Customer Reviews

Club Hangover Broadcasts - April 3,10,17,24 1954

5 star:		(1)
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3 star:		(1)
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Jack Teagarden plays with the most basic New Orleans style combo: trumpet, trombone, carinet, piano, bass and drums. He plays the old standards like Muskrat Ramble, Barbecue, South Rampart Street, etc., and he plays them just like you'd want to hear them in a smoky bar. The high point is his down-and-dirty rendition of "St. James Infirmary," which ends with the trombone line spiraling down like it's going to just keep going on down, down and farther down.

All of the music is instrumental, because singing would have forced jack to buy a cabaret license. Lil Hardin Armstrong plays piano during two of the intermissions.

The Club Hangover was a place in San Francisco where jazz musicians would play or just hang out when they were in the area. The historical significance of this album is one of it's attractions.
Whoever put this cd package out would almost have you think the trumpet player, a fairly unknown named Jackie Coon, is the second coming of Bix Beiderbeck. I'm not buying that. He's not bad, but not worthy of all the ink he gets in the liner notes.
Jack Teagarden is great,as usual. Although, by Teagarden standards, this is not one of his finest performances. It's kind of hard to tell, due to the odd mix job that we are stuck with (apparently, the tape recorder was on the opposite side of the stage from where Teagarden played.)
The BIG surprise on this album to me is the clarinet playing of Jay St.John, who I previously had never heard of. His style is a cross between the tone of Edmund Hall and the lively style of Matty Matlock or Peanuts Hucko. A very great surprise, indeed.
Also, the announcer gets a bit annoying. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't sing or else an "entertainment tax" would have been levied on the club. They could have at least let him announce the selections. Two discs, decent price..it's enjoyable.