Customer Reviews

Baby Dodds

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Baby Dodds was, with Zutty Singleton, the greatest of the New Orleans drummers, and exercised great influence over the next generation of jazz drummers. He played with Oliver, Morton, Armstrong and his brother Johnny in the 1920s, but his drumming was normally severely restricted by the recording technology of the times. It was only in the 1940s, with the American Music Bunk Johnson sides and some of the recordings Dodds made for Rudi Blesh's Circle label that Dodds' genius was adequately captured.

This CD contains extracts from a lengthy series of interviews which Dodds recorded for William Russell in the early 1950s. Dodds was in poor health at the time, but, he reminisces about New Orleans jazz, demonstrates his drum equipment, and most importantly, discusses his conception of jazz drumming. This material is fascinating, and is illustrated by a range of tracks taken largely from the Bunk Johnson American Music sides. These are not always amongst the best of these recordings, but they establish the points being made.

While not on a par with Jelly Roll Morton's Library of Congress reminiscences, these are important documentary recordings which all those seriously interested in New Orleans jazz should consider a compulsory purchase.

The first reviewer gave a very thorough assessment and I was encouraged to buy it based on that. His recommendation was on the mark. This recording is a gem. . I was excited to find this recording of Baby Dodds whose biography I had read but had never really heard play. The clarity of the drums on these recordings (made in '44 and '45) is much greater than was previously possible. My only complaint is that liner notes were rather miserly and vague compared to the usual extensive biographical and recording info you might expect for this sort of thing. The cd itself is about one-third Baby Dodds explicating in his colorful style and two-thirds music. The song examples are excellent selections. The location of the recordings is not given, but you might guess some of it was on the street. You can hear a child during one of the funeral marches, a plane flying over and car horns. It's great to hear his perspective on the drummer's role in an era when bands were not only supposed to entertain the audience, but look like they were having just as much fun. Find out what could happen if you play in a band with an "evil spirit" . . .