Adventures In New Orleans Jazz, Part 2

DR. MICHAEL WHITE: Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Part 2
Basin Street, 2012

TRADITIONAL JAZZ – As in “Part 1,” clarinet master White takes a broad view of New Orleans trad-jazz, mixing the usual standards with tunes that may come from far beyond the usual New Orleans repertoire but still sound absolutely natural in this format. Excellent work.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12

1. 4:16 – upbeat stomp on a Hank Williams tune, a good time
2. 4:08 – relaxed, folksy traditional tune: clarinet wails, kazoo solo!
3. 3:43 – easygoing strut with a fun, gruff-voiced vocal
4. 3:47 – lowdown Sidney Bechet moan, really nice clarinet sound here
5. 7:08 – standard strut; perfectly fine but we’ve heard it a million times
6. 4:20 – another standard, with strong vocal & fine clarinet
7. 4:30 – country tune, also a hit for Janis Joplin; played as a straight march
8. 9:01 – excellent funeral-march version of a Dr. Lonnie Smith tune
9. 6:09 – upbeat trad-jazz standard; a real toe-tapper with vocal
10. 2:57 – well-known gospel tune, wailing vocal & clarinet embroidery
11. 4:39 – original tune, relaxed and soulful, nice clarinet sound
12. 5:13 – cool novelty: 1960s pop hit work as a growling march
13. 4:26 – midtempo second-line strut, straightforward performance

[ Fo ] - 11 August 2012