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MMD > Archives > February 2012 > 2012.02.15 > 02Prev  Next


46-key Music Rolls for B.A.B. and Artizan
By Matthew Caulfield

In his For Sale article in 120214 MMDigest, Sid Kramer says that the
rolls he is selling have no manufacturer's name on them.  But judging
from the roll numbers (all in the 500's except for 315 and 481),
I would guess that those rolls were issued by Ozzie Wurdeman, using
the 46-key masters which he and Senator Bovey acquired from the defunct
B.A.B. Organ Company in Brooklyn (see p. 297-301 of Art Reblitz's
"The Golden Age Of Mechanical Music).

I have a copy of Ozzie Wurdeman's notebooks, and there is mention of
two tunes that Ozzie put on his roll 315.  Ozzie used the B.A.B.
master to put together custom rolls, using those masters in whatever
combination a customer wanted.   All of his rolls were serially
numbered in the 300's and up.   The two tunes that Sid would find on
roll 315, if it is a Wurdeman product, are the "Army Air Corps" march
and another march, "That's Why."

 [ Sid Kramer sent photos of the labels to Matthew.  -- Robbie ]

Yes, I can read the roll label to roll 315, and it has the two tunes
that Ozzie Wurdeman's 315 would have.  Those are definitely Wurdeman
rolls.  You aren't going to find his name on them because he didn't see
any need to give it.  Since 46-key B.A.B. rolls are not being made any
longer and are a bit hard to find, there ought to be a market for them,
if you advertise them in the right place, like the MMD or COAA's
publication, "Carousel Organ."

Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, NY


(Message sent Wed 15 Feb 2012, 19:58:02 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  46-key, Artizan, B.A.B, Music, Rolls

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