Listening to Al Jolson (1896-1950) is always a guilty pleasure for me. On the one hand, he was considered by many to be the world’s greatest entertainer, particularly during the 1911-35 period, and his recordings and film appearances are full of enthusiastic and joyful singing. While not really a jazz singer (despite starring in the groundbreaking partly-talking film The Jazz Singer), Jolson’s phrasing and variations in his second choruses swing and are consistently exciting. But on the minus side, his use of blackface as late as the 1940s, long after it was being condemned, is unfortunate although apparently African-Americans of his era appreciated the way that he treated them. He did not mean any disrespect, but it was a holdover from his minstrel show days
Theatre producer, director and journalist Chip Deffaa has put out 44 CDs so far that include vintage recordings and more current gatherings of Broadway and cabaret performers. His Al Jolson Rediscovered release begins with songs taken from the soundtracks of The Jazz Singer (1927) and Jolson’s second movie The Singing Fool (1928) which was one of his greatest films. While The Jazz Singer is still famous, the lesser known The Singing Fool featured Jolson singing such songs as “I’m Sitting On Top Of The World,” “There’s A Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder,” “Sonny Boy,” and a number that is often cut out of the film’s reissues, “”The Spaniard That Blighted My Life.” Chip Deffaa himself introduces many of the Jolson performances while giving some background to the music.
Also included on Al Jolson Rediscovered are the earliest recording of “Rockabye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody,” a few obscurities, and a variety of radio appearances. Of the more memorable broadcasts, Jolson is heard reminiscing and joking around with former New York governor Al Smith, performing two much-too-brief numbers with Martha Raye, and acting in an 11½ minute summary of his life that goes up to the 1920s. The latter, which has him singing a chorus or two of some of his top hits, is the CD’s highlight, predating the singer’s remarkable comeback that was spurred by the film The Jolson Story (1946).
Al Jolson Rediscovered
Garrett Mountain MC 1027
www.chipdeffaa.com
