A Bag of Blues - Jack Pettis and his Pets
- 00:03:30
- YouTube
A Bag of Blues - Jack Pettis and his Pets
"A Bag of Blues" recorded by Jack Pettis and his Pets. This tune was one of several written by Pettis that he recorded for many different record labels during the late 1920's, but I believe this version is the best one that he waxed. Soloists include Nicky Gerlach on violin, Bill Moore on trumpet, Don Murray on clarinet, and Eddie Lang on guitar. The record player is an Orthophonic Victrola model VE4-4X, or "Granada". The "E" in the model number indicates that the Victrola is fitted with a synchronous A/C motor instead of a wind-up motor. The machine has a full "orthophonic" playback system (for electrically-recorded records) including the special orthophonic sound box with a duralumin diaphragm and a folded exponential horn inside of the cabinet. Although the gigantic Credenza Victrola produced deeper bass, the Granada had the most accurate overall frequency response of all the acoustic Orthophonic Victrolas. The serial number indicates that this machine was probably manufactured in 1926. I shoot my video with a Sony Digital 8 format camera. For audio, I use a Shure SM-57 microphone on a stand placed about 4 feet in front of the Victrola horn. I use "soft tone" needles to keep from overloading the microphone. The mic is plugged directly into the video camera. The videos are edited with Windows Movie Maker. I use Sound Forge 9 to clean up the audio, but don't worry -- you're hearing the record exactly as the Victrola plays it! For more great music, videos, and trivia from this era, please visit my website, http://www.virtualvictrola.com.
YouTube | January 31, 2008
