It’s easy to prejudge an album, based on a band’s blurb and the first track or two. The latest release by Southside Aces promises “original compositions inspired by the Jazz Age” and, when the album opened with minor-key stomp reminiscent of “Why Don’t You Do Right,” I’d already decided that authentic Chicago speakeasy was the vibe this disc was going for. And I wasn’t entirely wrong—but I wasn’t entirely right, either.
For, while “St. Anthony Strut” does indeed evoke dark alleyways and barred doors requiring secret passwords, it’s just one of fifteen tracks presented on Minneapolis Bump which draw influence from the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington, ranging in tone from film noir to Mardi Gras.
“The Sorrow,” for instance, is a wistful waltz as slow as it is sparse. It goes to show that playing doesn’t have to be fast to be skillful—Tony Balluff’s clarinet and Dan Eikmeier’s trumpet both tug on the heartstrings with their considered, softly warbling solos, while Eric Johnson and Erik Jacobson’s contributions on trombone and brass bass give the whole a colliery-band-on-a-rainy-Sunday feel (see 1996 Brit comedy movie Brassed Off, for reference).
On the other hand are tracks like “Upstairs at Bart’s,” “Mordecai Promenade,” or “Frolic on the Avenue,” which are solidly swinging and just b
