2.0 out of 5 stars
Echoes of Chicago, February 5, 2010
This review is from: Bluesiana (Audio CD)
By the end of the 1920's, the cream of the jazz community had left Windy City for The Big Apple. But some stayed, and this CD presents some of the survivors, playing like nothing had happened in the hiatus between the heyday of Chicago jazz and 1940. Listening to the Melrose gang is like receiving a letter from a distant cousin, living abroad since long, lingering in his memories of the past.
In earlier days, pianist Frank Melrose was a devote follower of Jelly Roll Morton, and echoes of Morton can be heard in his solo number, The Boy In The Boat. Most of the time, however, he sounds like any swing pianist, with a pretty strong left hand.
The bright star of the band is youthful trumpeter Pete Daily, a no-nonsense man with gusto and force, both when soloing and leading the ensemble. No overlooked geniuses show up in the rest of the crew, who play with more vigor than talent.
In recorded jazz, the dominance of New York in 1939-40 was so overwhelming that it is almost a relief to find that there were indeed a few keepers of the flame left in Chicago. Enjoyable, albeit not unforgetable.
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