Ernest L. Stevens was a pianist who recorded for Edison in the late teens and the twenties, being appointed Edison's personal arranger for two of those years (see the entry at the
"Big Bands Database Plus" for more details). His solo records are entertaining enough, in a Ragtime-y way that was very popular with white audiences, and his "trio"
sides are good clean fun: again, not jazz, but dance music with a Ragtime sensibility. This particular waxing, made in the winter of 1922, is take "C" (the third take of three). It is probably one of the first recordings of this
classic Fred Fisher tune that would become an audience favorite for generations. The splendid (and loud) acoustic recording at Edison Labs makes the tune that much more pleasant, but also makes finding an unworn copy difficult: I've
gone through three copies of this looking for one that wasn't played to death. This is the best of the ones I've found, good at the beginning at least, but still has some crackle toward the end. Running it through noise reduction
has helped.
