Customer Reviews

Jelly

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I visited Wynton Marsalis' Crescent City for a week in December 1985. One afternoon I spent a happy hour listening to old style brass band grooves at Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. The attraction of my visiting NO, LA had been the chance of seeing Wynton, Dr John or these gentlemen. It seemed and seems to me that the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (they number less than 12 and are not dirty) set the standard for New Orleans brass, due to the standard of the sousaphone playing and the group's overall ability with melodic, harmonic and rhythmic hijinks. The drummers rattle on, looser and tighter due to the bass and snare being played by different hands, chords crash in at full military power and solo after solo rolls over the top.

This album is mostly grooves composed by Mr 'Latin Tinge', Jelly Roll Morton, braggart and musician extraordinaire. The balance is little stories about the subject by Danny Barker, a contemporary of both Morton and Louis Armstrong. Mr Barker had previously made guest appearances on albums by the Dozen. The band is sublime, particularly bariton and soprano sax man Roger Lewis. Too bad he could not have played both at once, Roland Kirk style. The DDBB's version of 'Milenburg Joys' surpasses understanding and the high standard set by Dr John on his CD 'Goin' back to New Orleans'. Needless to say, this version has been inflicted many times on my neighbourhood.

There must be something in the water of the Mighty Missus Sip. I'll have to talk to Buddy Bolden about it, next time I see him.

Love The Dirty Dozen , but this disc is listed as by Ornette Coleman , ..Ornette is not on this disc .. come to think of it , it might have been even more amazing if he was!

I enjoyed this albumn. It was nice to have a collection of Jelly Roll Morton songs togther in one place. It was a good traditional Jazz albumn, but not great.

If you are a fan of the Dirty Dozen Jazz Band and their modern stylings then you might like this tape. However, if you are a fan of Jelly Roll Morton and the type of hot traditional jazz he played himself, you will not. In his liner notes, Tom Dent says, "If he [Jelly Roll] could hear what jazz has become today, he would no doubt be extremely disturbed." That goes double for this tape.