Joe Mares, the younger brother of cornetist Paul Mares of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, played clarinet but did not record himself. More significantly, in 1953 he founded Southland Records and for the next decade documented one rewarding New Orleans session after another. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Mares believed that his musicians should play in tune and have excellent technique in addition to their own sound and the ability to play exciting solos and ensembles. He was not one of the producers who felt that everything played by veteran musicians should be released or that having a sincere style made up for erratic musicianship.
Due to his dedication, virtually all of the sessions that he made for Southland are prime examples of New Orleans jazz of the era. Southland was acquired by George Buck in the 1960s and nearly all of their recordings are available today, reissued on the Jazzology and GHB labels.
Raymond Burke (1904-86) was an excellent clarinetist with his own relatively mellow sound and subtle approach. The Southland Recordings 1958-60 have Burke performing with three different groups. Of the 14 selection, 10 are being released for the first time after all of these years. In most cases, they deserved to be put out when they were recorded for the quality is high.
While Burke sounds consistently excellent, he is generally not the main star of these dates. The four so
