John Petters is a veteran British jazz drummer who has appeared on quite a few hot trad jazz sessions starting in 1977. Self-taught, he has swung many dates, preferring to play classic jazz. He considers himself very fortunate to have caught the tail-end of an era and to have played with many jazz greats who are no longer around. Petters also works in radio, as a lecturer, a jazz journalist and a record producer.
He compiled Swinging Down Memory Lane for the Upbeat label. The CD consists of 16 previously released performances from his career, dating from 1977-2009. Petters’ extensive liner notes tell the story behind each of the selections although a list of some of the musicians (which changes on each track) will give listeners a pretty good idea of the music’s style and timeless value. Among the better known players are singer Val Wiseman, trumpeters/cornetists Yank Lawson, Wild Bill Davison, and Ken Colyer, trombonist George Chisholm, clarinetist Kenny Davern, Sammy Remington on alto, Wally Fawkes on soprano, and pianists Neville Dickie, Paolo Alderighi, and Art Hodes although most of the less familiar players are on the same high level. Check out clarinetist James Evans on a duet version of “King Porter Stomp” with pianist Martin Litton.
The selections are not in chronological order but it does not matter for the music is of consistent high quality and flows easily from one song to another. John Petters, who considers his early influence to be Gene Krupa, pushes the ensembles, contributes colorful tones and rhythms, and certainly sounds as if he is enjoying himself. With such songs as “Drummin’ Man,” “California Here I Come,” “Dippermouth Blues,” “Too Busy,” and “Jazz Me Blues,” listeners will have a great time too.
John Petters • Swinging Down Memory Lane
Upbeat URCD346
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.
