EUBIE BLAKE: DeForest Phonofilm, 1923.

CORRECTED RESTORATION originally by courtesy of the Library of Congress: PIONEERING AFRO-AMERICAN COMPOSER/PERFORMER James Herbert "Eubie" Blake (1887 - 1983) with his long-term collaborator Noble Sissle, wrote and performed in SHUFFLE ALONG (1921). This was one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and performed by Afro-Americans. Eubie was one of eight children born to former slaves, and the only one of his siblings to survive infancy. By the early 1920s he was famous worldwide for his compositions "I'm Just Wild About Harry", "The Charleston Rag" and "Love Will Find A Way". In 1923 he performed in several of the very earliest experimental sound films made by Dr Lee DeForest in New York, of which this example is one. This "Fantasy On Stephen Foster's Swanee River" has been previously reproduced on Internet with bad sound, at the wrong speed, with incorrect picture ratio and with the wrong contrast ratio. Extracting the hum, sprocket buzz, clicks, hiss, distortion and resonances, the remaining audio track really is very good for that distant period. Phonofilms of that time were shot around 19 pics/second, so they are shown way too fast at the modern projection speed. Having a little coronavirus shut-in time up my sleeve, I decided today to sit down with my video and audio editors to rectify all of these imperfections to the best of my ability. This posting was originally uploaded on the Library of Congress site, to whom all queries should be addressed, with many of its audio deficiencies now corrected. And it's very impressive improv piano work by Eubie Blake, too.