IN BOB BOTHAMLEY'S LITTLE ROOM

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 127, 28 November 1941, Page 12

IN BOB BOTHAMLEY'S LITTLE ROOM

6 WING," an erudite critic by the name of Joost Van Praeg, once declared, "is the psychic tension which is created from an attraction of the rhythm of the metre. In this psychic tension, and therefore in swing, the personality of the player is expressed over and above what his personality can express as a creative force. Swing comes straight from the heart of the player, and has the power of moving the listener as soon as he has sensed the idea expressed." On the other hand, Louis Armstrong is on record as saying, "Swing is when Ah plays’ mah trumpet hot." A third definition might be added to these: "Swing is what Bob Bothamley has in his little room at the NBS head office in Wellington." The first thing that happens when a @ new swing record arrives in Wellington is that Mr. Bothamley plays it over, times it to the nearest second with a stopwatch, and puts it into its correct classification as to dance tempo. This is not always noted on the label, the

recording companies apparently having decided that everything which is not a waltz, tango, or rhumba, is a foxtrot. Most of the straight "commercial" jazz goes out on programmes immediately, and may circulate busily around the NBS stations for months before returning to Wellington for a_ wellearned rest. The swing proper, the good "commercial" jazz, and any "experimental" music, Mr, Bothamley places in a special library which now comprises some 6000 records. These usually receive their first airing in the Friday night Rhythm on Record session compéred over 2YA by "Turntable." They, too, circulate around the other stations, but Mr. Bothamley can always call on them for a special swing session. The New And The Old Thanks to its excellent service, the NBS has the latest hit tunes on the air three weeks after their release in Hollywood and New York, and Mr. Bothamley has a lot of quiet fun trying to estimate the time it will take to popularise a number in New Zealand. Such is the output of Tin Pan Alley and the ferocity with which a new number is "plugged" in radio and the films, the life of the average popular song is something like two to three weeks in America. In New Zealand, on the other hand, it may take nine months to a year before a number has caught on sufficiently for it to be~ asked for regularly by dancers here. One of the most popular songs among New Zealand dancers at the moment is "With the Wind and the Rain In Your Hair," which was actually written over 10 years ago, and was done over again in America and given new lyrics many months ago. "Ferryboat Serenade," which you'll hear two or three times during an evening’s dancing, is nine months old. But Mr. Bothamley’s special care and pride is that section of the swing library devoted to the works of such

masters as Duke Ellington (the NBS has every record he has made, dating back to the famous "Mood Indigo"), "Fats" Waller, Art Tatum, "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and others whose specialised and distinctive work lifts them out of the rut of ordinary "commercial" jazz. Also well represented in the NBS swing library is a collection of music which is not swing at all, but can more accurately be described as experimental or advanced music. Into this category comes some of Ellington, some of the tonal music of Schonberg, some of Delius, much of Bartok, a little of Gershwin, and such random works as Rogers’ and Hart’s "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue," Ferdie Grofe’s "Grand Canyon Suite," Alec Wilder’s music, and Elizalde’s early symphonic work; also such highly stylised folk-music as "calypso," which is the native music of Trinidad. "Disturbing And Unorthodox" This is broadcast in occasional programmes, but orthodox swing fans and classical lovers alike are inclined to regard it with caution, if not suspicion. A recent addition to the library, for instance, is a suite of "Contrasts for Piano, Violin and Clarinet," composed by Bartok, and played by Bartok at the piano, Joseph Szigeti (violin), and Benny Goodman (clarinet). A disturbing and unorthodox work, to say the least, it is unlikely to be appreciated without careful presentation and explanation of the composer’s aims and of his place in modern music. — Mr. Bothamley hopes some day, however, to be able to present a session of advanced and experimental music, a session which will not only help listeners to keep in touch with the progress being made in serious contemporary composition, but will also present many composers and executants whose work would otherwise seldom be heard over the air.