The Jazz Crusade colorfully details Bissonnette's coming of age in the jazz world, his frequently humorous and occasionally sad encounters and experiences with the much older black musicians and his struggle to keep both a jazz band and a record label alive. Valuable photos and reproductions of album jackets illustrate this very enjoyable and easily readable book. It inspired me to go back to my New Orleans revival records to hear these legends again. To Bill Bissonnette's credit, his portrayals of the jazzmen and of himself are quite honest and adds a great deal to one's knowledge of this now completed era. --
Scott Yanow, Cadence, March 1993Bill's love of the music and New Orleans musicians is never in doubt and his initiative in producing so many fine albums earns our gratitude. The author's intimate association with so many musicians no longer with us makes this a fascinating read. Bill paid his dues and this book testifies to all the fun and frustrations he had doing it. I can't imagine any reader not being absorbed, entertained and swept along by the sheer enthusiasm of this jazz crusade. Recommended. --
Mike Hazeldine, New Orleans Music, June 1992Bissonnette's achievements have been substantial and praiseworthy, and this inside account of the music and musicians should be of great interest to lovers of New Orleans jazz. His close and friendly association with the New Orleans musicians he so much admired yields shrewd and entertaining insights into their colourful personalities. As a big plus, the book incorporates a 15 track, 70 minute CD of selected
Jazz Crusade recordings, a novel and appealing idea which makes the overall price a very reasonable one. --
Hugh Rainey, Jazz Journal International, August 1993For the lover of traditional jazz, this book is a MUST, and anyone with the slightest interest in the history of jazz cannot pass it by. It is well written. It is well produced. It contains 60 nicely reproduced photos of high class and you'll also get a 70-minute CD. That is reason enough to make this a collector's item. This book not only has the potential to become a classic. It already is a classic and it stands on my shelf along with "Really the Blues," "Mr. Jelly Lord," "Early Jazz" and "Jazzmen." Highly recommended to say the least. --
Claus Ringqvist, Orkesterjournalen Sweden, March 1993This book is a great read - if you have any interest in Preservation Hall-era New Orleans jazz you must have this book. It's a beautiful presentation of a most interesting period of jazz. The book is illustrated with three series of stunning photographs which are among the best I've ever seen of these musicians. The CD is remarkably nostalgic, taking me back to my days in college when I would eagerly buy these discs by mail from
Jazz Crusade as soon as they came out. I was a true believer. --
Paige Van Vorst, Mississippi Rag, August 1992Unquestionably a collector's item, this book contains a 70-minute compact disc, "The best of
the Jazz Crusade." As a musician, bandleader, promoter, record producer and writer of the era, Big Bill - who hails from our Southern Connecticut chapter - has chronicled the revival of early black jazz, the beginnings of Preservation hall, the influx of young, white musicians into New Orleans, and the spread of the movement throughout the world. If names like Kid Thomas, George Lewis, DeDe Pierce and Jim Robinson mean anything to you, don' miss it. --
Tom Elliott, Mensa Bulletin, July August 1992
Big Bill Bissonnette has always been a controversial figure on the New Orleans jazz scene. He has often rushed in where "angels feared to tread" to make that one last recording of some obscure jazzman. His 1960s group, "The Easy Riders Jazz Band" was the most acclaimed revival band of the era and recorded with many of the legendary New Orleans jazzmen. He brought reedman Sammy Rimington to America when he was still just a youngster for one of his first big breaks which later led to his amazing success in the jazz field. Bissonnette came in first place as "New Young Artist" in the 1965 Jazzology Jazz Poll. Over 30 years later he placed #5 among all jazz trombonists in the latest edition of that same poll. He is also well known as a drummer. He was the legitimate protg of trombonist Big Jim Robinson, perhaps the greatest of all New Orleans trombonists. He studied drums with the legendary Sammy Penn. On his drumset sits the wooden ratchet used by Baby Dodds on his famous drum instruction recordings. He uses a slapstick made for him by Kid Thomas Valentine and one of Jim Robinson's mouthpieces sits on a shelf in his living room.
He has now produced over one hundred recording sessions. He has spent much of the 1990s documenting the British jazz scene with his "Best of the Brits" CD series. He publishes a newsletter several times a year. He travels the world sitting-in with local New Orleans style bands or with his own touring all-star band. He is featured on over 50 albums on both trombone and drums.
