Ford Dabney (1883-1958) is just a footnote in jazz history. A long-forgotten figure, if he is remembered at all it is for composing the jazz standard “Shine.” But as the extensive liner notes and the music reissued in Archeophone’s After Midnight point out, he was a significant contributor to the music of his era.
Dabney had a wide-ranging life, particularly for an African-American of the early 20th century. Born in Washington DC, he was well educated, sang in the church choir, and studied music extensively. After moving to New York in 1901, he played piano for society functions, worked as the personal pianist for the president of Haiti during 1903-06, and also performed in France and Germany. Back in the US, Dabney co-founded the Clef Club booking agency with James Reese Europe, went on the road with vaudeville groups, and during 1910-11 owned and ran a club in Washington DC. called Ford Dabney’s Theater. Dabney composed several popular numbers around this time including “Shine,” and he worked with James Reese Europe including playing piano on Europe’s groundbreaking recordings of 1913-14.
During 1914-22 Dabney led the house band for Florenz Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic shows. While he made test recordings in 1914 and 1916 that were unreleased, Dabney’s Syncopated Orchestra recorded around 60 titles during 1917-20 and three songs in 1922. After that period, while continuing to lead bands for a time, Dabney switched his emphasis to publishing and songwriting, running an entertainment bureau and gradually fading from the scene despite living until 1958.
Ford Dabney’s recordings have mostly been unavailable since the 1920s. I only know of one title (1919’s “Round The Corner”) that was reissued and that was decades ago on a Folkways LP. The two-CD set After Midnight makes up for that omission by bringing back 48 selections, many of which are intriguing. On the minus side, Dabney does not seem to have ever recorded a piano solo and, except for 1922’s “Bugle Blues” (which is similar to other pieces with the same title from the era), he never recorded any of his own songs, not even “Shine.”
The music on After Midnight covers a fairly wide area. Some of the earliest titles find his small combo sounding more like a marching band than a jazz or dance orchestra. Other numbers have Dabney’s Syncopated Orchestra offering first-class dance music that falls in the transition between ragtime and jazz. Trumpeter Cricket Smith offers a solid lead and hints of jazz phrasing, trombonist Nappy Lee has a few novelty features (including “Sally Trombone” and “Lassus Trombone”), and Edgar Campbell does his best on clarinet. Along with the period numbers and World War I. songs, the recordings include early versions of “Darktown Strutters’ Ball,” “I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None O’ This Jelly Roll,” “Breeze,” “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me,” “Camp Meeting Blues,” “When My Baby Smiles At Me,” and several blues numbers (including “Squealing Pig Blues”) that predate Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues.” 45 of the recordings are from 1917-20 while the final three (including “Sweet Man” and “Bugle Call Blues”) date from 1922.
Archeophone is to be congratulated for making this very rare music available and in such good condition. The 36-page booklet which has definitive liner notes by Tim Brooks is certainly an added plus.
After Midnight: Ford Dabney’s Syncopated Orchestras
Archeophone ARCH 6013
www.archeophone.com
