The Firehouse Five Plus Two: Variations on Some Themes

Jeff Barnhart: Hal, we both enjoyed listening to the Firehouse Five’s first “themed” album, The FH5+2 Goes South, last month that we agreed to cover a few of their subsequent releases. Now, we’ll take a listen to the albums (all starting with “The Firehouse Five Plus Two”) Plays For Lovers (1956; Good Time Jazz L-12014), Goes to Sea (1957; GTJ L-12028), and Crashes a Party (1960; GTJ M-12038). In all there were ten “concept” releases, and sometime over the next couple of years we’ll cover all of them.

We’re grouping three in one column this time around because there are varying degrees of actual “jazz” content on them. Hal, we may differ in opinion on some of these albums, but that helps to make sharing this column so exhilarating! For instance, you mentioned there are less memorable tracks on Plays For Lovers than on Goes South. However, there’s a lot I enjoyed on this second release. Could you elucidate before we discuss specific sides?

Hal Smith: Jeff, these three releases contain very few tracks that I really like. But Plays For Lovers does include three of my favorites: “I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me” is given a West Coast two-beat treatment. Danny Alguire’s great trumpet leads the way, with terrific playing by Ward Kimball on trombone and George Probert on soprano sax in the front line. Pianist Frank Thomas, Banjoist Dick Roberts, tubist Ed Penner and drummer Jim McDonald really keep this one moving along smartly. Solos are laid out as: piano/trumpet/piano; soprano sax/trombone/soprano, and banjo/ensemble/banjo. Everyone sounds inspired here, from beginning to end. I first heard this track over 60 years ago and it still knocks me out!

The first chorus of “I Love My Baby” really hits on all cylinders. Except for the faux “Roaring ’20s” intro and outro, this is red-hot traditional jazz. Roberts strums some nice variations on the melody, then Kimball and Probert tear into a duet chorus, followed by a ragtime piano chorus by Frank Thomas. Danny Alguire’s trumpet on the last two choruses—one soft, one “pound plenty”—is very effective and I think there is even a Bix phrase just after the halfway point on the quieter chorus. This is vintage Firehouse music at its best—minus the siren!

“My Cutey’s Due At Two To Two,” is a “keeper.” After an excellent first ensemble, on the vocal duet Danny is easy to identify by his accent—particularly on the break (“Ah jus’ couldn’ do mah sweetie dirt”). The split-chorus solos (soprano/trumpet, trombone/piano) and the final chorus by the band is a stomper.

Jeff, you might be interested to know that when I heard the Firehouse Five live at Disneyland, their tempos on “I Can’t Believe” and “My Cutey’s Due” were more fox trot than stomp. (And “Careless Love” was played way slower than what we hear on this record)!

Sadly, Plays For Lovers is the last commercial recording by the FH5+2 with Ed Penner on tuba and Jim McDonald on drums. Penner passed away in November, 1956 and McDonald was out of circulation due to his commitments at Disney. For my money, this rhythm section—Thomas, Roberts, Penner and McDonald—was the best the band ever had.

Do you have additional comments on these three tracks? (I’m not too enthusiastic about any of the other sides).

JB: Hal, since you (wisely) cherry-picked the best three sides out of the 12 on Plays For Lovers, I’ll share short observations about some of the rest.

I don’t like “Careless Love” at an “Ace in the Hole” tempo. That one left me flat.

“Girl of My Dreams” starts with an hysterical waltz opening—most likely inspired by Spike Jones —with an exaggerated Guy Lombardo-like tremolo by Probert, then a “gun-shot” drum break leading into a swinging chorus. Probert and Alguire both solo, each taking the other’s bridge. Frank Thomas’ barrelhouse piano solo, with banjo on bridge is followed by half a trombone chorus (with ensemble 2nd half) and a HOT final chorus (Probert’s killing it here)!!! “Spike Jones” returns for the end and I still laugh at it. This band loves blending pure hot jazz with hokum, and it lifts my spirits.

I enjoy several aspects of “My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms.” Any tune that starts with a trombone glissando already has a leg up in my book. Also, this recording was my first time hearing this title as a kid, so I learned the words from the Alguire/Kimball duet vocal. The highlights on this track are the rocking feel the rhythm section conjures up, Probert’s full-chorus solo, and how he continues wailing out of it over the final ensemble, the last half of which is almost exhausting in its intensity! Once I had this on CD, I would listen repeatedly to those final sixteen bars and the double ending.

Perhaps because of the over-familiarity of the tune. I usually skip over renditions of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” but as you noted regarding “I Can’t Believe,” it’s refreshing to hear a stomping, two-beat version as essayed by our fire-breathing musicians. Probert’s break halfway through the first ensemble is a gas and Dick Roberts plays pretty during his half chorus. Kimball struts along, smearing in some places like Turk and with a very nice break into Probert’s sinewy 16 bars. I love the space and simplicity of the final ensemble as well; no overplaying but creating some nice heat. This band was masterful at using only a single outchorus to bring any tune to a scorching finish.

“The Love Nest” is special to me because we get to hear that rare occasion when this band opens out into two final ensemble choruses. It’s a textbook example of how to do it right, expertly led throughout by Danny Alguire.

Finally, “I Love You Truly” delights me for four reasons. First, the tune itself is so pretty with some lovely harmonic changes on the bridge. Second, Probert plays the melody on clarinet in the woody chalumeau register with Kimball playing a hot cup-muted obbligato. Third, Penner’s tuba melody on the penultimate chorus is really beautiful; such a tone!! Finally, the outchorus is thrilling from the bridge out; just listen to Alguire’s scorching lead through the double ending! Man, I’m going to listen to this one again right now!!

Hal, if you care to, I request you briefly don your “jazz curmudgeon” hat and tell me why this album, excepting the three sides you described, left you flat. Are you not a fan of love? LOL!

HS: I’m already wearing that hat. I keep it on more and more these days! To answer your second question: “Yes.” To answer the first: I love others’ recordings of these songs so much that it’s difficult to put them out of my mind while listening to this album. To name a few: Eddie Condon’s “Love Is Just Around The Corner,” James P. Johnson’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?,” Turk Murphy’s “My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms” (with Don Ewell), Bunk Johnson’s “Careless Love” with the Wartime Yerba Buena band and the hauntingly beautiful record of “Love Songs Of The Nile” by Billie and DeDe Pierce. As for “Love Nest,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “I Love You Truly,” I never cared for any of them as vehicles for jazz improvisation.

Shall we move on to the next “theme” album in the series? That would be Goes To Sea—the first Firehouse Five album that was also released in high fidelity and stereo. It is also the first FH5 commercial recording with Eddie Forrest, who became the band’s permanent drummer. Though I wish that Monte Mountjoy had continued as the regular drummer, Ward Kimball loved Forrest’s playing, his expertise with sound effects and his twirling drumsticks.

This album also marks the first commercial recording by the FH5+2 with George Bruns on tuba. He replaced Ralph “Zulu” Ball (heard on “Asleep In The Deep,” “Peoria” and “Over The Waves”). Ball and Bruns were both veterans of the Castle Jazz Band and Turk Murphy’s Jazz Band. In addition, Bruns was a talented composer whose best-known song is “The Ballad of Davy Crockett.”

As on Plays For Lovers, several songs on this album were not part of the working repertoire; strictly “one and done” recordings of nautically-themed songs chosen by Lester Koenig. However, “Peoria” was a staple in the band book. “Red Sails In The Sunset” and “A Sailboat In The Moonlight” were occasionally played by the band for dance engagements and they recorded “By The Sea” (with altered lyrics) as a commercial for Sea & Ski suntan lotion!

The siren and the firebell were crucial to the band’s presentation, but the “water” effects on this album are a bit much. (I almost said “overboard”). There are quite a few hot solos and ensembles, but the material is really weak—even compared to the songs on Plays For Lovers. With my “jazz curmudgeon” cap fully adjusted, I state preferences for George Lewis’ 1945 record of “Over The Waves,” Bing Crosby’s “When My Dreamboat Comes Home” (with the Bob Cats) and Wingy Manone’s “On The Good Ship Lollipop.” Also, the FH5’s version of “Between The Devil” on a 1957 “Stars Of Jazz” tv show is much hotter and features a two-cornet front line with Alguire and Don Kinch!

Jeff, what are your thoughts regarding this body of water—I mean, recordings?

JB: Hahaha!! Yes, the lapping water effect that starts and ends each side for that “At Sea” effect wears thin after a few tunes. We have to forgive the temptation they must’ve been feeling. After all, there were limitless sound effects available to them at the Disney studios and this was the age of hit tunes like “Mule Train” and “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?” that utilized novelty sound effects to “cover up” the lack of musical quality. Again, I’m probably not as discerning, but although I enjoy the other renditions you cite of the selections on “Lovers” and “Sea” as much as you, I still find commendable aspects on nearly every side on this nautical nifty. In addition, the sound is out of this world!!! I feel like I’m IN the tuba!

The ridiculous vocal tag on “By the Sea” still sends me into paroxyms of laughter, and I enjoy Dick Roberts’ melodic banjo solo, and Bruns’ tuba gymnastics. Ward Kimball ebulliently stomps his half chorus, and Probert comes dancing in over the relentless two-beat rhythm. I can even sit through the stop-time “tap-shoe splash” chorus to get to the final half-chorus ensemble.

I love the homophonic and harmonic verse for horns to “Dreamboat” and find the tempo perfect. The band plays the first ensemble chorus as if it’s the final one…peaking too early??? Ragtime piano and strumming banjo share a chorus and Alguire’s open horn solo hits all the buttons, while George Bruns’ acrobatic tuba ride charges into Probert’s full-length solo, supported in the second half by long tones from Kimball and Alguire. The final ensemble finds Bruns hitting tuba notes from 20,000 leagues under the sea, and as usual, the second half of the final ride-out lets Alguire turn up the heat as Probert pirouettes around him and Kimball smears and blats with abandon.

Before I continue, I have to share my gratification that you share my disappointment witn Eddie Forrest as the drummer. Although he keeps a steady beat, even as a kid I knew something was missing; it was almost like an anvil (akin to the one used for comic effect on the “Disneyland” album) was dragging the band down. This makes it all the more astounding how hot the FH5 could still play. I wonder if maybe Ward Kimball just appreciated the simplicity of Forrest’s playing?

“Minnie the Mermaid” swims along in yeoman-like fashion, but it’s the final ensemble gets the pulse moving.

No comment on “Over the Waves,” a tune I’ve never liked no matter who (including me) plays it. From 1885, it was the prototype for all ensuing songs using its harmonic progression from “Bill Bailey” and “Washington and Lee Swing” to the trio of “Tiger Rag” to “Just Because” and “Bourbon Street Parade,” to name just a few. I always thought it sounded best in its original waltz form, as a musical backdrop to every Merry-Go-Round from Asbury Park to Avila Beach. You know you’re in trouble when the highlight of the track is an unadvertised interpolation of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” as a tuba solo…

In stark contrast is the band’s rendition of “A Sailboat in the Moonlight” which mightily stomps as though all winds are in your favor! I love Kimball’s bucket-mute solo, and also that you hear him drop the mute in the first couple of bars of Probert’s rather uninspired solo. The final ensemble is robust yet relaxed and every time I hear it, I realize I’m unconsciously swaying.

THEN, those damned lapping waves, a fog horn, a hackneyed intro, and we’re in Shirley Temple land with “Good Ship Lollipop.” I HATE this tune, and if Armstrong himself had performed it, I’d still be going to the lobby for a beer. But THEN, I hear Probert’s hot solo into Alguire’s muted chorus shared with Probert, and the addition of Kimball on the next chorus—along with the arranged breaks on these two choruses for trumpet and soprano sax—and marvel at the arranging creativity of this track. The tune could’ve stopped at this climax but goes on into a banjo/tuba chorus. The final ensemble is serviceable, but one hears the band finishing it with the promise of a lunch break. The foghorn in between this and the next tune is a winner, though…

“Peoria”…I’ll skip other than mentioning the final chorus is toe-tapping.

THEN, a weird tune: “Asleep in the Deep,” with its oddball quasi-symphonic intro. It sports nice touches like Danny Alguire’s firm statement of the rarely heard verse, and Probert beginning his solo quoting “Old Man River,” the conclusion, with Ralph Ball’s tuba taking us to the depths. Yeah, I dig it, Hal…finding jazz nuggets on this album is akin to finding honest politicians!

“She Was Just A Sailor’s Sweetheart” stands out for me for the tuba/ocarina duet and the obligatory siren. Period.

I also like the tv version of “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea better than the one on this album. I think the band was in awe of virtuosic tubists like George Bruns, but as impressive as Bruns’ solo is here, one hearing of it is enough. I like Probert’s half-chorus on this side, but I’m becoming waterlogged…

GREAT foghorn sound from the tuba, though!!! …Into “Red Sails in the Sunset,” which features a hot opening half-chorus from Danny Alguire, on muted horn (switching to open horn for the bridge) and one of the hottest recorded solos by George Probert. Other than these highlights. this ship has sailed.

“Anchors Aweigh” is obligatory and I’ll skip it. In the final analysis, the most impressive feature of this release is the front cover depicting the band walking into the ocean (reportedlly due South from the California coast of Malibu) without the benefit of CGI.

And our third album for this edition of our column contains even less jazz…but let’s find the needles, shall we? Hal, since I seem to be counterpointing your counterpoints in contrapuntal countering and pointering, I’ll ask you to fearlessly contradance into the next festivity, party-hat jauntily akimbo!

HS: I’m afraid I will be wearing the “jazz curmudgeon” cap instead of a party hat as we discuss Firehouse Five Plus Two Crashes a Party. Once again, the hokum is present in a greater quantity than the hot jazz. And I notice a few spots where the band actually sounds more tired than inspired. Maybe it was the somewhat trite material, or three-minute time limits, or stress at Disney studios before and after these recording sessions…but I don’t hear anything really catching fire (pardon the pun) on this album.

The first time I heard the band live, they started the evening with “At The Jazz Band Ball.” The first few notes of the verse lifted me out of my seat—literally! But the version heard on Crashes a Party is nowhere near that intense. The standout track for me is “Ballin’ The Jack.” Danny’s trumpet playing on that track is the textbook definition of “Southwestern Style”—relaxed but bouncy; not too many notes, and all of them in just the right place. Danny also sang this with the band at Disneyland, with accompanying bass drum thumps as he described the dance steps in the lyrics.

This is the first GTJ album to include Don Kinch on tuba (he replaced George Bruns, whose commitments at Disney prevented him from playing more with the FH5). Whether he was playing cornet or helicon, he always added a tremendous amount of musicality to the Firehouse Five sound.

Score points for the album cover, too. It may be the most clever design in the whole series of “theme” albums.

Did you find any highlights on Crashes a Party, Jeff?

JB: Nope. HAHAHA! Just kidding! You know the eternal optimist has to find something good here. And so I shall, though I freely admit the haystack increases in size as the number of needles diminishes. I think this was one of my favorite albums of theirs in my teens because the bulk of the recording comprised “party” tunes of yore and I knew all of them, playing them weekly on various sing-along gigs. Moreover, as Lester Koenig asserts, this is a “devastating satire” on the goings-on at a typical party, regardless of the music style being played. It’s great how the partiers get increasingly trashed as the album staggers on: as you’d expect, even in 1959, bands avoided playing “The Saints” as long as possible, no matter how vociferous the outcry to hear it. Finally, in my naivete, I enjoyed fantasizing about being that wealthy dude on the front cover with that gorgeous little number on the chaise lounge and wondered “Would I throw the band out or keep them around?” Ah, youth!

“Let’s Have a Party” is a much more interesting way to introduce a band within a song than the oft-used “Mama Don’t ’Low.” It’s cute, with clever lyrics. If the band didn’t use this on live engagements, they should have. “At the Fireman’s Ball” is not one of Jimmy McHugh’s best efforts but the band puts some energy into it. I frankly love Don Kinch’s tuba playing, and the rhythm and chaotic outchorus of, “Mama Inez.” Sounds like the band was having fun on this one.

GREAT vocal harmony on “You Are My Sunshine,” why didn’t they do that more often? Of all the versions of “The Saints” I’ve heard, this one is one of the more enjoyable; I groove on Probert’s solo, think Eddie Forrest’s drum solo works, and really dig the “Maryland, My Maryland” like chorus with trombone and tuba playing melody while trumpet and sax harmonize an arranged obligato.

“Bill Bailey” starts off with a wonderful version of the verse played by Probert, with Alguire and Kimball harmonizing long tones underneath. Again, solid voicing makes this sound quite rich. Kimball’s lip-buzzing solo is pure over-the-top tailgate kitsch, but Probert’s surprise minor-key solo always delights and the final ensemble half-chorus is solid. Even at a young age I found it hard to believe anybody at a party would actually clap when a band started “At the Jazz Band Ball,” especially this way, which I concur is not an inspired rendition.

The two highlights of “Heart of My Heart” are the three-horn harmonized break where “Oh, how we could harmonize” is sung and the chorus of horns, piano and tuba trading bits. Oh yeah, and when Ward Kimball asks “When was the first time you found out your wife was tattooed?” during the banjo solo! Hal, I agree with you, “Ballin’ the Jack” is the standout on the entire album! Don Kinch’s playing of the verse on the tuba is a gas! he gets to play melody again on “I Want a Girl” (against Probert’s quotes of “Here Comes the Bride” and “I Love You Truly”). And Probert’s solo has that characteristic build I adore, not to mention his wild playing on the outchorus!!

The saddest thing about the album is how the band destroys one of the best tunes ever composed. “Nobody’s Sweetheart” dissolves into a drunken “shout-along.” The side is redeemed only by Danny Alguire’s HOT solo, but that’s worth waiting for, as is the final ensemble half chorus. The tune crashes to a halt, the cops start to arrive, everyone runs away, and we’re left wishing we could somehow go back in time to hire this band and let them play the stuff THEY wanted to the way THEY’D like to play it!!

HS: Ha! You had me going for a minute! Here are a few additional notes: “At The Fireman’s Ball” was used on the soundtrack of the movie Calendar Girl, released in 1947. In the film, it’s a major production number—sung by Jane Frazee and William Marshall—all in waltz time. I get the “ball/party” connotation, but with a similar melody to “Ace In The Hole,” there isn’t much to improvise on. When the FH5 played “Heart Of My Heart” in person, Danny used to lead the audience in a singalong.

Fortunately, I never heard this atonal version of “Nobody’s Sweetheart” live! Regarding “The Saints”: I wish you could have heard the band play it at Disneyland and Earthquake McGoon’s! Imagine Ward playing slapsticks, Danny on tambourine and George playing handle-mounted castanets behind the piano and banjo solos; a solo by Ward on harmonica; several wild soprano sax choruses and a climactic drum solo before the rousing finale. THAT’S entertainment!

We agree that there are some hits and many misses on these three volumes. However, the next record in the series is often regarded as one of the Firehouse Five’s very best. Jeff, do you think we should devote a whole column to “Dixieland Favorites” or try to combine it with a couple more of the albums that followed it?

JB: My friend, this AWESOME album warrants our full attention! I guess we’re doing a series now, and I couldn’t be happier. It’ll also be a great segue to my eventual collab with New Black Eagle Jazz Band trombonist Stan Vincent scheduled to appear sometime this year! How could life be better?