Lake LACD91 1998 : 21 Tracks 59 min.

Moose March, Big House Blues, Chinatown, Flee As A Bird/Didn't He Ramble, New Orleans Stomp, Confessing, Louisian-I-A, All For You-Louis, Easy Does It, Spooky Takes A Holiday, Martha, Algiers Bounce, Ol' Man River, Knocked 'Em In The Old Kent Road, I'm Shy Mary Ellen, A Shanty In Old Shanty Town, Red Wing, Perfect Rag, When Its Sleepy Time Down South, Gossip Jones, Cotton Pickers Congregation

From my very first introduction to traditional jazz, I have liked, Bob Wallis and his Storyville Jazz men. It was not just the music but the whole image. In fact at school, when I was in a play about Abraham Lincoln, I made sure that I got to wear the only Mississippi gambler's a outfit amongst the props. Why? So that I could look just like Bob Wallis and the Storyville Jazz men as they appeared in the film "It's Trad Dad". As for the music, well the attraction was the enthusiasm as much as anything else. Mind you, they could get a bit manic at times! One track that follows this trait is "Algiers Bounce", which I had on an E P. Funnily enough, the re-balanced version on this CD no longer has me wishing for it to end as the original version did.

The tracks on the CD are from 1960 and '61 and contained no less than three banjo solos from Hugh Rainey! Also included are an Avo Avison trombone solo on "New Orleans Stomp" which allows him to show off his wonderful style to the full. Clarinettist Dougie Richford gets his turn on "Spooky Takes a Holiday". I love Richford's "skating" clarinet, and am oft found hitting the "replay" button for another "Spooky" session. As for Bob Wallis himself; he features mainly with singing in his chainsaw voice; "Knock 'em in the Old Kent Road" and "Mary Ellen" are the better tracks, both having been hit singles for the band during the Trad boom.

It was good to hear Bob and the boys again. Seeing as the tracks are from only 1 1/2 LPs, there is a lot more material waiting to be re-issued. Buy the C D and encourage a LAKE to put out some more!

Lake LACD96 1998 : 16 tracks, 72 min.

I'm In The Market, Dusk, Oh Red! Higginbotham Blues, Too Marvellous For Words, Basin St Blues, Honeysuckle Rose, Ain't No Fool, Flamingo, Send For You Yesterday, San, Gates Blues, Out Of Nowhere, Yacht Club Swing, Then I'll Be Tired Of You, Hello Lola

And now for something entirely different! Led by Paul Munnery of the big classic jazz band, Harlem, this pick-up band refuses to be labelled or put into a box. The front line is Paul Munnery on trombone, the redoubtable Norman Fields on reeds and Paul Degville on guitar. Rhythm is by Roscoe Birchmore on bass, Roger Heeley on piano, and Nick Ward on drums. In the notes, Paul claims he wanted to be in a band that was capable of paying all the tunes from the entire repertoire of the classic jazz period. This band certainly achieves that. The inclusion of an electrified guitar in the front line would tend to move it more into the 1950s, but certainly the sound refuses to be pinned down.

This CD is an interesting and entertaining listen. Apart from the unique style of a band there are many rarely played tunes to muse on. This is a really nice and "different" CD that can be enjoyed by a very broad spectrum of jazz fans.

Verve 314 537 062-2 1997 : 14 tracks 63 min.

How Deep Is The Ocean? Jeepers Creepers, Stardust, I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues, Dinah, Save It Pretty Mama, Do You Believe In Love At First Sight? Jada, I Cover The Waterfront, Maybe, Black And Blue, Out Of Nowhere, She's Funny That Way, The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise,

A friend in New Orleans in response to a request sent this CD to me. I has asked for a CD of a "current" New Orleans traditional jazz band. Apparently one of the tracks from the CD had won an "Emmy" award, so she felt that it had to be spot on. Well its is interesting, especially the counterbalance of a 91year old Doc Cheatham against the 23 year-old Nicholas Payton, but brilliant it ain't: which says much about the paupacy of traditional jazz talent among some black musicians in New Orleans today. With both Cheatham and Payton on all tracks, it is impossible to comment on individual playing. Certainly one trumpeter is more hesitant than the other, but which one is which, I do not know. It could be the older man lacking breath, or the younger man lacking experience; who knows. Certainly comparing the two trumpeters on the CD to either British or Scandinavian trumpet players neither would be regarded as exceptional in fact they would only be average semi- pro.

Don't get me wrong, the CD is not crap, it is just isn't brilliant, which the "Emmy" award may have led you to believe it would be. Having said this I did love the track " I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues". Just how a 91 year-old could sing so well, especially after blowing his horn, is beyond me. Yes, the CD will get played, as it is not without charm and the band (s) as a whole works well together. But I have since found that if one wants to listen to the best in modern your Orleans traditional jazz one should listen to Dr Michael White's Original Liberty Jazz Band from New Orleans, but that, is another review.........

Ken Colyer Trust KCT5CD 1991 : 12 tracks 64 min.

Basin Street Blues, Ice Cream, Lord-Lord-Lord, Black And Blue, Cielito Lindo, Indiana, Rum And Coca-Cola, Sporting Life Blues, Redwing My Redwing, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Too Busy, Till We Meet Again

More "resurrected" private recordings of Ken Colyer. This time he is playing with Chris Blount's New Orleans Jazz Band. The tracks are from 1973 when Colyer still had his own band to 1977 when his poor health had restricted him to guesting with other's bands. The quality of the recordings is higher than that on many of the recent re-issues, and the quality of Colyer's vocals are of especial note. Apart from "Rum and Coca-Cola" and "Sporting Life Blues", the tracks are all Ken Colyer standards and have been frequently recorded with various line-ups. However, I recommend you buy the CD as Ken Colyer and the Blount band fit very well together with the result that on "Black and Blue" and "Indiana" you may hear the definitive Colyer version of these tunes.

I really enjoy listening to this CD. Apart from the pleasure of hearing the Gov'nor playing well, it lets you hear Chris Blount on clarinet playing the best that I ever heard him play. I like Chris, but at times I have found his habit of repetitive "scaling" somewhat annoying but that is missing from this CD. So the CD will be a valuable addition to any jazz fans collection, not just to Colyer or Blount fans.