The Mississippi Rag - October 2007 Issue

The Mississippi Rag of October 2007 featured an interview with classical and ragtime pianist Richard Dowling. He is also considered a specialist on composer George Gershwin.

Sophie Tucker, who is sometimes remembered as "the last of the Red–Hot Mamas," is examined with historical photographs in an informative article.

The Illiana Club and Eddy Banjura the "Jazz Warrior" is explored as is the Swinging Jazz Party of Blackpool, England, which is covered with some colorful pictures.

And as always George A. Borgman's Yankee Jazz Beat which covers the New England jazz scene can be found on page 14!

Here is the October 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. October 2007

"biggest little band in the land" - The John Kirby Sextet - Inner City & Classic Jazz Release

A new release by Inner City & Classic Jazz is the "Biggest Little Band in the Land" featuring the John Kirby Sextet.

Classic Jazz Records says this regarding their new CD and the John Kirby Sextet.

"Occupying a very small slice of jazz history, the years 1937 thru 1944 with the players listed, defined what a superb artistry and cohesion to an extraordinary extent, could mean in jazz. The war years of the 40s decimated the membership and this exquisite ensemble was no more. Happily these recordings exist and are now once again available to jazz fans. You'll never hear jazz the same way again."

The group heard is made up of John Kirby on bass, Charlie Shavers playing trumpet, Russell Procope on Alto sax, Buster Bailey playing clarinet, Billy Kyle on piano and playing the drums is O'Neil Spencer. The twenty-four tunes on the album are all from the years 1941, 1943 and 1944.

John Kirby is said to have been born on December 31, 1908. He was orphaned as a child and was already in New York playing music by the mid-1920s. He started out on trombone moved on to the tuba and settled on the double-bass.

1937 proved to be an important year for Kirby and his band. They began playing the Onyx Club and recording. Their swing version of Loch Lomond proved to be a hit and he and his band would see success through most of the 40s.

By 1950, however, things had changed. Kirby suffered ill heath from diabetes and drinking. His audience had declined, with concert at Carnegie Hall in December to a porr turnout.

He died on June 14, 1952 in California as he was planning for a comeback. Fortunately, his recordings of his groups live on. In 1993 John Kirby was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

Nat Hentoff said this about the music of the Biggest Little Band in the Land:

"At the time, it was a phenomenon unlike any other in jazz. A unit which was so together that other musicians would come to marvel at the collective precision of it all - the subtlety of dynamics, the stunning ensemble virtuosity, the way the soloist was so integral a part of the continually floating, soaring, driving, whizzing whole. This was cool jazz before anyone had thought of the term, before Miles Davis and those Capitol recordings. This was a prototype of how disciplined jazz could be before the Modern Jazz Quartet. This was John Kirby." 
 

Listen to samplesof the tunes and/or purchase the CD at Amazon.
 

 

Check out what's new at the Inner City & Classic Jazz website! 

 

An interesting BBC radio program Jazz Legends from 2003.

The Mississippi Rag - September 2007 Issue

The Mississippi Rag of September 2007 looks at the 20th Annual Elkhart Jazz Festival. Contains an interview with North Carolina "ragtimer" Eytan Uslan and has an interesting article on The Vitaphone Project and its effort to restore 1920s Vitaphone films.

There is also coverage of  the Blind Boone Ragtime Festival,  the Caesarea Jazz Festival in Israel and the Great Connecticut Jazz Festival  Here is the September 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. September 2007

The Mississippi Rag - August 2007 Issue

In the August 2007 issue of The Mississippi Rag looks at the "JazzAscona New Orleans and Classics" festival which lasted for eleven days and featured jazz artists from around the globe.

It also features Rich Johnson a Bix Beiderbecke researcher and music director who helped establish Davenport's Bixfest. George's Yankee Jazz Beat mentions the passing of pianist Matthew Quinn, the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame, he also writes about the Artie Shaw Orchestra under Dick Johnson and singer Steve Marvin as well as mentioning many other New England bands and musicians.

Here is the August 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. August 2007

George Borgman's Ruby Braff Article Referenced

George's extensive article “The One and Only Ruby Braff,” which was published in the December 1995 issue of The Mississippi Rag is referenced multiple times in a new book on the recordings of Ruby Braff. Thomas P. Hustad used George's article in the writing of his 722 paged book Born to Play: The Ruby Braff Discography and Directory of Performances which was released this year 2012. George interviewed the trumpeter Braff in person for his article. Ruby Braff died on February 9, 2003 in New York. Sweethearts On Parade Featuring Ruby Braff and Ralph Sutton at The Mid-America Jazz Festival in 1988 in St Louis, Missouri.

The Mississippi Rag - June 2007 Issue

The June 2007 issue of The Mississippi Rag contains comprehensive, colorful coverage of the Atlanta Jazz Party. An in-depth look at Fate Marable's riverboat jazz in the early 1900s through a 1961 interview with Norman Mason and an interview with Corie Melaugh, a member of the new ragtime generation. It also includes a trip to the Norwich Jazz Party, which opened the UK's 2007 season of Trans-Atlantic jazz parties and regional columns which includes George's Yankee Jazz Beat as well as the TJEN column exploring recorded "playalong" options. Here is the June 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. June 2007

The Mississippi Rag - July 2007 Issue

The July 2007 issue of The Mississippi Rag captures the eclectic program that made the Sacramento Jubilee on Memorial Day Weekend a winner for over a quarter of a century. Some of the bands covered are Simon Stribling's New Orleans Ale Stars, the Boondockers, Vince Bartels' Migrant Jazz Workers, Lost Weekend, Capital Focus Jazz Band and Big Tiny Little's band. It also includes a look at three jazz pioneers, Jack Purvis, Emmett Miller, and Fess Williams. George's Yankee Jazz Beat mentions the passing of pianist Matthew Quinn, the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame, he also writes about the Artie Shaw Orchestra under Dick Johnson and singer Steve Marvin as well as mentioning many other New England bands and musicians. Here is the July 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. July 2007 Simon Stribling's New Orleans Ale Stars at Port Angeles 2007

The Mississippi Rag - May 2007 Issue

In the May 2007 issue, of The Rag, the late historian and curator emeritus Dick Allen is honored by writers Butch Thompson, William Schafer, Paige Van Vorst and the Hogan Jazz Archive curator Bruce Boyd Raeburn. Allen was dedicated to New Orleans jazz. His enthusiasm led to the founnding of the Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University.

 

This issue also includes an interview with "Ragtime Kid" author Larry Karp, and has colorful coverage of a star-studded tribute to the late bassist Bob Haggart, as well as a visit to the Tribute to Bix, and the launching of Judi K's new "Jazz Warriors" series with a salute to Wayne Arihood of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

 

Here is the May 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. MAY 2007

Carole Elaine Borgman 1958 - 1967

In April of 1996, George remembered the death of his daughter.

"Friday was the 29th anniversary of the death of Carole Elaine Borgman, our beloved daughter. She was only eight years old. Tanya Rousseau Tupine, her ballet instructor in Virginia in 1965 and 1966, called her a genius at ballet. I miss her very much, so does Janet. No parent ever gets over the death of a child, of course."

"The Musical Counterspy" - By George A. Borgman

Every year I'm asked to write an article for this booklet. If I didn't like the Hot Steamed Jazz Festival so much, I'd beg off, for I'm very busy working on various stories and reviews for The Mississippi Rag.

But what should I write about? I don't like writing about myself, but I've had a very full life, not only as a musician and jazz journalist, but also as a special agent in Military Intelligence in the Army.

In June 1945, at age 17, as a freshman at the University of Missouri in Columbia, I played tenor and alto saxophones and clarinet in the Missourians, a big band, and in the Fall I joined the Moderaires, a big swing band that worked almost every night at Dean's, a basement student hangout in downtown Columbia.

The following March, we heard that Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra were to play at the Engineer School's St. Patrick's dance on Saturday evening, the 16th. A black band played Dean's on Wednesday nights, when we were off, so we traded nights with our black friends, so we could go hear Teagarden Saturday night.

At the dance, during an intermission, we went outside to smoke and converse with some of Teagarden's sidemen. We all laughed about Jack's Texas drummer, who wore cowboy boots and had a plastic straw to sip whisky from a bottle in his coat pocket. During the second break, the guitar player said that Teagarden was looking for a jam session after the dance.

All the Modernaires were there, and we all jumped at the chance for a session with Teagarden. We took our girl friends home early (and were they angry!) and picked up our instruments at our dorms and frat houses. Our drummer, who had a Cadillac convertible, drove across town to purchase some booze for us from a woman who sold it after hours to students. I drank Southern Comfort whisky then, and he brought me a bottle.

At the end of the dance, we met Teagarden, and he and a few of his guys got into cars with us to go to Dean's. I ended up with Jack in the back seat of the Caddy convertible. I knew that Jack loved the booze, and I opened the bottle of Southern Comfort and offered him a taste. He eagerly took a big swig, and, as the "parade" of cars drove across town to Dean's, Jack and I almost emptied the bottle.

Dean's was closing, and the black guys were packing up their instruments. When they saw Jack Teagarden walk in with his trombone case, they happily brought out their horns, and we had a great jam session until about 2:00 a.m. Then we all went to the drummer's frat house, and Teagarden and the guys jammed until 7:00 a.m. There is a photo of Jack, seated on the piano bench, blowing his horn, and all the Modernaires are standing in the background. I am seated to the far right, and I'm obviously blotto.

Oh, yes, a month later Teagarden fired his drummer for being an alcoholic!

Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra circa 1951 playing Wolverine Blues.

That was a memorable experience - sharing a bottle with Teagarden. Another one I recall was when I was with MI in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1978.

My unit gave me the assignment of "riding shotgun" on a counterintelligence operation we had going at the Penthouse Club, which was located on one of Frankfurt's main streets not far from the Abrams Building (formerly the I.G. Farben Building), where I worked.

So every day, after work, I walked to the Penthouse, which was a hangout for the spies, from both East and West, and a lot of American soldiers drank there and chased the girls. A few dope pushers also showed up.

I usually sat at the bar with an old man (let's call him "Vaclav"), in his late sixties. We knew he was working for the Czechoslovakian Intelligence Service. Vaclav wore a hat, limped and carried a cane, and looked just like a Hollywood character actor who always played a spy or a Gestapo agent. Vaclav told me he was born in the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia. We conversed in English or German. The Army had trained me in the Czech language, but I didn't want Vaclav to know that, of course. 

On the evening of January 16, 1978, Vaclav told me it was the fortieth anniversary of the famous concert of the Benny Goodman band at Carnegie Hall. Vaclav then related to me the names of all of Goodman's musicians and invited guest players and their instruments, and even named the tunes they played. The next day I went to an Army library and found a book on jazz and read about the concert. Everything he told me was accurate. I couldn't believe it - a Czechoslovakian spy who was an expert on the Goodman Carnegie Hall concert! During later conversations with Vaclav, he really impressed me with his knowledge of jazz and swing.

So, those are two of my experiences - sharing a bottle of whisky with Jack Teagarden, and a CSSR spy giving me the rundown of the Goodman Carnegie Hall concert.

Oh, yes, in order to make room for the spies to operate in the Penthouse, I informed the Army's Criminal Investigative Division of the dope deals there, and the local CID narcotic squad (who looked and dressed like hippies) showed up one night. The GIs recognized them, and we didn't see a GI there for six months.

"Sing, Sing, Sing" - Benny Goodman and His Orchestra - 1937 Version.

Happy Days at the Sherborn Inn in 2002!

George and his wife Janet at the Sherborn Inn listening to jazz in 2002. Sherborn, Massachusetts.

The Mississippi Rag - April 2007 Issue

This issue contains information on the rise, fall and lasting influence of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, with the second part of an article written by William Schafer. The issue also publishes many historic photographs of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Freddie Keppard, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Laine's Reliance Jazz Band and the Original Creole Orchestra. There is also an interview with ragtime pianist and broadcaster Bryan Wright, as well as a look at how "Jass" revolutionized popular music. The issue includes a comprehensive review of a 10-disc set of Hoagy Carmichael material.

Here is the April 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. APRIL 2007

George A. Borgman Memorial Video

George's grandson William Allan Schnarr has put together a very nice memorial video that's entitled This one is for you Gramps....

The Great Louis Armstrong

In June of 1957, a few months after George and Janet Ferroli were married, they went to see the legendary trumpet player and performer Louis Armstrong who was opening up the season at Lake Tahoe. The Borgmans had a table right at the foot of the stage and to Janet’s surprise Louis Armstrong announced that “we have a couple here who just got married,” he pointed them out to the audience and said, “let’s give them a hand.”

After the audience applauded George explained that he had mentioned to the management about being newly married so that Louis could do just that.

Here is a recording of Louis Armstrong playing one of George’s favorite tunes Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust.

The Mississippi Rag - March 2007 Issue

Here is the March 2007 online edition of The Mississippi Rag. MARCH 2007

Jazz Trumpeter Lou Colombo Passes at 84

Jazz trumpeter Lou Colombo tragically died in an auto accident on Saturday, March 3, 2012, outside his daughter's restaurant in Fort Myers, Florida.

George A. Borgman wrote a feature article on the great jazzman for The Mississippi Rag in 1995.

Colombo was a staple of the Cape Cod jazz scene since the 1950s. Tony Bennett even sang with his band when he was in the area.

Colombo is survived by his wife, Noelle, six children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The Mississippi Rag - February 2007

The second electronic issue of The Mississippi Rag, was published online in February 2007.

Here is a link to the February online issue. The Mississippi Rag - February 2007.

George Comments on Millitary Intelligence Work

 

"I caught eight Viet Cong and North Vietnamese spies in Saigon, and I didn't even leave my desk. It was just putting things together like a puzzle. The French Embassy cooperated with me all the way. They were turned over to the South Vietnamese Police. All eight spies worked for our Military Intelligence - maids and dishwashers and gate guards at our MI villas throughout South Vietnam. Frankfurt was also fun. I had to outwit a Czech intelligence officer in Prague and succeeded in doing so." - October 6, 2007

 

Jazz Jamboree

In 1918, ten years before George A. Borgman was born here is how jazz was being written about. This article entitled Jazz Jamboree comes from Gulian Lansing Morrill's book On the Warpath.

One o'clock Sunday morning we gazed into a notorious cabaret where the revelers jazzed, boozed, soaked, stuffed and danced while a police officer looked on to see that order was observed while drink orders were served.

If music is the language of the angels in heaven, the jazz suggests the grunts of the Inferno. It is music gone mad — a big noise, a slambang, or, to quote Milton, "Such music (as 'tis said) before was never made."

Saul grew mad and threw a javelin at David when he played the harp. If he had heard this band harp on their string, bone, wood, brass, and skin instruments he would have thrown some sticks of dynamite at the bass drum and blown them all up with one bang. It was murderous music, and we felt "fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils." This night's music was not like the "Twelfth Night," "Sweet sound that breathes upon a bank of violets." but like a hurricane blowing on an onion patch. The band was hired to invite and promote eating and drinking, but jazz excess surely sickens appetite with its crash, twang, strain and "dying fall." The fiddling fiend of a leader who jumped around, turned a somersault and held the bow in his teeth, proved himself to be, not a real virtuoso, but a ragtime "vicioso." As he rasped the strings we felt like stringing him up. The sliding trombone skated around, charged the air, stabbed empty space and made a noise full of fury signifying nothing. The pianist took a head dive through a wave of melody and played a St. Vitus dance with sharp lightning, treble and thunder bass. The drummer was the whole thing behind his cheeseshaped drum. He pelted the skin with savage blows. He was no dub, this rub-a-dub fellow, this drummer traveling across the borderland of sound from the jingle of the triangle, smash of the cymbal, crow of the rooster, cry of the baby, and whistle of the train to the final cataclysmic crash. The cornetist blew himself red in the face, splitting his lips and the ears of his hearers, and exploding air to the very crack of Doom. A jazz band is madness set to music.

In far away lands I have seen savages jump, play and shout. About the only difference between them and this band was that these jazzers wore dress suits. I am sure if they made a tour through the jungles of darkest Africa they would make a hit with the wild animals and savages. Their sheet music was torn into rag time and they tore a passion to tatters.

The Mississippi Rag - January 2007

In January 2007, The Mississippi Rag, for which George was a contributing editor and New England correspondent, published online for the first time.

Here is a link to the first online issue. The Mississippi Rag - January 2007.

George's Work, "Nationalism in Contemporary American Music," is Referenced

Here is a link to a paper, which references George Borgman’s 1953 work Nationalism in Contemporary American Music, as one of its sources. The paper is entitled Jazz and Black Elements in Art Music by David Baker who is a professor and chairman of the jazz department of the School of Music at Indiana University. Baker is an author and composer.

Sherborn Inn Holiday Spectacular

The December 11th 2011 Jazz Spectacular at the Sherborn Inn in Sherborn, Massachusetts ended the year with a fantastic jazz crescendo! Let's take a look at the event through some YouTube videos posted by Harold McAleer. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Here Dave Whitney plays trumpet and sings while John Clark blows soulfully on the sax. Craig Ball is on clarinet, Ross Petot plays the piano, Dave Bragdon is on drums, Al Ehrenfried plays bass, and Peter Gerler is on the guitar. Dave Whitney struts his stuff on Winter Weather singing the tune accompanied by the same players as on The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. The battling clarinets of Craig Ball and John Clark are featured in this lively rendition of After You've Gone with some great playing by Ross Petot and the rest of the crew! Stan McDonald on soprano sax joins John Clark on clarinet for Apex Blues. The great trumpeter Jeff Hughes plays From Monday On with the addition of John Kafalas on trombone. Pianist extraordinaire Ross Petot plays Walking in a Winter Wonderland by Felix Bernard (music) and Richard B. Smith (lyricist). Ross gets some expert accompaniment by Dave Bragdon on drums.

Here is a good article on the event at the New England Traditional Jazz Plus website: Holiday Spectacular 2011 at the Sherborn Inn run by Marce Enright.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Normandy High School Yearbook 1945

"ALLAN BORGMAN...lent tuneful clarinetic notes to the Senior Band, Norsemen and Orchestra...struck a scientific chord in Chem Club...set many Courier readers on the beam with informative "short wave" stories."

Proud father with his daughter Carole.

Other Materials in the Archives

Autographed photo of Glen Gray.

The George A. Borgman Archive (GABA) doesn't just contain books, recordings and Borgman's writings and photographs, it also conatins a modest collection of jazz memorabilia which includes autographed photographs, letters and various signatures of jazz and big band figures.

Some of the autographed photographs include signed photos by Thomas "Fats" Waller's guitarist Al Casey, Louie Bellson, Max Roach and one of drummer Jack Carter from 1937.

Other materials include letters written and signed by Lionel Hampton and Paul Whiteman as well as autographs of Bob Crosby, the Mills Brothers, and Woody Herman. There are also some signed albums of various artsist new and old.

These are just some of the other interesting items held in the Archives.

"Interesting Experiences as a Special Agent with Military Intelligence" by George A. Borgman

"I had many interesting experiences in the Army in the United States and overseas. I have been involved in various counterespionage activities and investigations in Washington, Germany and Vietnam, plus anti-terrorist activities in Germany.


As a MI Special Agent, US Army, I was in West Berlin when the Wall went up in August 1961 and was in the Pentagon during the last days of the Cuban missile crisis in November 1962.

In October 1967, I worked undercover as a middle-aged hippy during the Pentagon anti-war demonstration and took part in Army coverage of the burning of Washington, D.C., after the assassination of Martin Luther King in April 1968.

I supplimented Secret Service during President Richard M. Nixon's first inauguration in January 1969. Then I spent one year in Vietnam. I was in charge of MI special agents who supplimented the Secret Service during President Jimmy Carter's visit to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1978.

I retired from the U.S.Army, after 23 years total service, as a Chief Warrant Officer 3. I've had an interesting life and have enjoyed it."

Milton Irving Orchestra

"I played tenor sax and clarinet in Milt Irving's Orchestra at the Catholic USO in St. Louis in 1944. Donald Stolz, who played trumpet in the St. Louis Symphony, was in the band. Later, we were classmates at the St. Louis Institute of Music in Clayton, Missouri."

Irving A. Kurth and a man named Milton formed a small band called the Milton Irving Orchestra in 1944. They played for the entertainment of army personnel through the USO in the St. Louis area.

Kurth was born in 1905 and married a woman by the name of Adelaide and they had one son Robert. It is not known when Irving died but his wife passed away, presumably after he did in August of 1979.

George joined the band in September of 1944 and stayed with them until the orchestra folded in around June of 1945.

There is evidence that the orchestra may have reformed as there was a band by this name in Missouri  in operation as late as September 1948 and may have continued several more years after that date.

George's grandfather John A. Borgman

George A. Borgman’s grandfather was John Allen Borgman. George visited him in Jonesboro, Arkansas when young. He remembered him as a gregarious fellow who liked to talk to people. Late in life George could still describe the Borgman homestead in Jonesboro.

John was born in Attica, Indiana and was the son of Francis John Borgman and Frances Jane Beauchamp. He was a twin. His brother who was born first, was George M. George died of illness at the age of eighteen.

His father Frank served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, having served in two regiments one in West Virginia the other in Indiana. According to George’s father Herman, Frank was an aide to General Sherman but he did not continue on the Atlanta campaign because he was called away on other duties.

John and his father moved out to Arkansas while endeavoring in the lumber trade. John eventually moved to Jonesboro in 1906. He married a woman from Tennessee, Mary Owen Harris, the daughter of Thomas H. Harris, a Confederate veteran. They had two children Herman Francis and Lola. His wife Mary came down with tuberculosis as did Lola. His wife died of the illness, and a year later he married her younger sister Ida Harris.

His son Herman, for whom Herman, Arkansas is named after, related a story published by The Jonesboro Sun in its Off The Beaten Path column. "The Frisco used to have a water tank at the north end of the trestle across Big Bayou. They pumped their water out of the bayou. The tank fell down across the track and my father... flagged down the northbound fast train (106) and prevented it running into the tank on the track."

John was very active in politics, and it was his being a Republican which led to his appointment as postmaster. Borgman was appointed acting postmaster from July 1, 1922 replacing postmaster Charles B. Gregg and served as postmaster from February 14, 1923 to July 1, 1933. He served under three presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. He was a Republican delegate at the Arkansas Republican State Convention in Little Rock on May 3, 1928 and a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Chicago on June 14, 1932.

It was also said that John served as a U. S. Marshal for a time, but records regarding this have not yet been searched for. His only surviving child Herman Borgman became an employee of the St. Louis Post Office in 1920.

George was not yet five when his grandfather died at the age of seventy at 2:20 PM on January 15, 1937 at his home in Bay, Arkansas. His funeral was held on January 16 at the Gregg Funeral Home and he was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery.

From Disciples of Christ to Roman Catholic

As early as 1992 George started the wheels turning on his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith. Here he writes about his conversion to Roman Catholicism from the Disciples of Christ on May 4, 1993.

Father Murray's St. Denis Church

“For some time now, I have wanted to become a Roman Catholic. First of all, Janet has had nothing to do with it. After all, she did marry me, a divorced man, in Kingshighway Christian Church in St Louis. She has never encouraged me to become a Catholic. It’s strictly my own decision.

One reason is that there were Catholics on both sides of my family until about two generations ago. Another is, as long ago as 1951 or 1952, when I took a course in European History at St. Louis University, I was thinking about converting, because the professor gave a completely objective picture of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

I have always been against abortion and euthanasia, and the Catholic Church is actively opposing both of those horrible activities.

Also, since covering high school sports here, I met a prince of a man, a Catholic priest, Father Fred Murray, who is a retired Navy chaplain. We ran into one another at games and took a liking to one another, because we both were retired military. He is a parish priest of a church in Westwood.

Father Murray, who resembles Spencer Tracey, made no effort at all to recruit me, believe me, and, in fact, I approached him at a hockey game about converting. He almost went into a state of shock, because there aren’t any conversions to anything nowadays! So I began instructions with him.

I submitted paperwork, and Janet and I had to go for an interview at the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston, and we were told that my first marriage can be set aside by the Pope, because Ann was not baptized a Christian, and Janet and I can renew our marriage vows.”

On February 28, 1996 George was taken into the Catholic Church and he and Janet renewed their marriage vows.

"Barney Google"

Here is a novelty tune treat! "Barney Google," written by Billy Rose and Con Conrad.

Sheet music for the song.

This was one of George's favorite tunes as a child. He would listen to it on his Aunt Ruth's Edison phonograph. Years later when he inherited the beloved Edison phonograph, "Barney Google" was not among the Edison records.

This tune below, is believed to be the very same version that George played with delight in the 1930s. It was recorded on April 13, 1923, and features the vocals of Billy Jones and Ernie Hare.

Little did he know that the date of April 13th, when this was recorded, would be the birthday of his future wife, Janet Ferroli, who also had fun listening to this song!

So, without further ado...Enjoy.

Books, Books, Books

As a jazz writer, researcher, reviewer and reporter George was prolific. Especially since he got started in his jazz writing later in life, he has scores of articles, reviews, liner notes, photographs, interviews and research for various book projects.

At this time we are assessing all his writings and evaluating which book projects would be best to start with. As early as the 1960s George was researching one of his favorite performers Jack Teagarden for whom he met, played with and shared a bottle back in the day. Considering he died in 1964, George basically researched his whole life even writing to request his birth certificate from Texas, to which he received a response that no birth record existed for him in their records.

George published an article concerning his first meeting with Big T and is barely in frame in a great photograph he had in remembrance of the night he played with T. Perhaps his biography on Jack Teagarden might be a good beginning for a George A. Borgman book launch.

"What is Traditional Jazz?" by George A. Borgman

What is traditional jazz? It is the wonderful music that originated in New Orleans, traveled on river boats up the Mississippi River into Memphis, St. Louis, and eventually into Chicago and New York City. In Chicago such black musicians as Louis Armstrong and King Oliver were featured in clubs, and several white musicians from New Orleans formed the Original Dixieland Jazz Band there and moved on to New York, where they made the first jazz recording. The stride piano style allegedly originated in New York's Harlem.

During Prohibition, jazz became so popular in speakeasies and night clubs that the 1920s became known as the Jazz Age, and music performed for the dancers is known as hot dance music. It was played from charts, and solos were improvised, whereas the music of New Orleans and Chicago was performed without music. As time went by, along came such bands as Fletcher Henderson's and Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra, and they began playing a more jump style that led into the swing idiom.

Johann Sebastian Bach

All the styles mentioned above can be called traditional jazz, in my opinion. Many people imply that jazz is the only music that is improvised. That's not true, Johann Sebastian Bach and other organists improvised in cathedrals, and in my opinion any composer - a monk who thought up a Gregorian chant, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, George Gershwin and other Tin Pan Alley composers - were improvisers when they wrote original tunes. So, improvisation is not limited to jazz, trad or otherwise.

I was classically trained on piano, clarinet and saxophone and have two degrees in musicology, but I love jazz and swing, which I used to play in the 1940s and early 1950s. I was never a great improviser, though, and I admire the jazz musicians who can improvise well.

I have one pet peeve, and that is when a bandleader identifies the music of "Louisiana Fairy Tale" as being written by Fats Waller or Louis Armstrong! J. Fred Coots wrote the music for that tune. Let's get it right, guys! And who was the clarinet player who took the solo on "Louisiana Fairy Tale" on the original This Old House on PBS? The answer: Billy Novick of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band.

Jazz Journalists Association Won't Post George's Obituary

Without any response to inquires, as to why George A. Borgman who had been a jazz journalist from 1991 to 2009, the Jazz Journalists Association, for whom George was a member, has refused to acknowledge George’s death and post his obituary on the Associations website jazzhouse.org under The Last Post.

An obituary was sent via e-mail to Todd Jenkins on November 7, 2009 after asking Mr. Jenkins whether they would be interested in posting it. Noticing that no obituary was posted on The Last Post Mr. Jenkins was contacted again on November 20, 2009. He wrote back saying, “I've been having a lot of browser problems; I can't get anything to upload properly. If I can't get it resolved over the weekend, I will e-mail this file to another JJA contributor and have him upload it. Sorry for the delay!”

Fast forward to April 26, 2011 when it was again noticed that no obituary, not even a short mention, was listed on the website. Mr. Todd was contacted, again, via the website’s contact page, with this message, “I had submitted an obit on JJA mem. George Borgman who died in 09. He wrote for several trad jazz pub + was a contributing editor and NE correspondent for The Miss Rag. I noticed he was not added. Why?”

This time there was no answer.

What explanation could there be for not publishing Jazz Journalists member George’s obituary? Is this just some ham-fisted oversight or is there another reason why the Association won’t acknowledge his death?

George Remember's The Jack Staulcup Orchestra

Here is a little band bio George jotted down on October 22, 2005.

Jack Staulcup 1980

"The Jack Staulcup Orchestra was a Midwestern territory band that operated out of Paducah, KY. Staulcup was a resident of Metropolis, IL. In 1950, the band members, traveling in a school bus, with seats that didn't recline, played many one-nighters, with the musicians sleeping overnight on the bus. At one point, the band played thirty one-nighters in a row. In Summer 1950, the band recorded for Oriole Records in Chicago. The session took place at a radio station in a skyscraper in the Loop."

Some of the tunes that were recorded during this session were, Red Lips Kiss My Blues Away, The Wooden Soldier and the China Doll, Here Comes My Ball and Chain and Baby Won’t You Please Come Home. George was one of the saxophonists during these sessions.

Here is an earlier version of the tune Red Lips played by The Kit Cat Band

 recorded in London on  June 3, 1927.

"Stan McDonald, Playing It With Passion" by George A. Borgman

In the February 2003 issue, of the noted jazz publication, The Mississippi Rag, George's article on longtime friend and traditional jazz extraordinaire Stan McDonald was published. Here is a link to the article Stan McDonald, Playing It With Passion.

Recently, Stan McDonald was the focus of a series of interviews by Dave Radlauer on his award winning radio program Jazz Rhythm.

Westwood/West Dedham Residents In the United States Armed Forces

George is listed in the Town of Westwood's database and booklet entitled Westwood/West Dedham Residents In the United States Armed Forces under the section "Westwood Honor Roll, Twentieth Century 1/1/1900 - 12/31/1999, Veterans Who Entered the Armed Services From Communities Other Than Westwood and Subsequently Lived in Westwood.

"The Gent, the Crook, and The Bum" - Silent Film Appearance

George A. Borgman tried his hand at acting years before this film, in the 1950s, when he worked as an onstage extra at an Opera House. He managed to step on female star, Risë Stevens' foot!

When his son Eric asked him to play a bum in his silent comedy, The Gent, the Crook, and the Bum he immediately said, "sure!" On Easter Sunday 1989 George and Eric and friend Greg DiGregorio went to Norwood, Massachusetts to film this faux early silent comedy short.

Members of Eric's film class wanted to know who the bum, who stole the movie, was played by! Eric received an A- for a grade.

More recently the film was transferred from the Super 8mm reversal film onto 16mm film for inclusion in Eric's feature film The Man in the Movie which also features George playing a movie theater customer and a silent comedy heavy!

"Berlin, One of the Greatest Cities in the World" - by George A. Borgman

This is my story of my experiences with Berlin, one of the greatest cities in the world.

The story does not begin with my first trip there in the Fall of 1947, but during World War II, when I was a junior high and high school student in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.

My hobby was listening to shortwave broadcasts – the BBC from Britain, Radio Moscow, Australia, Tokyo, Rome and Berlin.

I used to hear the British traitor Lord Haw Haw from Berlin. The British put a rope around his neck after the war. There was the American poet, Ezra Pound in Rome. He was committed.

Douglas Chandler

Then there was Paul Revere in Berlin. This Nazi broadcast began with a fife and drum playing Yankee Doodle. Paul Revere (Douglas Chandler) came on and talked about, “that Jew Rosenvelt in the White House.” He was referring to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, of course.

Once in awhile, Berlin Radio would come on the air with broadcasts from some of the Nazi leaders, usually Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels or Hermann Goering.

As the war went on, the Allied Air Forces dropped thousands of tons of bombs on the Nazi capital, day and night. Radio Berlin would suddenly go off the air during a raid.

In January 1945, I tuned into Berlin Radio during an early Saturday morning. They were playing martial music, which usually preceded a speech from one of the Nazi bigwigs. An announcer would come on and excitedly say something in German, which I didn’t understand then, but I did recognize the words “Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering.”

During one of these announcements, the announcer stopped abruptly in mid-sentence and did not begin again. Rather, I could here feet running, doors slamming, and then, boom, boom, boom.

It was an air raid. It apparently came upon them so suddenly that broadcast personnel at the Fünfhaus (Broadcast House) in Charlottenburg, quite suddenly evacuated their studios, and the engineers failed to turn off their microphones.

The bombing went on for twenty or thirty minutes. Then there was silence, but I could hear the hum of the transmitter’s carrier wave. Then the music returned, and the announcer introduced Goering, who ranted and raved for two hours.

I called a friend of mine, also a shortwave nut, and he had also heard the bombing of Berlin. Next day, both Sunday newspapers carried a short article on the incident.

I had a column, The War of Wars, in my high school paper the Normandy High School Courier. I wrote about propaganda broadcasts from Berlin, Tokyo and Rome. I wrote a whole column on the bombing of Berlin as heard on their radio.

In 1946, I was in the U. S. Army, and I was sent to Germany, where I was assigned to the 114th Army Ground Forces Band in Heidelberg.

During the Fall of 1947, the band travelled to Berlin, where we furnished music at the Olympic Stadium for the GI Olympics. We spent five days in Berlin.

The destruction I saw there was almost unbelievable. There was hardly a complete building standing on the Kurfürstendamm (the shopping and theatre district). The Ka De We, a department store, was just a shell for example.

I went into East Berlin and went to Hitler’s bunker, next to the bombed-out ruins of his Reich Chancellery. The bunker was flooded, and you could not go down its steps because of the water. There was graffiti – in four languages (English, German, French and Russian) scribbled on the walls at the entrance, which was guarded by a young member of the Red Army.

I saw Berlin a couple more times before I returned to the States in March 1948.

I left the Army, got two degrees in music, taught music for four years, and spent a couple of years in television production.

In September 1958, I reenlisted in the Army for the Counter Intelligence Corps, and in October, 1959 I was assigned to the CIC unit in Berlin.

I could not believe what I then saw. The West Berliners had rebuilt their half of the city.

One Year Anniversary of George's Death

Today, was the one year anniversary of jazz journalist George A. Borgman's death. His widow, Janet, remembered George with a special graveside memorial featuring a lone bagpiper, Patrick McDonnell who is a member of The Kevin Barry Pipes and Drums

Band. He played several tunes, at the Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree, in honor of George's military service and life.

When George was stationed in Berlin in the 60s the Borgmans were befriended by several Scottish soldiers and George always loved the bagpipes. Some of the tunes played were the Army Anthem, Danny Boy, Yankee Doodle, and of course, Amazing Grace. The final tune on the piper's march out was a moving hymn.

Neville Dickie at the Sherborn Inn

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 saw the 9th annual appearance of the great British piano player Neville Dickie at the Sherborn Inn, in Massachusetts. George A. Borgman's widow, Janet, and his son Eric attended. It was the first time Dickie returned to Sherborn since last year's performance in August when George saw him for the last time.

George, always looked forward to seeing and hearing Neville Dickie perform at the Sherborn Inn. He had been very excited to see him in August of 2009 and, in some ways, he was also present during this 2010 performance, for he was remembered.

Shortly after arriving the great cornet player Jeff Hughes told Janet and Eric that only the night before he had a dream of George. Neville Dickie remarked to the audience about George, just before playing a request for Janet that, "I was his biggest fan and, I think, he was mine." He then sat down and played an amazing piece, accompanied by drummer Dave Bragdon, for which they received a standing ovation. A patron of the the night's show and a friend of George, Myron, mentioned to Eric that during the rousing piece he thought about his father.

Stan McDonald and Jeff Hughes also played along with Neville and Dave on several tunes and New England's own pianist extraordinaire, Ross Petot, played during the break and in combination with Neville for one number. Stan kindly told Eric at the end of the night that George was missed and remembered. What could be a better legacy then to have so many good and talented people remember you after you've left this world?

Watch Neville Dickie play "Nagasaki" at the 2007 Orange County Classic Jazz Festival below:

George A. Borgman's Son Eric Remembers

I've been thinking about my father a lot lately. I mean, I haven't stopped thinking about him since his death, but lately, I've been remembering him more and more.

My father was 42 when I was born. I was the baby of the family. He had played ball with my brother when he was younger, but he kind of slowed down a little by the time I was growing up. We'd take walks a lot, both in Germany and in Norwood.

 

In Germany, I remember the excitement of his investigating the rumors of a band of armed men in the woods outside of town. We were walking through the thick pine forest alongside a fenced off area one day, when I noticed a wire going from tree to tree. I pointed it out to him and he immediately noticed that there were camouflaged platforms in the trees. He inspected this encampment from behind the fence and further discovered US Army ration cans left behind in the burnt out camp fire. He gave me the credit for discovering the camp and I would always look upon this incident proudly.

He'd always have great stories to tell about his work for military intelligence and the state of political affairs in the past and present. His career as a military intelligence officer formed his political outlook. He confessed that he was "practically a Communist" when he was in college, but that over the years his opinions and beliefs changed when he saw what was really going on. My father loved America and its history. He was well read on so many subjects. Politics, music, both classical and jazz, history, espionage, biography and economics. He subscribed to so many publications too. The Wilson Quarterly, The Musical Quarterly, Chronicles, The Nature Conservancy Magazine and many political and music publications. His ability to read at break-neck speed was something I always admired! He was very intelligent and could discuss knowledgeably many disparate subjects.

My father always encouraged me in my endeavours. He was one of my biggest fans of my comic routines and films and would always give me words of encouragement when I wasn't happy with the way things were going with my life, which was often. When I was a teenager he often drove me out of state to battle re-enactment events that I participated in when I was a Revolutionary War battle re-enactor. He helped me with my films considerably too. He cheerfully acted in several films of mine and helped me shoot some scenes and drive me to locations. He had a good sense of humor too, though I'd sometimes push his good naturedness with my antics!

My father was always a law and order sort and I take after him on this. In fact, I find that a lot of my beliefs and outlooks on life and society are much like my fathers. He could be very generous with people. When he found a musician that he thought showed promise and was talented he did everything that he could to help them. I'd often hear him on the telephone telling others about this great jazz pianist he came across or someone else and he'd try to get the person's name out there or suggest that a band leader give them a try or a fesitival to book this great band. He wasn't looking for anything in return either. That was just the way he was. He'd get excited by people he met who were like minded on things or were great musicians or just really nice people. He appreciated the kindness of others and the friends he made over the years.

Dad was a good person. He could be gruff or impatient sometimes and could get hurt when criticized or whatever, but he was a very good hearted person. He had strong feelings about politics and society but he tried not to let someone's opposite views effect his friendships.

I miss him so much. I miss his silly sense of humor and our talks about family history and politics. I miss his excitement when we talked about jazz or history. In his last day of life he joked with one of the male nurses who's head was shaved. "Did anyone tell you you look like Kojak?" I hope that I can be that cheerful to make jokes before I die.

The American Legion - Resolution

On January 4, 2010 Westwood Post 320 of The American Legion presented a framed Resolution to George's widow Janet C. Borgman in honor of George.

The Resolution stated thus:

"Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God, The Great Commander, to summon to the immortal legions our beloved comrade, George Borgman, and Whereas, We humbly bow to the will of Divine Providence, while ever cherishing in our hearts the memory of distinguished service to our country and outstanding contributions to American Legion comradship; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That Westwood Post No. 320, The American Legion does mourn the passing of our comrade, George Borgman, that we commend to all the works, and to God the spirit; and be it further Resolved, That in token of our common grief, a copy of this resolution transferring George Borgman to Post Everlasting, The American Legion, be presented to the next of kin."

Dick Paster (pictured above), after a nice meal, gave Janet the framed Resolution.