August

NEW! JAZZ CD: J.J. & the Jazz Masters Quartet - Happy Jazz! Recorded at the Chicago Lake Shore Hotel (Hyde Park Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive) 4/12/2019. J.J. (John Jarrett) is 92 years old! I played keyboard with J.J. almost every Friday year 'round for nine years, until it was stopped in 2020 by "you know what". John Jarrett - drums & leader, Kobie Knight - vibes, Dan McNaughton - bass and David Drazin - keyboard. The tunes are: Out of Nowhere, Bag's Groove, Don't Blame Me, Ladybird, Just One of Those Things, and The Preacher.

The CD is available for $10 at Squeezebox Records and Books - 743 Main St., Evanston, IL 60202, (847) 943 - 9309.

Wendy Whittick is President of WCC Productions, LLC. She has a video blog called: Wendy's Classic Corner, Silver Screen Time Machine. On May 24 and 25, 2024 she made a wonderful 18 minute program about The Columbus Moving Picture Show. She gave me a silent film accompanist spot in this show. You can see it HERE...

Sat., Aug. 24, 2024, 6:00 p.m. CDT, Yippiefest Theater Festival, Chopin Theater, 1543 West Division St., Chicago IL. David will sing and play a solo-piano set of original comedy songs entitled: The Misfit Melodies of David Drazin.

yippiefest.com

September

Fri., Sept 6, 2024, 6:00 p.m. Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St. Chicago IL, 312-846-2800, I WAS BORN BUT...(1932, dir. by Yasujiro Ozu, with Tomio Aoki & Hideo Sukawara); Live piano by David.

siskelfilmcenter.org

On Wed., Sept, 4, 2024, the Northbrook Public Library, 1201 Cedar Lane, Northbrook, IL, 847-272-6224, will open its annual silent-film month with a special series kickoff reception in the Pollak Room adjacent to their state-of-the-art auditorium at 1:00 p.m. All screenings are accompanied by David on grand piano (matinee: 2:00 p.m./evening: 7:00 p.m.) as follows:

Sept. 4: POKER FACES (1926, dir. by Harry Pollard, starring Edward Everett Horton and Laura La Plante).
Sept. 11: Speedy (1928, dir. by Ted Wilde, starring harold Lloyd).
Sept. 18: BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK (1926, dir. by Sidney Franklin, starring Marion Davies).
Sept. 25: NOSFERATU (1922, dir. by F.W. Murnau, with Max Schreck as Count Orlok).

northbrook.info

All Northbrook Library shows are free to the public!

The Wisconsin Cinematheque, Have a look at their upcoming shows. They are always fantastic!

cinema.wisc.edu/

On July 14th, I had a wonderful time accompanying Mantrap (1926) starring Clara Bow, with the early Disney cartoon short Alice in the Wooly West. Thanks to the Chicago Film Society at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL, 773-871-6604. You can always check out the Music Box Theatre and the Chicago Film Society schedule here.

musicboxtheatre.com

chicagofilmsociety.org

Annual Wisconsin Film Festival, University of Wisconsin, Madison, schedule to be announced. Visit their web site.

wifilmfest.org

Columbus Moving Picture Show. Renaissance Hotel, 50 N. 3rd St., Columbus, Ohio. Film schedule to be announced.

columbusmovingpictureshow.com

David will accompany several silent films at this annual event featuring movie screenings and dealer rooms.

Phil Martini, the director of Indian Boundary Park has retired! This means the end of the silent film series presented by the Chicago Park District at Indian Boundary Park. It was a beautiful place for a quarterly silent movie show. Thank you, Phil! Thank you for your support!

We're looking into the future for the next Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival.

Edison Theater, home of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, 37417 Niles Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94536 (510) 494-1411, Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival No details available yet.

Frank Carr (from the comedy group Famous in the Future and the impresario of Yippee Fest) taught me enough HTML for me to update News and Events myself. Thank you, Frank! Here's an attempted link to Famous in the Future for anyone who might be interested in his (and my) Chicago comedy efforts. (8/19/2023).

famousinthefuture.com

As Ed Lorusso and Joe Harvat do a magnificent job making previously unavailable and unseen silent movies visible (and employing me to record piano scores to their incredible finds) I'd like to visibly say: Thank You! to Ed Lorusso and Joe Harvat.(8/19/2023).

From David's 16mm film collection: As of March 2023, we have a new video on our You Tube channel: Win Stracke and New Wine Singers Brighten "Megalopolis 6 - The Song of a City. We hope you enjoy it!

youtube.com/watch?v=ATCrtKk5C7I

The Northside/Southside Radio Players Presents: "Flywheel and Ravelli - Shoemakers"

This is an original Marx Brothers live radio theater musical comedy by David and featuring Joe Urbancik, Nick Palumbo, Tom Gollagly and Carol Seymour.

https://youtu.be/JtE7nWa8uFU

Empire Builders, Glacier Park

Carol Seymour adapted an original 1931 NBC radio script for The Northside/Southside Radio Players. She co-wrote an original song with David called Mike's Place. The group performed the show as part of Yippee Fest at the Den Theater in Chicago on August 20, 2022. You can listen to audio on archive.org here.

www.archive.org/details/empire-builders-glacier-park-82022

Silent Films Accompanied by David

Here are some short films you can watch free on our You Tube Channel and Vimeo.

Boobley's Baby

This is a 1915 one reel comedy discovered by Michael Aus. It stars Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew.

youtu.be/gs0cMsLw08U

Check out Michael Aus' eBay store as listed below! All of his DVD sales benefit The Niles Essanay Edison Theater in Niles, CA.

A Deal With the Devil, Nordisk 1914, Directed by Holger-Madsen, starring Olaf Fonss

This film was transferred from a Super 8mm print by The Chicago Film Archive. The Spanish titles were translated by Carol Seymour. Special thank you to Frank Carr for his video editing skill in synchronizing David's piano score and making the translated titles visible.

youtu.be/ulOkBRqCXMU

Here's the same film on Vimeo.

vimeo.com/663754328

Ocean Liner Blues

Ocean Liner Blues is a "trailer" for one of the greatest home movies of all time: Goodbye Kankakee, Hello Paree! David accompanies this clip from the full length film with an original stomp played in an authentic "Barrelhouse" style of 1927.

youtu.be/lZNkxL1roms

Here's Ocean Liner Blues on Vimeo.

vimeo.com/666141405

Goodbye Kankakee,Hello Paree!

Among the greatest home movies of all time, this is an early (1927/28) extensive, historical and entertaining document that was transferred from a one-of-a-kind 16mm movie film taken by an unidentified amateur movie pioneer. It documents the Kankakee American Legion Post 85 Drum and Bugle Corps voyage to France commemorating the ten year anniversary of the end of World War I.

youtu.be/T1lpshBrsWY

Here's the same film on Vimeo.

vimeo.com/666141405

Grapevine Video of Phoenix, Arizona, has released the following DVDs of silent films with David's accompaniment:

Beau Geste(1926), directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Ronald Colman. This score was arranged by my using the original cue sheet and improvising to bridge the scores that I have and found. Neil Hamilton must have been coached on how to play the bugle, as when he plays "Taps" I could see him taking breaths as he played. A giant thank you from me to Jason and Jack Hardy at Grapevine for doing a perfect synchronization of my effort on Beau Geste.

The Great Divide(1915), directed by Edgar Lewis and starring Ethel Clayton and House Peters was released by the Lubin company. Also added are five rare Lubin shorts including the 1904 Lubin copy of The Great Train Robbery.

Straight is the Way(1921), directed by Robert G. Vignola and starring Matt Moore and Gladys Leslie was produced for DVD release by Ed Lorusso and was manufactured by Grapevine Video.

Out Yonder(1919),directed by Ralph Ince and starring Olive Thomas, featuring Huntley Gordon was produced for DVD release by Joe Harvat and was manufactured by Grapevine Video.

Rosita(1923), directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Mary Pickford, plus two Biograph shorts: All On Account of the Milk(1909), and A Beast at Bay(1912), directed by D.W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford.

2020

The following are silent film DVDs released by Grapevine Video accompanied by David last year:

Buried Treasure (1921, accompanied by David) and Polly of the Follies (1922, accompanied by Ben Model), two incomplete films starring Marion Davies.

The Cossack Whip (1916), directed by John Collins and starring Viola Dana.

The Innocence of Ruth (1916), directed by John Collins, starring Viola Dana and Edward Earle.

Robes of Sin (1924), starring Sylvia Breamer and Gertrude Astor. (Except for Polly of the Follies, the above four DVDs were originally produced and released by Ed Lorusso, with a subsequent release by Grapevine.)

Headlines (1925, directed by Edward Griffith and starring Alice Joyce, Malcolm McGregor, and Virginia Lee Corbin). The DVD was produced by Tim Lussier of silentsaregolden.com for release through Grapevine Video.

The Chronicle of the Grey House (1925, directed by Arthur von Gerlach, starring Paul Hartmann and Lil Dagover).

Rare Silent Films of Stayton, Oregon, has released the following DVDs:

The Little Pirate 1917, directed by Elsie Jane Wilson and starring child actress Zoe Rae. This is an amazing nitrate find by Michael Aus. Directly from 35mm nitrate to you. The only existing film with Zoe Rae.

The Isle of Hope 1925, directed by Jack Nelson and starring Richard Talmadge. Another unique find made from the only existing 35mm nitrate print.

Early Universal Films of Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran. Volume 1: Seven short films; David accompanies four of them. Volume 2: Five films, all accompanied by David, including Mrs. Plum's Pudding, (1915, directed by Al Christie), the only film appearance of theatrical star Marie Tempest.

Visit Rare Silent Films ebay store to see all of their DVDs. Sales of Rare Silent Films DVDs benefit the Niles Essanay Theater. Check it out!

www.ebay.com/str/texasguinan.

Gus Friedlander's Prohibition Orchestra of Chicago has recorded and posted on YouTube a tribute video to their late bandmate, saxophonist/vocalist Freddie Garcia. Gus chose a favorite song that Freddie loved to perform, The Sheik of Araby, and each band member recorded his/her part separately on video to combine on one screen. Please check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRH0miPg4-g

Dave played and sang original comedy songs that were streamed free on August 22 and 23, 2020, at www.yippiefest.com. The performance was prerecorded at the 2019 Yippiefest, held at Chicago's Prop Theater.

Tramp Records of Germany reissued the 1982 vinyl album of Seeds of Fulfillment, a Columbus, Ohio jazz-rock band for which David played keyboards and contributed original songs. In addition Tramp Records issued a previously unreleased album by Seeds of Fulfillment from the soundtrack of a 1982 Columbus public-access cable television show.

David and the Ambassadors: Tom Hope - sax, Ross Nuccio - tuba, Gus Friedlander - banjo and Tim Mulvenna - drums, played his original hot jazz numbers, arrangements and adaptations for an enthusiastic audience at Three Crowns Park in Evanston, IL on February 5, 2016.

David and the Ambassadors: Bernard Scavella - saxes, Kobie Knight - vibes, and Pete Castronova - drums (called in suddenly to substitute for ailing Tim Mulvenna) played a three set concert of hot jazz, originals and arrangements for The Illiana Club of Traditional Jazz at the Glendora House on Sunday, February 21, 2016.

Click to see Dave at the multi-manual organ.

See Dave's  Louis Armstrong Award and latest CD releases .

The latest: Sound engineer Richie Wohlfeil, owner of Hamtramck, Michigan's Lo & Behold bookstore/entertainment venue, posted some of Dave's tunes at https://folkbluesnight.bandcamp.com  on an album with Detroit-area pianist Michael Malis. The session was recorded live when Dave was in Detroit rehearsing for the Free Press Film Festival. The live audience went wild, as you can hear on the recordings. Thanks, Richie!  




Above is Dave at the Capitol Theater organ in Madison, Wisconsin. Check out this YouTube video to see/hear him in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPft_JBtrpA

January 10, 2014 Dave and the Ambassadors featuring Gina Gibson played at the Renaissance Hotel in Northbrook, IL for the retirement party of Chad Raymond, the director of The Northbrook Public Library on Saturday, January 10, 2014.  The program was a fine tribute to Chad Raymond and the band had a wonderful time and was well received.  The bass player was Dan McNaughton, drums by Tim Mulvenna, with David leading on piano and keyboard.  Gina Gibson was the vocalist.

Louis Armstrong Award.  I was very surprised and happy to receive a jazz award from Don Sadofsky and The Chicago Park District at Horner Park in Chicago.  It's the first time I've received an award.  Thank you, Don and Horner Park! Click image or this link for larger view.

Between 1978 and 1982 I was the keyboard player in a Columbus, Ohio jazz-rock band called: The Seeds of Fulfillment.  The band self-produced one 45rpm record in 1979, and a full length album in 1981.  Tramp Records of Munich, Germany has reissued the "B" side of the 45 on a new CD compilation called: Praise Poems, Volume 1.  A friend had alerted me to the fact that a British record company had reissued a song from the album in 2013.

With guidance and suggestions from Tramp Records, I was able to secure a very nice agreement with BBE Records of England.  The song is on a CD called: Kev Beadle Presents Private Collection, Independent Jazz Sounds From the Seventies & Eighties.  In Addition, Tramp Records has licensed an additional song that I composed from the full-length album called:  The Provider.  He says it will be on the forthcoming CD: Praise Poems, Volume 2 in September, 2015.

 

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Since May 2013 - New YouTube videos:
 
1. Louis Armstrong & His All Stars Live at Indiana Beach (4:14), home-movie found footage, piano by Dave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQcTD5LAJVg
 
2. Dave rocks on TV!: Chic-a-Go-Go 3/17/13 (5:13)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIR5lE7Hd6E&list=UUz8dU1UXfZVZio5mvlAMasg&index=2
 
3. Back to the Old Farm (10:59), music by Dave. 1912 Essanay/International Harvester, featuring Beverly Bayne in an early role. Filmed in west suburban Chicago area, Dunham Oaklawn Farm near Wayne, IL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bow99bzHfiM
 
5. The Rally or If Beale Street Couldn't Talk (20:15) music by Dave. Director Cal Ward. Jr. intuitively used the methods of silent-film comedy to create a classic of modern silent cinema farce (video: 1994 & 2002).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8YbgSHGG6g
 
The Ambassadors
"Avalon" : www.reverbnation.com/daviddrazin/
 

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Plus some not-so-live accompaniments:

Dave played with the Bernard Scavella quintet at Hyde Park Jazz Society's monthly concert series in January. Here's a video clip , which appears on guitarist Randy Ford's YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uJHO0gCpc4

Here's Dave playing with the Jazz Masters. Photos by Alan Weidner.

The Live Radio Theater shows at Joplin's Java in Waukegan on June 11 were a big hit for all who attended. Dave even played a few licks on the violin as Jack Benny!
Dave was back at Joplin's to give a solo piano concert on November 19, 2010.

Jan 2009 - Idaho author Larry Telles recently published his new book/DVD "A Brief History of the Silent Screen and the World at that Time" (press release: http://www.bitterrootmountainllc.com/bitterroot/?page_id=27 ), and Dave played keyboard accompaniment on the soundtrack for the DVD that comes with each book. Larry's personal website is www.essanayfilmmfgco.com .
 
Jan 2009 - Dave's piano music is featured on one selection of Chicago singer-songwriter Kathryn Gauthier 's new CD "Sunshiny Day: Songs for Children and Cats." It  is available on CD Baby and at Kathryn's website, www.gauthierarts.com .

Dave's DVD & TV releases:

On July 22, 2008 Chicago-area classic video company All Day Entertainment released the 3-disc DVD collection "American Slapstick, vol. 2." The feature presentation is "Charley's Aunt," starring Syd Chaplin, with improvised piano soundtrack by Dave. Check out http://www.alldayentertainment.com/6401.html

(July 23, 2008) Another company Dave recorded for is Unknown Video, formerly based in the San Francisco Bay area but no longer in business.  Dave played the piano soundtrack for their DVD of "The Sea Lion" (1922) starring Bessie Love and Hobart Bosworth. The DVD also includes a co-feature, Pauline Garon in "The Average Woman."  Another is "Whiz-Bang No. 1: Action Americana".  Interested buyers may contact Dave (carseymour@aol.com) for videos he accompanied.

(July 23, 2008) Watch a 15th-anniversary video of Famous in the Future, www.youtube.com/watch?v=c67tW8ihmmE , the sketch comedy troupe in which Dave has participated as musician, actor, write and director. the video is a montage that includes sketches that were videotaped live and include vintage performances by Dave (often wearing glasses and sometimes playing his cornet).

On July 29, 2008, Kino released a double feature of "A Man There Was"/"Ingeborg Holm." Dave provides the piano soundtrack for Ingeborg Holm, the first significant work by Swedish director Victor Sjostrom.
http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?film_id=924  

Turner Classic Movies, THE BUSHER (1919, dir. Jerome Storm, starring Charles Ray, Colleen Moore, John Gilbert, piano accompaniment soundtrack by David Drazin, broadcast at 12:15 a.m. EDT Sunday, October 14, www.turnerclassicmovies.com for further info. One of four baseball silent films to be screened that evening from the Kino release "Reel Baseball." 

VCI Entertainment, WEISS-O-RAMA, (silent-film comedies from Kit Parker Films, 1925, 1927, 1928), www.vcientertainment.com , 2-DVD set, piano accompaniment soundtracks by Philip Carli and David Drazin. 
 

We're happy to announce that Dave has been chosen to be included in the 2006 60th diamond anniversary edition of Marquis "Who's Who in America." Who's Who profiles the careers of a select group of men and women from all significant fields of endeavor - from business and politics to healthcare and science to entertainment and the arts.