*om t he

am t he

Alegendory &.we by the he ofMcMwdo, it was said, warr aut 14 up*hts in his time, we can cmjtcnue that he seldrm experienced the extreme luxury of amfking a brand-new instrument, but wry probably he did play the last rim into a ca~lderable number of crew, groaniag speakeasy uprights. Tfie calliope and the bunkuse piano had several things in eommm;

they embraced the essence of musical videnct both in lauincss and style, they were mutually cantempomy, and amalg thc perf- they r a n a

separated the men fmn thc boys. Oldtime d o p e playera were muscular men. lEey had to be. "Fats"

tichon of New Orleans tdd us: 'Mon, once yac got started you didn4 dcM slqp. 'aracpe that steam

pressure W d build up un&r the kybqpd, end it ww Mi bell to get going again ...." His shoulder mwdcs bulged, oampatidy. So, alao, bulged the

fmarm of the men who cut the master r& tk this nickeladem. ,N8mekss and legim, these fellows were expert bangers of the ivary, h e r s rapid and sure &am thmands of harrs of playing, under the most adverse cmditiw. Rdl cutters were a special breed am* the bistro players, and in spite of mechanical obstacles to perfamana, s o w of them seemed to find a style and means of expressim which w a n d e d the plain lardaess. It is just such a graup of indehtigables that lies mdded into the grooves dthis m c d , banging away at ua with a real and plaintive urgency over the intexvening decades.

Same of the &operated pneumatic piano6 of roaring twenties were well made, and canied the true tlavcx of the dginal into their performances. The "nickelodeon" used for these recordings is a tremendous half-tm of machinery, with internal mechanisms similar to those wed in pipe agana. In additim to everything else, it boatits a full-blown xylcphme which when playing is loud enough to be deafening in the ndsiest e n v i r m n t . 'lhc management here, as also in the traditim, has speeded up the rdl a bit in order to cdlect m a e nickels, at kast one of which is clearly and audibly depasited duriag the rrcadEng.

'Ilie job of the dd d o p e was to draw everyone within eanhot to the d d sbowbmts. Tfie b i e r the calbpc, the longer the emha; these ancient whetzing masters spoke with a v d a that ccukl k measured in square miles.

Calliopes were played by live musicians, und ow optimistic perfamer Miltm Kaye is really a caacert pianist with a neurotic attachment to d o p e s . His homely toned executions have k e n heard even further than thcse of mart of the d e n t dcpists,-m ccsst-tcwrrast radio netwaks. Amid the temperamcntpl tuning, tho pitch changes (as presaure varies) the inherent reluCtaaoe to "speak", and the erratic gasem gurgles, Milton p h p in the authentic moaner of the early perfamcrs who, s a p he, were earnestly trying to make music.

Most of the d d calliopes were not subject to king tuned. 'RIey were adjusted to pitch by the maker to within a quarter taae a so, sddered in place and sdd. Tfie few encounters with steam pianos that any of us may have had within the last twenty a thirty years have certainly k e n idealized from the standpoint of s w and tuning. With the canatant h g i n g a r d , the &xed pipes of the d d mes natuiPlly went off pitch to a honifyine extent, and many of them spoke reluctantIy if at all. Tfie d o p e consituted a reugh keyboard, to say the very least; the instrument presented here is a very dd me, canplete except f a the steam bailer which is no doubt mting away in at least six hthoms of Missirs~pi mud. No a r a m t of loving care d d have restored that; the pneumatic pump probably has a mae genteel wheeze.

Records from dlrecr fur. surface no'se

"High Fidelity is not an end in itself but'something always to be putsued. 1 doubt if anyone will ever catch up with it!'

"Sound is a way of day dreaming - an escape into the wild blue. A bad recording interferes with that escape, fort3ng the listener's imagh8tion to strain against natural elements -"

Box C, Sandy Hook, Conn. 06482

piJ@aq (the great barrelhouse Piano)

Wedding of the Painted Doll Highway to Heaven

Singing a Song to the Stars Three Little Wards

Judy My Heart Belmgs to the Ciirl

Button Up Your Overcoat Who Belongs to Sanebody Else

I Broadway Melody Sing Something Simple Sweet Jennie Lee

I

o\n Fhe calliope (rm and Showborrt lbnes played by Miltan Kaye

Entry of the Olpdiatocs Anniversary Waltz Jingle Bells Iisten to the Mocking Bird Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair Oh Susanna Over the Waves Yankee Doodle Swanee River Toreada Sang (Carmen) Lmdon Bridge Oats, Peas, Beans & Barley Carry Me Back to Old Virginny Pcp Ooei the Weasel