Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys have long been a cornerstone of the hot jazz community, unearthing forgotten tunes with wit and heart. They have had around 13 albums releases and innumerable performances in 27 years, with connections into both older and now younger generations. Janet Klein was one of this paper’s first profiles way back in 2016. In 2020 she released a fun album of Jewish vaudeville material called Yiddisha Follies as well as a tribute collection featuring 17 songs written or sung by long time Parlor Boy, the late great Ian Whitcomb.
Their two 2025 Bandcamp releases, Humming to Myself, a four-song EP, and Mutiny in the Parlor, a full album, keep that tradition alive. Dave Doyle reviewed Mutiny in the Parlor in the May issue, so while I have some things to say about that one, this review lingers on the EP. It’s a charming set of recordings from 2001 and 2012, driven by the Mighty Wurlitzer organ at El Segundo’s Old Town Music Hall.
A cozy time capsule into an earlier moment for the band and even earlier one for Janet Klein, Humming to Myself’s four tracks capture the Parlor Boys enjoying a unique musical experience. Recorded privately, without an audience, just the band and the organ in the Old Town Music Hall, it is no wonder they wanted to share that experience with us all these years later.
The EP features Corey Gemme (cornet, clarinet), Marquis Howell (upright bass), Brad Kay (piano), Dan Levinson (clarinet, sax), John Reynolds (guitar), and Randy Woltz on the Wurlitzer for the three 2012 cuts that lead the album, with Bob Mitchell’s organ backing Klein’s vocals alone fot 2001’s “Exactly Like You.”
The opener, “Hummin’ to Myself,” bubbles with Klein’s playful delivery, Gemme’s bright cornet, and Woltz’s organ, which hums like a vaudeville ghost. “Willow Tree,” a Fats Waller gem, glides along Levinson’s lead, while “Big City Blues” struts with an urban pep, the Wurlitzer adding a theatrical kick. A very interesting element to me is the inclusion of both piano and organ. Brad Kay takes his part in the orderly passing of solos while the organ adds its special drone in the background, playing a banjo-like role when it isn’t coming out to briefly dominate the fore as only an organ can.
The 2001 closer, “Exactly Like You,” is tender, Klein’s voice weaving with Mitchell’s organ in a recording held for 24 years. That’s only three years into the Parlor Boys, and Janet sings in a style that one might expect from her vintage look. But don’t get the wrong idea, her vocal breadth and depth were clear even from her debut 1998 album, Come to My Parlor, which featured her playing obscurities on her ukulele. For more recent fans, that is an album that deserves a look. She’s only sparsely supported by other instruments, as the Parlor Boys weren’t assembled yet, and the result is a folk bluesy take on early 20th century material that is nearly entirely reliant on her vocal line, which proves to be as captivatingly skillful as a full band.
Old Town Music Hall’s Mighty Wurlitzer is the heart of the EP. In the 1920s, theater organs powered silent film palaces, mimicking everything from trumpets to drums to replace or enhance a band. The organ was important to early jazz. Primarily because of the silent theater connection, but also because key jazz pianists were enamoured with it, and who wouldn’t want to expand their sound in such a way? Everyone was mad for the movies and a musician would recognize how important a part sound played in silent films.
In his autobiography, Count Basie talks lovingly of both hearing and playing the organ at silent movie houses in New Jersey before making his way to Kansas City. He would make a point of recording on pipe organ near the peak of his prominence in the late ’30s. Fats Waller more famously made a number of entertaining organ records. The instrument lends itself to both inspiration and the improvisation that follows. What musicians heard in those pipes they wanted to bring into their own bands.
After experiencing a pipe organ and band live last month and now hearing these tracks, I wish more bands would find a way to accompany the few remaining well maintained theater organs. They can’t come to you, you need to go to them and find a skilled jazz organist to play. A tall order, but worth the effort.
Mutiny in the Parlor, as Dave Doyle noted last month, is a lively affair. Featuring Klein, Reynolds, Benny Brydern (violin), Marquis Howell, Randy Woltz (piano, xylophone), and guests like Corey Gemme, the album pairs classics like “Willow Weep For Me” with rarities like “On The Beach With You.” Klein began collecting sheet music for the art, eventually falling in love with the songs, and all of her titles are lyrically driven even when substantial space is given to the band. The earliest title here is 1920’s “San,” the latest is 1936’s “Mutiny in the Parlor.” The rest fall within a couple years of 1930, which was an excellent period for popular songwriting. “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue” early in the album is a surprising choice for this band but they play it in their own style and it fits perfectly, with a joy that would make Louis smile.
This 12-track album was recorded mostly in 2024 at Ardent Studio with “San” being from 2017, and three titles near the end being “Covid at homes” from 2021. Two of those feature Klein and her uke, backed by Marquis Howell’s guitar, and the other is Klein alone. These recalled for me her 1998 debut, which had been my great discovery in researching this review.
Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys deliver these songs with honest respect for the era. Humming to Myself is a must have, its Wurlitzer charm a unique joy you won’t find elsewhere, while Mutiny in the Parlor makes it clear Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys are still one of the best groups we have.
All of her albums were produced by Robert Loveless, with Klein’s own cover art. Her full discography is available on Bandcamp for $112. With individual full albums going for $10, and the EP for $4. If you’re not yet a Janet Klein devotee, these new releases will make you one. Her parlor is still the place to be.
Hummin’ to Myself & Mutiny in the Parlor
Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys
janetklein.bandcamp.com
Joe Bebco is the Associate Editor of The Syncopated Times and Webmaster of SyncopatedTimes.com
