several pages. He has studied the music

of hundreds of blues guitar players and piano players. Here is a list that hits the high points:

Willie Walker, Lemon Jefferson, Lead Belly, Davis, Broonzy, Skip James, Bukka White, Rev. Robert Wilkins,

Brownie McGhee, the list goes on. He's been "lead boy" for Jim Brewer, Rev. Dan Smith, and Brother Daniel

Womack and briefly, Rev, Davis himself; hung out with John Jackson, Phil Wiggins, John Cephas, Hank

Duncan, Honeyboy Edwards, Mad Dog Lester, Big Joe Duskin, Pigmeat Jarrett, Howard Armstrong, Carl

Martin,Ted Bogan, Elizabeth Cotten, Etta Baker, John Dee Holeman, Fris Holloway, Larry Johnson, Eugene

Powell, Johnnie Shines,Will Dukes and many others. He has given support when he could to deserving

players, and arranged work for many more, organized festivals and small venues for them and others

to play in, written about several of the old guys and studied their work in a systematic way,

and taught a couple of dozen players who are now professionals.

Andy salutes Tony Piedade, who sold him his first fiddle half a lifetime ago.

This one's for you,Tony!

'RAGTIME' JACK RADCLIFFE:

Jack also grew up in a house with a piano and a lot of

Dixieland Jazz records.Another barber shop figured prominently in

Jack's early musical development. Next door to Romie's Barber Shop on

Mechanics Lane in New Bedford was the Windsor Music Store. After every haircut,

Jack would take a few quarters into the music store and buy sheet music,

mostly Dixieland arrangements for small combos. Matt Perry, who occasionally

subbed on piano for the late great Frankie Carl, was Jack's piano teacher and

between the Bartok and the Brahms he'd slip Jack some pointers on boogie woogie

and big band.The folk music revival of the 50s came along just in time, as well, and

by the time Jack ran into Larry Johnson he had a pretty good understanding of

country blues. At that time Larry was being touted as the next generation of country

blues players. Prestige even released an album titled "Blues:The Next Generation,"

produced by Sam Charters. Jack and Larry worked at a few gigs doing a Leroy Carr

and Scrapper Blackwell kind of thing.

After hitting the road on the folk music circuit during the coffeehouse surge of the

60s, Jack settled in very musical Newport, R.I. Jack's band,"The New Viper Revue"

roared and stomped throughout the Northeast in the early and mid-70s, preaching the

joyful gospel of the fusion of New Orleans Jazz, Rhythm and Blues and Piedmont Blues.

But it was his 15-year, 2,500-plus-gig partnership with the late clarinetist Al Oliveira where

Jack sprouted his own roots in traditional American jazz and blues.

And the funny thing about this new partnership with Andy Cohen is that Tony Piedade and

his barber shop were the cause of it all. It was time for Andy to get back to New Bedford and

pick up another of Tony's wonderful instruments ... and Jack just happened to have moved

back to his native city.

So thanks Tony, for being the catalyst that made this project happen. Oh, and Tony, thanks

for letting me sit in with your gang that Tuesday in May!

THE TUNES:

1. Four Hands, No Waiting (Andy Cohen & Jack Radcliffe)

This is more a cooperative effort than a cutting contest, although we both have our

moments. Andy got the inspiration to make it the title tune for the CD, and provide

another salute to Tony Piedade and his musical barber chair. It's mostly your basic boogiewoogie

in G, played on two pianos. Andy stayed closer to the middle of the keyboard,

while Jack ventured out deep to the left and high to the right. Erik Lindgren, our man-ofall-

mikes, was able to balance the pianos perfectly, even if the players were a little off

kilter. Aficionados of the genre will detect a few Willie "The Lion" Smith quotes toward

the end, as well as some James P. Johnson and Albert Ammons licks. Ask us to play it

again when you see us live.We promise not to duplicate it!

2. Midnight Hour Blues (Traditional)

Midnight Hour Blues is the folk process at work at its

best. It ultimately derives from Leroy Carr and Scrapper

Blackwell's original recording, issued March 16th, 1932

on Vocalion, a subsidiary label of Columbia. Since we

learned this from different sources, our

version is a compromise between Jack's way, learned

from Larry Johnson, and Andy's, which owes much

to William Lee Ellis. Bill, in turn, stole it from Willie

McTell and Curley Weaver, who in their own turn,

copped it from Leroy and Scrapper.Anyone can

relate to the lyrics, and the melody is classic, it

ain't just some riff.

3. Cincinnati Flow Rag (Traditional)

OK, there's definitely an argument worth having here. Andy calls this "Slow Drag."

Jack says "Slow Drag" has a third section, so this is a hybrid and deserves the name

Willie Walker, from whom Davis learned it, gave it - "Cincinnati Flow Rag. "Whatever

the case, it's fun to have this rag, adapted by Walker and Davis from the piano to the

guitar, re-interpreted on the piano, even as Andy's guitar echoes Davis' strong and

sensitive take on the guitar version.The A and B sections use almost identical chord

structures (The B section uses G9 and C6, rather than G7 and C major). Riffing on

the subtle difference is part of the fun of playing and listening to this deceptively

sophisticated rag.

4. It's Too Short (Dorsey & Carr)

Another, pretty animated Leroy Carr-tune. On the original (Vocalion 02875),

Scrapper's on the git-box and a very young Josh White was shouting encouragement

from the sidelines.Various recordings have credited Blackwell and Carr,

Georgia Tom Dorsey and (probably simply an attempt at a copyright grab)

Cab Calloway.

5. Organ Grinder Swing (Clarence Williams)

Organ Grinder Swing is by Clarence Williams the First (not the Third). Clarence

Williams III is the actor who played Linc on Mod Squad. His grandfather, from

New Orleans, used to eat sugar sandwiches, and was famous as a bandleader in

the Moldy Fig days.The Blues & Gospel Discography ("D G & R") has it issued

with a vocal by Eva Taylor, by Clarence Williams Jug Band And Lowland

Singers, August 7th, 1933 on Columbia (2863-D).

6.Weenie Man

(Diamondstein,Traditional)

Andy's friend Al Diamondstein

wrote the words to this opus,

but the tune is pretty twenties. It's the one

that goes "My gal's a corker, she's a New Yorker."

Write your own verse and send it in.

Andy's always looking for new material.

7. Furry's Blues (Furry Lewis)

Furry Lewis recorded this one in 1928, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, for Victor

(VI V38519, 8/28/28). "I believe I'll buy me a graveyard of my own, kill everybody

ever done me harm."This song foreshadows Gangsta rap in a way the rappers will

likely never know. Its subject is murder, but it's so hyperbolic as to be strictly braggadocio

(which is a town just up the line from Memphis).

8. Miss New Orleans (Alter & DeLange)

This is a classic tune by Lou Alter & Eddy De Lange. It's been covered by everyone

from Harry Connick Jr. to Billie Holiday, but the version Jack prefers is the Louis

Armstrong original. Over Jack's left shoulder at his piano at home is an autographed

photo of old "Red Beans and Rice" himself. Armstrong

debuted this song as part of a radio broadcast on October 19,

1938 on WNEW. Fortunately, the session was recorded.

9. Cold In Hand Blues (Cohen,Traditional)

Andy quilted this together from several sources (Bessie Smith,

Dave Van Ronk, some licks of his own).The haunting repeat binds

it all together and and the result demonstrates that country blues is a living art

form, not yet ready to be consigned to music museums.

10. Cow Cow Blues (Cow Cow Davenport)

Jack rips out this finger-twister as a solo. Gennett recorded Cow-Cow Davenport

and Dora Carr doing it with a guy named Billy Smith playing piano for some reason,

on May 26, 1925, but never issued it; it was recorded by someone reputed to be

'Talking' Billy Anderson, on November 5, 1927 (Columbia 14274-D); Millie Austin

recorded it for Supertone at the Gennett studios with an unknown trumpet and

piano, June 2, 1928, but it was issued as by 'Lillian Jackson.'Then Cow Cow did it again

on July 16, 1928, with Ivy Smith singing. Finally, Charlie Segar ("The Keyboard Wizard

Supreme") recorded it for Decca (De 7075) on a cold day in January of 1935.The

turn-around has been used over and over again in blues and old time music, for

instance, in Muscle Shoals Blues, by harmonica whiz DeFord Bailey.

11. Florida Blues (Traditional)

This is not the Dixieliner's version of the tune, it's the Dixieland Jug Blower's version.

Clifford Hayes and Johnny Dodds played on it (Victor 20403). Rev. Davis apparently

learned this off one of their 78s, many years ago. According to Andy, "My buddy Joe,

from Kent, Ohio, has that very 78, and we used to play it in our band. Actually, it was

the only tune we knew, so..."

12. If I Could Be With You (Henry Creamer & James P. Johnson)

James P. Johnson wrote this exquisite melody to go with the clear and simple lyrics by

Harry Creamer. Andy's guitar is all the rhythm section you need on this, although it

was a favorite as an instrumental for many of the big bands of the '20s and '30s. Jack's

piano accompaniment echoes Johnson's "horn section" style in the right hand, using

close clusters and accidentals to accent the tune.

13. Honey, It Must Be Love (Traditional)

Willie McTell did this one, but he didn't write it. Neither did Charlie Poole, who also

did it. It's on a wax cylinder somewhere. But the verse about King Edward, scion of

the Stewart family, caused Willie to rename it on those John Lomax Library of

Congress recordings (LC Melodeon P7323) when he recorded it in 1940.

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