"What is the Use?" The Red-Hotters (Okeh, 1925) Julius Berkin, trumpet

Описание: Julius Berkin, and poss. Donald Lindley, t / Harry Raderman, tb / Oscar Raderman, as / Jules Nassberg, ts, cl / Harry Reser, bj, / poss. Henry Scharf or Billy Wirges, p / poss. Joe Tarto, bb / Herman Berkin, d.
General Phonograph Co. Studios, 25 W. 45th Street
New York, NY ca. Apr. 1925

S-73295-A “What is the Use?” (Al Dubin–Nat Goldstein) OK 40360

Transferred with 3.0ML lateral and vertical styli via VM95SP cartridges in an Audiotechnica AT-LP120 Turntable. Declicked and given light EQ by Colin Hancock. Discs from Colin Hancock Collection. Discographical Information from Variety Magazine, Rust’s “American Dance Band Discography,” “Jazz Records,” DAHR, the Berkin Family, Javier Soria Laso, Ralph Wondrasheck, Mark Berresford, Andrew Sammut, Eddie Gross Bart, Nick Dellow, and Colin Hancock. Special thanks to Mark Berresford and Nick Dellow for their pioneering research on Berkin.

Trumpeter Julius “Jules” Berkin lived a fascinating life. Julius Barkin was born to a Jewish family in Russian Latvia in 1899, a time when the Czar and the Bolsheviks loomed on opposite sides of the horizon. his family eventually emigrated and found opportunity in New York City. Julie picked the trumpet, and from the first note it seemed he was a natural. Eager to give his children the very best the new world could offer, Jules’ father David signed him up with none other than Max Scholssberg, the esteemed trumpet virtuoso who was a member of the New York Philharmonic and on the faculty at Juilliard. Jules was one of Schlossberg’s favorite pupils, and for a time he thought the young trumpeter would have a career in a symphony orchestra. But Jules had a different musical interest: jazz music. His first big break came in 1918 when he joined up with Sophie Tucker, who reorganized her “Five Kings of Syncopation” after Slim Pressler, the group’s former leader, was drafted. He was one of the first jazz studio musicians to make “the rounds” in all the studios as a dependable reader and fresh “hot” player, recording with Tucker, Earl Fuller, and Harry Yerkes before 1920.
In 1920 he joined Rudy Wiedoeft’s Californians, with whom he recorded many sides including a fabulous solo on “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me.” During this time Jules was also approached by a young Sam Lanin, about joining his new band at the Roseland Ballroom. Jules accepted, and has the distinction of playing the lead trumpet on Lanin’s very first recording session ever. He freelanced a bit in the early years of the decade, recording with Bennie Krueger and Joseph Samuels from time to time. In late 1922, he worked a few months with Ray Miller, recording with him for Columbia and playing a tour that brought them to the Lowe’s Theatre in Buffalo, and the Hotel Addison and Fox Washington Theatre in Detroit.
In 1923 after a brief stint with Gregory Coleman, Jules led a band of his own at the famous Rosemont Ballroom in Brooklyn, opposite the Original Memphis Five most of the time, but sometimes the St. Louis Rhythm Kings. Jules’ band, which featured his brother Herman on drums, was one of the first bands with a consistent slot broadcasting on radio, gaining them a nationwide audience. The band also engaged in the Rosemont’s famous themed nights, which ranged from everything from a tribute concert commemorating the death of Victor Herbet, to clown night! When the Rosemont gig ended and the Berkin Orchestra was replaced by the Vernon-Owens Hotel Winton Orchestra of Cleveland, Julie moved his band across the East River to Manhattan, opening at the Bamboo Gardens at 1630 Broadway in Midtown. They also played occasional shows at the Mark Strand Theatre, which were quite popular.
Jules and Harry Raderman also co-founded and co-led a studio band for Okeh Records christened “The Red-Hotters,” which made dozens of well-received hot dance and jazz recordings, often featuring Berkin’s distinct hot trumpet. After a trip to the UK in 1927 to play with Bert Ambrose’s orchestra, Jules returned to the US still a star, and quickly took a job playing with B. A. Rolfe’s Lucky Strike Orchestra on the radio at the time and also teamed up with Fred Rich’s famous radio band. He was very social, serving on arts committees, and boasting a friend list which included Eddie Cantor, Harry Reser, and the Happiness Boys. Jules continued on as a radio star deep into the Great Depression, even being notified of the birth of one of his children during a radio broadcast. After some financial difficulties in the late 1930s, Jules went back to work, playing every six weeks in the 40s and 50s with Meyer Davis’ orchestra on transatlantic liners. He eventually retired from music in the late 50s, retiring until his passing in 1974.