Read My Lips
Sammy Rimington & The Return of the Mouldy Five
Recorded 13 April 1999 - TNA Studio Wallingford Connecticut.
Recording by Richard P. Robinson. 18 Tracks. Jazz Crusade JCCD-3045.
585 Pond Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut 06606 USA.
Reviewed by KJR on beta Windows 2000 Professional sound recorder , IBM Aptiva Computer.
Here, clarinettist Sammy Rimington is playing at his very best. Matured, yet it seems like only yesterday when he was a teenager sideman of the famous Ken Colyer Band, and then on his return from the USA, when I used to listen to him in the Bill Brunskill band with trombonist Michael Pointon in the front-line at the Lord Napier in Thornton Heath, Croydon.
Some eight years previous to those days of 1967, Mike had brought Sammy into his group of transient musicians, when eventually the Pointon group became known as the Barry "Kid" Martyn Ragtime Time Band.
In 1965 Sammy set out again for the Americas, this time at the invitation of Big Bill Bissonnette and was to become a member of the Easy Riders Jazz Band, a group of five that the leader refers to in his liner notes of this album thus; ".. they could not get enough of playing this amazing, witty, sexy, sensitive music." Sammy, having previously been to New Orleans and had become enraptured in their music, who had played with some of the Crescent City old time musicians, he, naturally would have had no hesitation in accepting the Bissonnette invite.
Europe is much the richer for the dedication, enthusiasm and work that Big Bill has put in to capturing New Orleans jazz whilst there was still enough old-timers around playing it to pass on to one, Big Bill, whose personal involvement with them grew to the extent to be allowed for him to play and record their music, and so, to benefit the world of this good-time jazz by way of his collection, experience and knowledge of the music.
This April 1999 album has two changes of personnel to that early Mouldy Five which Big Bill lovingly writes about. Banjoist Emil Mark replaces Dick "Grif" Griffith - deceased, and bassist Colin Bray from Toronto, Canada replaces Mould Dick McCarthy, who was in poor health at the time. (Richard McCarthy, died on the 9th of August 1999 in St Vincent Hospital, Bridgeport, CT. Known as "Mouldy Dick" for his love of olde-style jazz music - namely that of, Thomas, Lewis, Miller, Robinson, Spivey, Capt John Handy and more).
Leader trombonist Bill Bissonnette playing New Orleans styled drums on this occasion, complements beautifully the clarinettist on Beautiful Ohio as he does throughout the album, and this plays an integral part to the authenticity of these recordings. The downside being, that the string bass and banjo are under recorded, but seemingly, covertly, contributing to the tone quality of the rhythm in its originality.
The Bill Sinclair piano, is governed inspite of, and yet because of the repertoire of the album, furthering pianismic ideas other than being solely decorative. It is a style at the aftermath of ragtime with leanings to harmonising the Blues, yet of prior parlour-shop ambiance, imagination lending itself nicely to 'parlaphonic' unobtrusive control to the rhythm section, thus contributing in major, to a worthy Easy Riders re-union.
Apart from Mouldy Five Blues which is undoubtedly an original, the remainder are all well known tunes outwith composer names which Sammy Rimington handles interestingly in a developed style with tinges of his mentor running through, perhaps noticeably so to the George Lewis connoisseur ears. Apart from Red Sails all are under five minutes and on Best Things and Swallows which feature the chalumeau, the album is not only prominently for Rimington collectors, but also for all people who have listened to and loved singing along with the ballads of yesteryear.