Contributed by beezerThis LP filled me with nostalgia for the days before British 'traditional' jazz was murdered by the Top Twenty. Most of the tracks are pretty badly recorded, but then so are the classic King Olivers, Bixes, N.O.R.K.'s and Jelly Roll Mortons of forty years or so ago. Some of the tunes are the old war-horses which have been ridden to death during the past few years, yet in amongst the dross there are some specks of sheer gold. I'm thinking particularly of After Dark, a rich, melancholy blues of great melodic beauty, featuring its composer, John R. T. Davies, on trombone. (He was also the recording engineer.) Mr. Davies now plays trombone, trumpet, alto sax and the part of Sheik Haroun of Wadi el Yadounir with the Temperance Seven; on this disc, recorded for the most part in 1950, he plays guitar on Muddy Old River and American organ on Ja Da, as well as trombone on the remainder of the first side and the opening track of the second. From personal experience I also know that he can play all the reeds, plus banjo, drums and ophicleide. Also involved in this gloriously experimental group, lacking polish but with plenty of feeling, are such latter-day luminaries as Ken Colyer, cornet and vocals (he sounds like the late Jimmie Rodgers on Muddy Old River), and Monty Sunshine. The weird tonecontrast of Colyer's cornet and the American organ on Ja Da recalls Bubber Miley and Arthur Ray in the Texas Blues Destroyers recordings of 1924. Uptown Bump (helped by better recording quality) is just another title for I'm Busy And You Can't Come In. I'd also like to comment on the splendid climax of Do Wha Ory Say, where Colyer and Sonny Morris, both playing comets, produce breaks worthy of the Oliver-Armstrong team. Had the Revivalist Movement continued along the Creative lines promised by such lovely items as After Dark, who knows what might have been achieved?
B.R.
Ken Colyer - trumpet, cornet, guitar, vocals
Sonny Morris - cornet
John R T Davies - trombone, organ, guitar
Monty Sunshine - clarinet
Pat Hawes - piano
Ben Marshall - banjo
Julian Davies - bass
Ron Bowden - drums
01 Muddy Old River
02 Ja-da
03 Lowdown Blues
04 After Dark
05 Just A Little While To Stay Here
06 My Old Kentucky Home
07 Moose March
08 If I Ever Cease To Love
09 Gypsy Lament
10 Winin' Boy Blues
11 Down By The Riverside
12 Eh La Bas!
13 Dauphin Street Blues
14 Just A Closer Walk With Thee
15 Blance Touquatoux
16 Just A Little While To Stay Here (alt)
17 A Miner's Dream Of Home
18 Do What Ory Says
19 Dusty Rag
20 Uptown Bumps
21 Maryland My Maryland
22 Creole Song
Label: Lake LACD182
Recorded: 1950-1952 Cranford Jazz Club and The Cook's Ferry Inn Club London
