Omer Simeon (1902-59) was one of the top jazz clarinetists to emerge during the 1920s yet he is overshadowed in the history books by such contemporaries as Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, and Benny Goodman. The main reason is that the soft-spoken Simeon only led two songs on record sessions in 1929 and a lone album in 1954. Otherwise he was a consistently inventive sideman who uplifted the music of others but rarely took the spotlight.
The two-CD Retrospectives set The New Orleans Clarinetist puts the focus on Simeon and has 48 examples of why he deserves to be rated at the top with the better-known greats. Born in New Orleans and raised in Chicago, Simeon made his recording debut with Jelly Roll Morton on “Black Bottom Stomp” and quickly became Morton’s favorite clarinetist. He was with King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators in 1927 and had long-time associations with the Earl Hines Big Band (1931-41), the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra (1942-50), and Wilbur DeParis’ New New Orleans Jazz Band (1951-59).
The Retrospective twofer traces his career during 1926-58 with Simeon featured with Morton (seven numbers), two songs apiece with King Oliver, Jabbo Smith, Reuben Reeves, the Dixie Rhythm Kings, Paul Mares’ Friars Society Orchestra, and the Carnival Three with James P. Johnson, a song with Richard M. Jones, Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Jimmy Lunceford, and Louis Armstrong, six with Earl Hines, three with Kid Ory, and seven with DeParis plus his two selections as a leader from 1929 and six of the eight numbers from his 1954 album.
Omer Simeon was such a valuable team player that it is easy to forget the classic solos that he took through the years. Not only was he with Morton on “ Black Bottom Stomp,” but he took the famous long notes on the original version of “Doctor Jazz,” was showcased throughout “Shreveport Stomp,” and reluctantly played bass clarinet on “Someday Sweetheart.” Simeon who also played alto, soprano and baritone, was a major part of Jabbo Smith’s “Jazz Battle,” the one-time partial reincarnation of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings with Paul Mares, and Earl Hines’ versions of “Indiana,” and “Wolverine Blues.”
He held his own with Buster Bailey on Fletcher Henderson’s “Jangled Nerves,” was briefly the recently deceased Jimmie Noone’s successor with Kid Ory, and became an indispensable part of Wilbur DeParis’ band in the 1950s. He “battled” Louis Armstrong successfully on the 1954 calypso Skokiaan” (the only time that they recorded together), is superb on his 1929 recording of “Beau Koo Jack” (with Earl Hines as his sideman), and is in excellent form on his album from 1954 with pianist Sammy Price and drummer Zutty Singleton. About the only significant omission from the twofer is the clarinetist’s memorable version of “Milenberg Joys” with DeParis in 1955.
The New Orleans Clarinetist is a very well-conceived sampler that allows listeners to discover the consistent brilliance of the great Omer Simeon.
Omer Simeon • The New Orleans Clarinetist
Retrospective RTS 4433
www.retrospective-records.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.
