Ed Gress playing the UA in 1957, still in his "everything in the key of C" mode.

Ed Gress plays the Detroit United Artists Wurlitzer-1957

Tom Hazelton Playing "The Lost Chord" on the Chicago Stadium Barton Organ in 1985

The Lost Chord

Recorded at the Castro Theatre on November 4, 2013.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips Improv - Mark Herman

4/36 Christie Organ, Regal Cinema, Marble Arch, London, UK. Recorded January 9, 1934

Sitting on a Backyard Fence; By a Waterfall (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal)

Good Morning, Glory; I Wanna Meander With Miranda; DId You Ever See a Dream Walking?
(Mack Gordon, Harry Revel)

Sidney Torch  --  Selections from "Footlight Parade"  and "Sitting Pretty"

4/20 Wurlitzer Organ, Paramount Theatre, Manchester, UK

Henry Croudson, organ  --  A Motor Ride

George Wright - Paramount Theatre, New York

4/36 Wurlitzer, Fox Theatre, San Francisco, CA

12th Street Rag
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Pine Top Boogie
MERRY WIDOW SELECTION:  Girls Girls Girls; Vilia; Merry Widow Waltz
Ain’t We Got Fun?
Happy Birthday
The Burning of Rome
Give Me a Moment, Please
St. Louis Blues
Autumn Leaves; September Song; Chloe
FINALE:  Hello, Frisco, Hello; I Left My Heart in San Francisco; San Francisco

George Wright  --   Farewell to the Fox, February 9, 1963, Part 2

The Lost Chord -Tom Hazelton at Chicago Stadium

Rhapsody on theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff - Tom Hazelton at Chicago Stadium - Voxes and Strings!

4/19 Compton organ, Shepherd's Bush Pavilion, London.  English Columbia G 9085, 10' 78, recorded February 7, 1928.

Quentin Maclean, organ  -- My Blue Heaven

Another of my mint Slatz Randall Orchestra Brunswick 78s: LET'S DON'T AND SAY WE DID.

05 Let's Don't And Say We Did

Sound track from a "Vitaphone Variety" film, released August 15, 1937.  Recorded in the New York Paramount Studio.  Robert Simmons, tenor.

Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Crawford, the Poets of the Organ

Los Improviachis' La Viagra & Senor Vicente Foxxx visited the studios of 1680 AM to talk about their upcoming Feliz Navidachi shows in December. 

Salsation's Los Improviachis bring a new tradition to the table by inviting you into their famila as part of their new show Feliz Navidachi running at Stage773, 1125 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL on Thursday December 11th & 18th at 8 PM.

Los Improviachis on the Flabby Hoffman Radio Extravagonzo 11/22/2014

Program transcription disc for "Here's to Veterans," #83.  Compiled in the mid-1960s.

The Eddie Dunstedter Show

Every organ should have a Compton Harmonic Flute!!
The Harold Arlen Classic on the Paramount 450 played by Iain McGlinchey
(Some Kimball strings help too!)

Over The Rainbow IM P450

Helen Crawford plays Butterflies in the Rain in 1936, probably using the 4/21 Wurlitzer at the Paramouint Studio NYC.  This is part of the soundtrack of a file in which she and Jesse play conjoined 30-manual skeleton consoles, probably the pair built for the Crawfords and despatched from the Wurlitzer factory on 29 December 1933 and 6 January 1934 to be hitched up to existing organ installations at which the touring Crawfords were to play duets.  Hence it cannot be stated with certainty that the 4/21 studio organ was heard in the film.

Crawford,Helen - Butterflies In The Rain 1936

Emil Velazco, Welte-Mignon Studio Organ, 1927

Rain (Eugene Ford) Played by Emil Velazco

Reginald Porter Brown at Marrickville Town Hall Wurlitzer - Australia

Matt Novak (aka Paleofuture) is a historian and blogger who writes about the history of innovation and the history of the way we imagine the future.

A couple of weeks ago, at South by Southwest, he gave a fascinating presentation that I wanted you guys to hear more about. The basic thesis: The Internet has this whole Tesla vs. Edison debate all wrong.

Whether you think Tesla > Edison or Edison > Tesla, Novak says you're missing something important. In reality, technology isn't shaped by one guy who had one great idea and changed the world. Instead, it's a messy process, full of flat-out failures and not-quite-successes, and populated by many great minds who build off of and are inspired by each other's work.

This is about more than just getting history right. Letting go of The Great Man paradigm has implications for everything from copyright law, to how we go about innovation today. When we focus too much on Great Men, Novak says, we lose sight of what innovation actually looks like ... and we impede our ability to build the future.

Check out BoingBoing.net for more great science and technology coverage. 

Tesla vs. Edison vs. The Great Men Of History

The title sums up my feelings about the organist that I have transcribed this arrangement from. Billy Nalle (1921-2005) was one of the most exciting and inventive musicians to grace the bench of a theatre organ. Although many other organists arrangements have been transcribed and played by modern organists - few by Nalle are heard. They are perhaps dissuaded by the complexity of his music. Here is my take on this piece from the operetta "The Chocolate Soldier" by Oscar Straus (1879-1954). The MIDI file will be available on  ParamountOrganWorks.com

cso

Jerry Critser