Two from Chip Deffaa

Chip Deffaa has gained fame as a prolific playwright and a producer of plays and recordings. He wrote for the New York Post for 18 years, has produced 48 CDs so far, and authored nine books and 20 plays. He particularly enjoys the music of George M. Cohan. Deffaa wrote and produced George M. Cohan Tonight as an Off-Broadway show and a film. While active in the theater and cabaret worlds, he has always loved early jazz. Six of his books (Swing Legacy, Voices Of The Jazz Age, In The Mainstream, Traditionalists and Revivalists in Jazz, Jazz Veterans, and Blue Rhythms) should be of great interest to fans of 1920s and ’30s-style jazz for they are filled with priceless interviews with the survivors of the era who were still around in the 1980s and ’90s along with later musicians playing in those styles.

One of Chip Deffaa’s favorite projects is to release on CD (often for the first time) radio appearances, live performances, and occasional studio sessions of vintage show biz figures from his collection. Give Their Regards To Broadway has performances by Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante so obviously this is not a jazz release (despite Durante’s very early period as a jazz pianist). However those who enjoy vintage radio shows will find this to be a very interesting release.

It begins with Jimmy Durante (joined by his early partners Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson) mostly talking and joking his way through two songs that he wrote about Broadway. Next in separate montages, Jolson, Cantor and Durante all pay tribute to George M. Cohan by performing short versions of many of his songs. Cantor is assisted by Dinah Shore and Durante is joined by several other actors while Jolson does not need anyone to help him. Among the many songs covered, all three include “Give My Regards To Broadway.”

Also included on this intriguing CD are Al Jolson singing brief versions of eight of his hits (the CD’s highlight) while an announcer rushes through his life story, Cantor and Durante joining forces to relate in a humorous and semi-fictional way about how they got started in show business, Jolson and Durante performing together twice, Cantor having a solo number, and Jolson starring on four numbers, stealing the show as usual.

While the jokes have not dated as well as the singing, fans of the three legends will want to pick up Give Their Regards To Broadway.

While not a professional singer, Chip Deffaa has occasionally recorded as a vocalist. Down In Honky Tonk Town features him singing 27 songs (standards and long-forgotten tunes) that he clearly loves. While his vocal range is admittedly limited, he puts plenty of enthusiasm and affection into these performances, sometimes pausing to verbally tell a story along the way. While Deffaa’s vocalizing can be considered vintage cabaret with show biz elements, jazz is supplied by the versatile and swinging pianist Richard Dunley and guest instrumentalists including violinist Andy Stein on seven songs, trumpeter Simon Wettenhall for five, and saxophonist Jerry Vivien on eight. There are also several singers who duet with Deffaa including Miss Maybell and Ingrid Lucia. Oskar Viniar takes honors with a touching vocal on “Smile.”

Down In Honky Tonk Town has extensive liner notes by Chip Deffaa, none of the concise performances overstay their welcome and, while these renditions will not make one forget the early classic versions, there are plenty of happy vibes felt throughout the affectionate set.

Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante
Give Their Regards To Broadway
Garret Mountain Records IB 0705

Chip Deffaa
Down In Honky Tonk Town
Garret Mountain Records JDC 803

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.

Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.