Lu Watters’ Yerba Buena Jazz Band • The Complete Good Time Jazz Recordings

During the first years of the swing era, freewheeling jazz of the 1920s was considered out of vogue and old fashioned despite being less than 15 years old. Big bands were in and while there were numerous small groups, many could be considered miniaturized versions of orchestras. While there were exceptions, particularly Bob Crosby’s Bobcats (which featured the top soloists from Crosby’s orchestra), Tommy Dorsey’s Clambake Seven (taken from TD’s big band), and the combos of Louis Prima, Wingy Manone, and Fats Waller, New Orleans-styled jazz seemed to be lost to history. Even Louis Armstrong was primarily heard with his big band. Things began to change in the late 1930s with the recordings of Muggsy Spanier’s Ragtime Band (although that group soon broke up due to lack of work) and Eddie Condon for the Commodore label even if the New Orleans jazz survivors who had not left the Crescent City would still be undiscovered for a few more years. In San Francisco, trumpeter Lu Watters began to start an important movement. Bored with playing big band swing, Watters put together the Yerba Buena Jazz Band to revive and revitalize the music of the 1920s including most notably King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. The Good Time Jazz label was very interested in Watters’ band and documented his groups during 1941-42 and 1946-47. All of these highly enjoyable recordings are on the four-C