The Gilt Edged Four - Hot Miss Molly (HOT!!)

The Gilt-Edged Four play "Hot Miss Molly". The Americans Julius Berkin and Al Starita take the solos here, with Berkin in particular being outstanding on trumpet. He is a master with mutes.

Due to the fact that Berkin mainly recorded as a studio musician during the acoustic era, often for lesser known companies - and soloed infrequently - he has been all but forgotten. When he does solo he is invariably superb. In his day, Berkin was highly respected and widely admired, but he was another musician with a case of wanderlust, so fell under the radar. He worked in London for several years in the 1920s, often for Ambrose. Discographers have not been kind to him. He was mistaken for Max Goldberg by Brian Rust and other discographers in listings of the Gilt-Edged Four's recordings, but even Goldberg himself stated during an interview that he was not on the band's early recording sessions, saying that it was "an American player from New York". Berkin was from New York. Rust also misnames him Leslie Berkin in the Ambrose Orchestra listings.

Berkin recorded very little of substance in the electrical recording era and was pretty soon sucked up into studio work on radio networks. He subsequently took up exclusive work in dance bands on ocean liners. He died in New York in 1974.

THE GILT-EDGED FOUR
Julius Berkin - trumpet / Al Starita - alto sax / Sid Bright - piano / Len Fillis - guitar

Recorded in London, between 3rd and 7th June, 1925

A-2170 Hot Miss Molly Columbia 3703