to David Burman
Letter from
March 16, 1975.
Letter from November 4, 1974.
I am grateful to David Burman for sending scans of the letters and permission to post them.
Uploaded August 24, 2013.
David Burman is a Bristish traditional jazz musician. From his mail message of June 2, 2013.
"Career in Education as Director of music at several high schools. Studied piano to ARCM level. Then took up trumpet. Added Sax.Took to Jazz. <>Some years back I had some correspondence with Bill Challis. Copies attached which you will find interesting. It was his letters that prompted me to form an orchestra capable of playing the Goldkette and Whiteman material. I initially did this as a Further Education tutor, running an educational project, tutoring night school students in Big Band ensemble playing. I obtained a few arrangements from, Henry Davis. He ran a band. "The New Orleans Bootblacks". He sent charts for Borneo and Hour of Love. These were probably copied from the stock arrangements . But the 2nd alto parts were missing!! I worked these out and we were able to play them. What an experience this was because they were absolutely faithful to what is played on the recordings. We did transcribe the solos but I liked to encourage the players to work out their own solo.
Following Bill Challis's advice
I approached Williams College USA and they very kindly sent me
some arrangements. They sent parts only, we constructed
performing scores from the sets of these parts. We rehearsed this
material and performed them at the end of college term. Out of this
grew the London Vintage Jazz Orchestra.
A very succesful outfit, progressing to European tours and performances in UK, plus a residency at the 100 Club 100 Oxford Street. This was every Sunday Lunchtime and the audiences came even from Manchester to hear us play. But there is more. I met a sax player, Ray Whittam, at a freelance gig. This guy actually had copies of the Three Blind Mice and Crying all Day charts autographed by the arranger Lennie Hayton. Lena Horne's husband. He was aware of the LVJO project and my interest in Bix. He gave them to me . We played these often.It was inevitable that I try to transcribe some of the Trumbauer charts. I did this with Blue River and other numbers although I did expand sometimes, to include vocals and hot section choruses.
A very succesful outfit, progressing to European tours and performances in UK, plus a residency at the 100 Club 100 Oxford Street. This was every Sunday Lunchtime and the audiences came even from Manchester to hear us play. But there is more. I met a sax player, Ray Whittam, at a freelance gig. This guy actually had copies of the Three Blind Mice and Crying all Day charts autographed by the arranger Lennie Hayton. Lena Horne's husband. He was aware of the LVJO project and my interest in Bix. He gave them to me . We played these often.It was inevitable that I try to transcribe some of the Trumbauer charts. I did this with Blue River and other numbers although I did expand sometimes, to include vocals and hot section choruses.
Around this time I met the German Sax player ,
Claus Jacobi, who ran a band in Germany - The Blue Roseland Orchestra"
He was a physician by profession But he was spot on at
transcribing arrangements from the original recordings. His preference
was mainly for Fletcher Henderson, Ellington, Cotton Pickers and etc.
But here again, knowing of my Bix leanings, he transcribed for my band,
Clarinet Marmalade, I'm coming Virginia, Goose Pimples, Somebody Stole
my Gal. Thou Swell, Trumbology and Baltimore. I gave him some of
my own transcriptions and arrangements including Clementine
and Taint So. Claus often invited me to perform with his band in Germany, and when they came to
the UK. LVJO also went to Germany in a battle of the bands. B.R.O. versus L.V.J.O."