The late record producer and trombonist Big Bill Bissonnette not only recorded then-current New Orleans jazz bands for his Jazz Crusade label but occasionally compiled reissues of vintage music. His Rare Cuts – Well Done Vol. 11 release which focused on Kid Ory, Preston Jackson, and DePriest Wheeler, has been reissued by Upbeat as Great Jazz Great Trombones.
Although its title is accurate, a lot of the discographical information that has been reproduced for this release from the original Jazz Crusade album remains inaccurate. There are nine Kid Ory performances included and, although it gives its date as “Dec. 31st, early ’50s,” with the exception of two of the numbers, the music was not performed on New Year’s Eve. Taken from several different sessions, the core group listed (with trumpeter Teddy Buckner, clarinetist Joe Darensbourg, pianist Buster Wilson, bassist Ed Garland, and drummer Minor Hall) is correct for the five numbers from the summer of 1949. “Bucket’s Got A Hole In It” is from Dec. 1, 1953, with a different band while the three numbers from New Year’s Eve in 1954 have trumpeter Alvin Alcorn, clarinetist Phil Gomez and pianist Don Ewell along with Garland and Hall. But all of that aside, these live performances are excellent with Ory often sounding exuberant, Buckner playing with more taste and restraint than was sometimes the case, and highlights including “Shine,” “Tuxedo Junction” (a rarity in Ory’s set list), “I’ve Found A New Baby,” and his theme of the period, “I’m With You Where You Are.”
The Preston Jackson session, which is released in full from July 1926, properly lists Jackson, cornetist Shirley Clay, clarinetist Artie Starks, pianist George Reynolds (although misspelled as Reynold), and banjoist Frank Pasley. It was the trombonist’s only date as a leader until 1946 and then he would have to wait until 1972 to get a third chance. Despite utilizing the same instrumentation as the Louis Armstrong Hot Five of that year, a comparison of the two groups is not fair. However Jackson plays in a similar style as Ory of the period and Clay was an underrated player with a solid lead as shown on the four numbers plus an alternate take. A sixth song, “Houston Bound,” features singer Elzadie Robinson but has a slightly different band from two months later with pianist Richard M. Jones and banjoist Johnny St. Cyr, neither of whom are mentioned.
The five numbers with DePriest Wheeler are listed as being with the Missourians in 1925. The only problem is that the group is the Cotton Club Orchestra and it would be four years before they evolved into the Missourians. The personnel list leaves out drummer LeRoy Maxey and is collective, including four trumpeters when only two appear at a time. Five of the band’s six selections are included and feature a hot group that sometimes almost overwhelms the primitive recording equipment. Trumpeters Louis Metcalf and Sidney DeParis have their spots (on different sessions), Wheeler shows that he was an underrated player from the era, and the ensembles are full of energy and spirit.
Despite the flaws in the packaging, the music from the three trombonists on this CD is well worth hearing.
Great Jazz Great Trombones
Kid Ory, Preston Jackson, DePriest Wheeler & The Missourians 1920s – 1950s
Upbeat URCD 347
www.upbeatmailorder.co.uk
Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.
Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.
