by Mark Beresford
(from the liner notes of Ragtime To Jazz 2 1916 - 1922 on Timeless Records)
The name of tenor saxophonist Paul Biese is virtually unknown today, but in the late teens and early 1920s he was a highly regarded musician and the leader of a popular band. Biese worked mainly in Chicago at stylish venues such as the Marigold Gardens and the Bismarck and Edgewater Beach Hotels, but occasionally worked a season in New York, where he attracted the interest of the record companies. Yellow Dog Blues gives us a good example of how White Chicago Bands sounded at the time, with what was almost a Chicago stock in trade of highly rhythmic banjo playing adhering closely to the melody line. Trombonist Llyod Barber is heavily featured, and it is worth noting that of this 6-piece band, Beise, Barber, Arnold Johnson and Ralph Williams all gained prominence as band leaders.

If you would like to order the Timeless Records' CD of Ragtime To Jazz 2 1916 - 1922 you can do so through Worlds Records or direct from Timeless Records.