John Petters • Swinging Down Memory Lane, Volume 2

Veteran British jazz drummer John Petters, who produces many of the Upbeat CDs, previously compiled Swinging Down Memory Lane. That CD included 16 previously released highlights from his career, dating from 1977-2009. Volume 2 has additional selections from a variety of all-star sessions and is, if anything, even more exciting than the earlier disc.

The first four performances on this set are very stirring examples of hot jazz. Clarinetist Kenny Davern, in a trio with Petters and pianist Art Hodes, really stretches out on “That’s A Plenty,” never running short of ideas. “Thriller Rag,” which was only previously out on a cassette, has Petters’ two-cornet Creole Jazz Band playing many exciting ensembles, “Hindustan” is a real romp with altoist Sammy Rimington and trumpeter Cuff Billett while “Louisiana” by Petters’ “Jazz n’ Swing Band” holds its own with any versions recorded after Bix.

Things calm down a bit on several swing numbers with either Trevor Whiting or James Evans on clarinet and Val Wiseman taking the vocal on “Opus One” before the music gets hot again. Trumpeter Ken Colyer takes the vocal on “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” Davern returns for “Royal Garden Blues,” pianist Art Hodes is featured with Whiting on “Sensation Rag,” pianist Neville Dickie is in the band on “Yacht Club Swing,” trumpeter Yank Lawson uplifts “Blues For Theobald,” and Jelly Roll Morton’s “Grandpa’s Spells” features pianist Martin Litton and clarinetist James Evans. In each of those settings, John Petters’ playing is colorful, swinging, and adds to the drive of the music. The final selection, a previously unreleased “After You’ve Gone,” is particularly historic for the May 16, 1989 performance is the final recording of the great cornetist Wild Bill Davison and he is in surprisingly strong form just six months before his death.

Dating from 1985-2009, Swinging Down Memory Lane, Volume 2 contains more than its share of musical thrills. Hopefully there will be more volumes from John Petters’ musical diary in the future.

John Petters • Swinging Down Memory Lane, Volume 2
Upbeat URCD 354
www.upbeatrecordings.co.uk

Scott Yanow

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.