By Andrew Poretz***Up-and-comer Bryce Edwards brought a nearly all-new The Frivolity Hour to Birdland for an early fall kickoff, accompanied by several first-class musicians: Conal Fowkes (piano), Scott Ricketts (cornet), Ricky 
Alexander (clarinet and alto saxophone) and Jay Rattman (bass saxophone). Edwards himself could easily be a one-man band—expertly playing banjo, ukulele, tenor guitar, mandolin and Songophone,
Aside from several familiar songs from previous editions of The Frivolity Hour, the material was new, with songs mainly from the 1920s, and the oldest predating not only Tin Pan Alley, but tin pans (1688!). Edwards opened with “Fascinating Rhythm” (George and Ira Gershwin, 1924), with the unusual pairing of only his ukulele and Rattman’s bass saxophone to accompany his singing and “eefing,” a form of early scat singing that was a associated with Cliff Edwards (aka Ukulele Ike, and the voice of Jiminy Cricket). Eefing was a Cliff Edwards trademark. “It has become mine, because nobody else would touch it,” Edwards quipped.
The suis generis performer displayed his banjo chops on Vo-Do-Do-De-O Blues (Milton Ager, Jack Yellen, 1927) before bringing out a soprasini ukulele for “Makin’ Whoopee” (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn, 1928), on which he performed the rarely sung verse. Edwards also featured his extremely rare Stroh ukulele—an ancient contraption that has a horn
attached to a ukulele. He referred to the Stroh as “the real star of the show.” He performed “If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)” (James P. Johnson, Henry Creamer, 1926), one of the few tunes carried over from a previous Frivolity Hour. Edwards yodeled and scatted in this very funny, whimsical arrangement.
A great arrangement of “The Broken Record” (Cliff Friend, Charlie Tobias, Boyd Bunch, 1935) had Edwards playing a four-string archtop guitar while simultaneously playing a giant kazoo. With some fine cornet and alto sax work from his band and Ricky Alexander’s vocal harmonies, the song occasionally repeated “I love you.. I love you” in imitation of a record with the needle stuck, an effect undoubtedly lost on those young people who’ve yet to encounter vinyl.
The lovely Reilly Wilmit, Edwards “steady gal” for several years, joined Edwards for some fun shtick and a pair of songs. Her “Betty Boop” setup bit was terrific. On the very cute and collegiate “Home In Pasadena” (Grant Clarke, Edgar Leslie, Harry Warren, 1923), Wilmit’s countermelody and harmonizing vocals, along with the duo’s physical comedy, made for a number that would have been a swell vaudeville routine back in the days of Eddie Foy. Wilmit was especially appealing in this number.
A half-century before the Fab Four had the title, Earl Gresh and His Gangplank Orchestra had a hit with “Help!” (Johnny Tucker, Al Sherman, Leslie Moore, 1925), a song along the lines of Eddie Cantor’s “Ma! She’s Making Eyes at Me!” Edwards and his band performed a wild arrangement of the tune that sounded like something out of an old cartoon soundtrack. Rattman, who mainly played his bass sax like a tuba, with straightforward oom-pahs, really swung on this tune. Edwards joked, “Who says vaudeville is dead? I’m up here giving it the Heimlich as we speak!” This number was one of the biggest highlights of the evening.
A very vintage mandolin appeared for the ballad “Deep Night” (Charles E. Henderson, Rudy Vallée, 1929), which was a minor hit for a young Sinatra in 1951. Vallée, perhaps best remembered today from the 1960s film musical, How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, was the heartthrob musical star of the 1920s who often sang with a megaphone. For this very sweet arrangement, Edwards whipped out his own antique megaphone.
The finale was a humorous medley of obscure sea songs: “Come Away, Fellow Sailors” (Henry Purcell, 1688), “Minnie the Mermaid (A Love Song In Fish Time)” (Bud DeSylva, 1923) and “Forty-Seven Ginger Headed Sailors” (Leslie Sarony, 1928).
Edwards was in terrific form in this show. His charm and wit, combined with outstanding musicianship and the ability to make even the most obscure musical trivia worth knowing, made this a most entertaining evening.
