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Personnel: Jimmy Noones Yes Yes Club Band: Jimmy
Noone [cl], Frank Smith [pn], John Frazier [sbs], Wallace Bishop [dm]
Songs: Sweet Lorraine 1 & 2, Porters Love Song, Goodbye
Dont Cry, Honeysuckle Rosa, Blues for Mr. Roy, Memories of You,
Oh! Lady Be Good
Personnel: Henry
Red Allens All-Stars: Henry Red Allen, Jimmy McPartland [tp], Kid
Ory, Jack Teagarden [tb], Buster Bailey, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman
[rd], Lil Armstrong, Joe Sullivan [pn], Johnny St. Cyr [bn], Milt Hinton,
Bob Haggert [sbs], Zutty Singleton, Gene Krupa [dm]
Songs: Doctor Jazz, Original Jelly Roll Blues, Jam Session Medley:
Cornet Chop Suey, After Youve Gone, The Pearls, Heebie Jeebies,
Wolverine Blues, Boogie Woogie, Tiger Rag
Personnel:
Celestins Band: Albert Walters [tp], Joe Brother Cornbread
Thomas [cl], Eddie Pierson [tb], Jeanette Kimball [pn], Albert French
[bn], Sidney Jim Little Brown [sbs], Louis Barbarin [dm]
Songs: High Society, If Ever I Cease to Love, When I Grow Too Old
To Dream, Bye Bye Blackbird, Boogie, When the Saints Go Marching In, In
the Groove, Goodnight Irene/Home Sweet Home
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Reviews for:
JCCD-3066:
Rare Cuts - Well Done Vol. 2 -
Jimmy Noone, Red Allen, Celestin Band
All Music Guide - U. S. A.
This is the second album of a set of private sessions which were recorded
by amateur recording technicians. They represent truly special happenings
in jazz. The first eight tracks are from the last known recording of the
seminal clarinet player Jimmie Noone working with his own group. Since
this was a privately made recording, the noise of the crowd at Yes Yes
Club, where Noone was playing, is heard at higher levels than it would
otherwise have been on a professional taping, adding to the authenticity
of the session while not hindering appreciation of his stellar performance.
Although influencing Benny Goodman, Noone's command of the three registers
of the clarinet, his expressive breaks, and use of blue notes inspired
many of his contemporaries, including Joe Marsala and clarinetists to
come, such as Eric Dolphy.
The next session is from a 1950s TV show which featured another jazz pioneer,
Henry "Red" Allen, who headed up a veritable who's who of traditional
jazz. This was a jam session-like presentation, with each cracker jack
instrumentalist getting a chance to solo. The "Jazz Session Medley"
is more than seven minutes of hot traditional jazz, which doesn't get
much better than what's heard here. One highlight is Jack Teagarden's
vocalizing of "After You've Gone."
It's the last set that catches the eye. Papa Celestin's band, without
the trumpeter, plays for a white wedding in New Orleans in 1957. And,
like most weddings, the emphasis was on having fun rather than to making
jazz statement. Not that it was done badly, but making a defining statement
on traditional jazz was not the main objective that evening. Kudos to
the Jazz Crusade label for making these rare jazz performances available
and with good sound.
- Dave Nathan
Jazz Gazette - Belgium - internet
If this CD should only contain the last session, the one by the Celestin
Band playing for a wedding, it would be a must for every true New Orleans
collector. Consider the rest as "lagniappe" like they call it
in New Orleans, something extra you get for the same money. First we get
a live recording by Jimmie Noone's little band at the Yes Yes Club in
Chicago. This was the last recording under his own name; Jimmie died in
1944. It was recorded at his request by jazz buff and historian John Steiner
(the ne who bought Paramount Records and much later sold it to George
Buck). Jimmie wanted one tune recorded, "Goodbye, Don't Cry"
to play it for the people at RCA Victor in view of a future recording
session for that label. Today they'd call it a "demo". The discographies
show that this session never took place. The only time Jimmie recorded
for Victor was in 1940. It's interesting to hear one of the greatest New
Orleans clarinet players (a pupil of Lorenzo Tio) on a club date this
late in his career. According to John Steiner other tunes played on that
date were not recorded because they were not "jazzy""enough,
tunes like "Lilacs In The Rain" and "Three Little Fishes".
I would have liked to hear them but jazz fans were JAZZ fans in those
days! That's probably why there are so few recorded examples of New Orleans
bands playing waltzes etc. although the many interviews with musicians
tell us they DID, and the few that were recorded prove they did it in
a unique and wonderful way. As it is, we should be glad to have these
rare recorded examples of Jimmie Noone playing a real job. Interesting
too that he is playing a song ("Memories Of You") made famous
by the Benny Goodman recording of it, while Benny was very much influenced
by Noone when he started out. This session was only available before on
a Swaggie LP from the early sixties, today a real collector item. Sound
is of course not hi-fi, but clear enough.
The details on the "Chicago And All That Jazz" TV show I have
given here are somewhat different from those in the CD notes. I have written
them down after looking again at a video of the show. This was a typical
American TV-show with a great musical potential present but no opportunity
to fully enjoy it because of the shortness of most numbers. The Medley
details are: 'Cornet Chop Suey': the New Orleans Band, 'After You've Gone':
the Chicago Band with Jack Teagarden (vcl), 'The Pearls': Lil Armstrong
(pno) Mae Barnes (dms), 'Heebie Jeebies': Lil Armstrong (pno,vcl) Mae
Barnes (vcl) assisted by Red Allen (tpt) and Buster Bailey (clt), 'Wolverine
Blues': the Chicago Band, 'Pine Top's Boogie Woogie':Meade Lux Lewis (pno),
'Tiger Rag': the two bands and Meade Lux Lewis. The drumming between the
different parts of the medley is by Gene Krupa.In a way this was an historical
occasion: Kid Ory and Jack Teagarden swapping a break and playing together
on 'Tiger Rag'! So this is really a collector item but musically it' s
a little bit too frantic for my taste.
The relaxed music of the Celestin Band playing for a white wedding party
makes for a great contrast with the preceding tracks. In fact this was
the band led by Albert French, who took over the Celestin band after Celestin
died in 1954, but kept the original name of the group. It's not only important
because it is a rare example of a genuine New Orleans band playing functional
music, but also because we can listen to some fine musicians who didn't
record that much: Albert Walters, Eddie Pierson and Sidney Brown. The
latter was "Big Jim" Robinson's nephew, hence his nickname.
Given the circumstances and the date of recording, the fidelity is absolutely
fine. The recording has captured the happy mood of the cheerful occasion
perfectly. This is good time music at it's best. There is a lot of singing
here. The singers were not identified, but I definitely recognise the
voices of "Cornbread" and "Papa" French. Other members
of the band might be singing too. One of the most remarkable numbers is
"If Ever I Cease To Love", previously recorded by the Original
Zenith Brass Band, and composed, if I remember well, by a member of the
British Royalty, to become an evergreen for Mardi Gras. Another unexpected
item is Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene". It's a small miracle
that such treasures pop up more than 40 years after they were privately
recorded! Let us hope more of this stuff will come to light in the future.
Like I said at the start of this review, the 37 minutes of this wedding
party music alone would make this an absolute must for the real New Orleans
collector. Hearing Jimmie Noone at a club date and Ory and Tea together
on Tiger rag must be the lagniappe of the year! Get it!
- Marcel Joly
Jazz Classique - France
Big Bill Bissonnette has started to publish on his Jazz Crusade label
some rare recordings. Volume 2 will interest the new orleans style fan
for several reasons as it presents Jimmie Noone, Red Allen, and Papa Célestin¹s
band. Jimmie Noone¹s clarinet, recorded by John Steiner at the "Yes
Yes Club" of Chicago on 17 July 1941 is here clearly audible. Noone
strolls on with his war horses. Frank Smith (p) and John Frazier (sbs)
play remarkably well and Wallace Bishop (dr) plays terrific. A trick by
Noone that I had never paid attention to: he attacks many of his phrases
by a sustained note before jumping in his pyrotechnics. A must for all
clarinet players.
Under the name of Red Allen All-Stars we find next excerpts of the Dupont-TV
Show, filmed on 26 november 1961. The tunes are glued one to another,
without space. Here we have a New Orleans style group and one formed with
Chicagoans. The N.O. group starts. Lil Hardin with, according to Marcel
Joly, Mae Barnes (vocal/drums) start a wild Dr. Jazz. Red Allen concludes
the tune in a fantastic way. Red dominates these recordings, climbing
up in the high register as he is seldom heard on recordings, displaying
an incredible majesty. Original Jelly Roll Blues has a dream rhythm section
: Johnny St. Cyr, Milt Hinton & Zutty Singleton. Buster Bailey shows
that he knows his classics, Kid Ory takes a beautiful solo and Red delivers
his audacious phrasings in his solo as well as in the ensemble. All this
has been rehearsed, the jam is really organized. From then on Gene Krupa's
drumming makes the link between all the tunes. Through Cornet Chop Suey
Red surfs in his virtuoso manner. Next comes the band including Jimmie
McPartland, Teagarden, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Joe Sullivan, Eddie
Condon, Bob Haggart and Krupa. Teagarden sings After You¹ve Gone
(backed by another trombone, Ory ?), Lil Hardin plays The Pearls with
Mae Barnes on drums; they continue with Heebie Jeebies on which Mae Barnes
shares some 2/2 with Allen and Bailey. Wolverine is played by the Chicago
group. Follows a solo by Meade Lux Lewis on Boogie Woogie. The two groups
end on a wild Tiger Rag, enthusiastic and messy due to the poor recording
quality and the number of players: Krupa plays a long and energetic introduction,
McPartland leads, then Red bursts out, a bit too far from the mike. A
curiosity : two breaks, one by Teagarden, the other by Ory just before
the rag part. For Red's fans.
The third part of this CD transports us to New Orleans in August 1957.
Banjoist Albert Papa French and trombonist Eddie Pierson continued Papa
Célestin¹s orchestra after his death in 1954. The band is
here caught live by an amateur recording during a wedding party. Nothing
musically genius but you'd think you are there: the fragrance of the Town
is restituted like seldom. The band is not giving a concert but plays
to put the people in the ambiance, to make them happy, to have them singing,
dancing. The music does not have the fire nor the craziness of the 1948
band but one must understand the context. . Here we have a regular New
Orleans band in the 50s, with its head arrangements specially on In The
Groove, the best tune of this session. Albert Walters is a remarkable
trumpeter, with his sober lead and high register incursions. He plays
relaxed but he's got a lot of reserve, not much would be needed for him
to burst out. Clarinetist Joe Cornbread Thomas takes most of the solos,
with very simple phrasings, typical of the local style, and very efficient.
Nothing like Noone, but even more New Orleans in a sense: "we play
like we play". Unfortunately Jeannette Kimball cannot be heard, not
even on the boogie! Eddie Pierson takes a good solo on In the Groove and
The Saints. Papa French sings pleasantly, bringing musicians and listeners
in joining him. His banjo style, with a systematic accentuation of the
after beat will perhaps please some listeners, but personally I prefer
a real 4/4 style. With a careful listening one will be able to appreciate
the varied style of playing of Louis Barbarin (Paul's brother). But the
main interest (for me) of this CD is that for the first time Sidney "Jim
Little" Brown's string bass can be distinctly heard. Brown was the
formidable bass player of the Sam Morgan Band, one of the creators of
the style which is here restituted to us, far from the mainstream lines
of bass used by certain dixieland bands. Brown usually starts with a relaxed
2/4, passes on to a 4/4 behind the clarinet solo, and keeps the 4/4 until
he lifts up the last ensemble. His playing has evolved since the 1927
recordings, the famous broken chords are still there but livened up with
small bass lines. He alternates 2/4, 4/4, transitions, harmonizes very
well, all tricks which can certainly be of great interest for bass players.
Indeed every bass player in New Orleans had its own way of playing while
staying in the general style. We have here a historical document which
illustrates this fact. The Saints has two solos by Barbarin followed by
two solos by Brown (to my knowledge his only bass solos ever recorded).
A festive jazz, as some say nowadays in France to oppose this music to
the more contemporary jazz qualified of ³creative². For lovers
of authentic new orleans style.
- Dan Vernhettes
Mississippi Rag - U. S. A.
This is Jazz Crusade's second volume of diverse material played by New
Orleans musicians. The Noone and Alien material has appeared previously
on LP. The sides by "Celestin's Band" are from a live recording
and do not seem to have appeared elsewhere.
The Noone session was recorded live in 1941 at the "Yes Yes Club"
in Chicago. The late Chicago Jazz historian John Steiner deserves a posthumous
award for recording this wonderful music. Noone was in top form, sailing
through swinging, uptempo versions of standards and playing his trademark
"whippoorwills" on the ballads. Pianist Frank Smith played a
more linear style than his predecessors in Noone's bands, but the "Chicago"
elements as exemplified by Earl Hines are nevertheless discernible. Bassist
John Frazier provided a solid foundation. Wallace Bishop was Earl Mines'
drummer in the early-to-mid '30s. His energetic playing on this date is
a joy to hear, and he clearly inspired Noone to play some red-hot, wailing
choruses on the faster numbers. This is mandatory listening for any clarinetist
or drummer who wants to swing!
Tracks 9 through 11 are listed as the "Red Alien All-Stars,"
though I don't believe that is what the group was called on the Chicago
And All That Jazz television program. It truly is a stellar lineup: Henry
"Red" Alien, Kid Dry, Buster-Bailey, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Johnny
St. Cyr, Milt Hinton and Zutty Singleton. Their versions of "Doctor
Jazz" and "Jelly Roll Blues" on the TV show were terrific.
So were the short versions of "Cornet Chop Suey," "After
You've Gone," "The Pearls," "Heebie Jeebies,"
"Wolverine Blues," "Boogie Woo-gie" and "Tiger
Rag" which are included in the "Jam Session Medley." (The
friendly "cutting contest" between the New Orleans band and
the "Chicagoans" -- Jimmy McPartland, Jack Teagar-den, Pee Wee
Russell, Bud Freeman, Joe Sullivan, Eddie Condon, Bob Haggart and Gene
Krupa -was one of the all-time jazz-on-television highlights. Words cannot
describe the emotions triggered by Teagarden and Ory trading breaks on
"Tiger Rag)"!
Producer Bissonnette describes the live recording by "Celestin's
Band" as "rollicking unpretentious jazz." It is actually
better music than that description would indicate. The personnel is: Albert
Walters, trumpet; Eddie Pierson, trombone; "Brother Cornbread"
Thomas, clarinet; Jeanette Kimball, piano; Albert French, banjo and vocals;
Sidney "Jim Little" Brown, bass; and the superb Louis Barbarin,
drums. This music would not have been out of place on small labels like
Icon, Pearl, or San Jacinto. The recording quality is desultory, with
off-mic vocals and audible conversation from the audience, but how fortunate
we are that someone had the good sense to record it at all! The liner
notes describe the setting for the recording (a 1957 wedding reception
in New Orleans). The repertoire includes the Carnival-time perennial "If
Ever I Cease To Love," good pop tunes such as "When I Grow Too
Old To Dream" and "In The Groove" (a/k/a "Exactly
Like You'VEight, Nine and Ten") and the inevitable "Saints."
- Hal Smith
Kings Jazz ReviewBritish
Internet Jazz Magazine
When I review a CD, without any conscious action I always listen oft
times to it. Strange, but when I came to Bye Bye Blackbird midway through
the Celestins Band programme on the first run, I immediately returned
to start, and reran it through non-stop to completion.
The result being that I conclude it is "well done" for Jazz
Crusade in putting together this Volume 2 of "Rare Cuts" of
contrasting recordings, some, never every being heard before, stretching
back in time from 1941 to 1957, of legendary moments of jazz history brought
here to the benefit thus of extending, expanding the jazz population interests
worldwide.
Jimmie Noone @ the Yes Yes Club: The crackling sound being nostalgic to
me, but could have done with the pleasant Wallace Bishop drums dampened
down a bit. It was good to hear the Noone clarinet over an eight tracks
stretch. His interpretation of tunes Honeysuckle Rose and Memories Of
You are outstanding with a touch of classical skills and trills undertones
coming though in his playing, particularly so on Porters Love Song
and Goodbye Dont Cry showing that the Jimmie Noone quartet has delightful
qualities.
Red Allen All-Stars: The main line-up and musician additions to the Red
Allen All-Stars will be a revelation to handfuls of fans and musicians
alike here in England, out of whom, myself, having heard only Pee Wee
Russell among them play live here, and that was at the Morden jazz club,
in Surrey, years back. The clarity and dexterity of the Gene Krupa drumming
is for cherishing. Jack Teagarden sings on After Youve Gone a sound
unique to him. Good support for this tune After by Bobby Haggart on string
bass. Blossom Sealey hits the town by her vocals on Heebie-Jeebies supported
by Lil Armstrong on piano, and going "call and response" with
Henry Red on trumpet, also notable on Cornet Chop Suey. Joe Sullivan hits
wonderful piano keys on Boogie Woogie. McPartland and Allen knock it out
together with trumpets on Tiger Rag. The sax of Bud Freeman on Wolverine
Blues - it's all there - it's all great stuff. The main octet handles
Dr Jazz and Original Jelly Roll Blues, all with abundant apperception
- wont one say - I shall, and have done so.
Celestins Band Plays A Wedding: Walters, Brother-Cornbread and company
go into High Society with heads held high, holding very much their own,
noting that clarinettist Joseph "Brother Cornbread" Thomas takes
full command of the tune. Its a wedding and before the end of If
I ever Cease To Love celebrations appear to begin to take effect, that
is to say, knees-up, sing and dance routines, exactly like one can do
In The Grove, indeed, vocals chant on all but one of the eight tunes.
That said the musicianship is of a high standard, and not all that pedestrian
under the circumstances, which trumpeter Albert Walters of the Celestins
can be proud. Well Done.
- Ian King
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