It seems like all the good news this past month has come from Chicago. First, the Chicago Cubs broke a 107-year losing streak to win the World Series. Even those of us who are not baseball fans (with the exception of Clevelanders) had to feel some satisfaction at the outcome. Then there was the third album, on Chicago’s Delmark label, by the remarkable Fat Babies. The new CD is Solid Gassuh, which is said to have been Louis Armstrong’s highest encomium for a musical performance. This recording would have rated that accolade from Pops.
The Fat Babies (under the direction of bassist Beau Sample) are a working band with two steady Chicago gigs: The Honky Tonk BBQ on Sundays and the historic Green Mill on Tuesdays. It would be one thing if the band were merely well-rehearsed. The septet is an all-star lineup of some of the finest hot jazz players in the country. Reedman John Otto and cornetist Andy Schumm (both formerly of the excellent West End Jazz Band) along with trombonist Dave Bock, round out the front line. Rhythm is provided by pianist/vocalist Paul Asaro, guitarist/banjoist Jake Sanders, drummer Alex Hall, and leader Sample on doghouse fiddle.
I’m inclined to call these incredible musicians “scholars,” since their approach to this music is conscientious in its historical accuracy. But that statement by no means conveys the heat and vitality they infuse into its pe
