The names Red Nichols and Cliff Edwards may not be recognized by any but a few aficionados of 1920s jazz these days, but after seeing Mike Davis and Bryce Edwards‘ Hot Combination at Birdland, most people will certainly remember their music.

Ukulele-toting, mouth-trumpeting Cliff Edwards was one of the era’s most innovative pop vocalists and an early pioneer of scat singing. Red Nichols was a prolific cornetist, composer and jazz bandleader. Together they made music that is original, infectious and often joyfully tongue-in-cheek.

One hundred years later, thanks to Davis’s transcribed selections and Bryce’s full-throated approach, we can take a fresh view of these songs with evocative names like “I Know That You Know” and “How She Loves Me Is Nobody’s Business.” The band included Ricky Alexander (alto saxophone & clarinet), Josh Holcomb (trombone), Dalton Ridenhour (piano), Jay Rattman (bass saxophone), Félix Lemerle (banjo & guitar), and Colin Hancock (drums).

According to Davis and Bryce, lyricists of the era were quite playful. They reeled off a bunch of tantalizing examples. But they did perform a fine medley of songs both familiar (“After You’ve Gone,” “Dinah”) and more esoteric (“Oh! Lovey, Be Mine,” “Someone’s Stolen My Sweet, Sweet Baby”). It’s a shame they never sang, “Who Takes Care of the Caretaker’s Daughter (While the Caretaker’s Busy Taking Care)”!

The show was filled with interesting facts. Bryce told the audience that Edwards started off playing piano solo but turned to the ukulele because it was portable and perfect for saloon performances where he wouldn’t “leave before he was paid.” Fans of Walt Disney’s Pinocchio were happy to learn Edwards was the voice of Jiminy Cricket. And Bryce explained that “eefing,” a form of mouth music that originated in Tennessee, had a big influence on scat.

If you don’t think Cliff Edwards and Mike Davis are still hot, take a look at Spotify, which seems to control most of their work!

Bryce Edwards & Mike Davis
Hot Combination: the Cliff Edwards / Red Nichols Project
Birdland 315 West 44th Street
reviewed on September 1, 2025

SET LIST

After You’ve Gone (instrumental) (Turner Layton & Henry Creamer, as recorded by The
Charleston Chasers, Jan. 1927, transc. Mike Davis)

Oh! Lovey, Be Mine (Walter Donaldson, as recorded by Cliff Edwards & His Hot
Combination, Oct. 1925, transc./adapted by Mike Davis)

Dinah (Harry Akst, Sam M. Lewis, & Joe Young, as recorded by Cliff Edwards & His Hot
Combination, Nov. 1925, transc. Bryce Edwards)

How Can You Look So Good (Chick Endor, as recorded by Cliff Edwards & His Hot
Combination, Nov. 1925, transc. Mike Davis)

I Know That You Know (Vincent Youmans & Anne Caldwell, as recorded by Cliff
Edwards & His Hot Combination, Dec. 1926, transc. Mike Davis)

Plenty Off Center (instrumental- trio feature) (Red Nichols, as recorded by We Three,
Mar. 1926, transc. Mike Davis)

How She Loves Me is Nobody’s Business (Clarence Gaskill & Irving Mills, as recorded
by Cliff Edwards & His Hot Combination, Oct. 1925, transc. Mike Davis)

Dreaming of a Castle in the Air (Chick Endor & E. Ward, as recorded by Cliff Edwards &
His Hot Combination, Nov. 1925, arr. Andy Schumm)

Say! Who is That Baby Doll? (Al Turk & Maceo Pinkard, as recorded by Cliff Edwards &
His Hot Combination, Oct. 1925, transc. Mike Davis)

Trumpet Sobs (instrumental-trio feature) (Red Nichols, as recorded by We Three, Mar.
1926, transc. Mike Davis)

Lonely Eyes (Benny Davis & Harry Akst, as recorded by Cliff Edwards & His Hot
Combination, Dec. 1926, transc. & edited by Andy Schumm, further revised by Mike
Davis)

The Lonesomest Girl in Town (Jimmy McHugh, Irving Mills & Al Dubin, as recorded by
Cliff Edwards & His Hot Combination, Oct. 1925, transc. Mike Davis)

Someone’s Stolen My Sweet, Sweet Baby (Maceo Pinkard, Lew Brown & Sidney Clare,
as recorded by Cliff Edwards & His Hot Combination, Nov. 1925, transc. Mike Davis)

Encore: Singin’ In The Rain (Nacho Herb Brown & Arthur Freed, introduced by Cliff
Edwards in Hollywood Revue of 1929, arr. Bryce Edwards in the Nichols vein)