Everybody Loves My Baby
LP aimez vous le jazz CBC 63 092
I may be wrong, but I have the impression that the early recordings of the Clarence Williams Blue Five featuring Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet have always been a bit hard to find, especially since I started to listen to early jazz in the 1960s. In the end, it became this French release, probably because of the Bechet connection.
It was in New York in 1924–25 that these great sessions took place. The photo on the cover is from a later meeting between Bechet-Armstrong and Williams. It’s a pity that no photo from the 20s sessions seems to exist.
I found the LP, and just after Christmas 1973, we had a little party with our band, where I brought it along and suggested that we should make an attempt to play this kind of music. We did, and the repertoire and the style became the backbone of the band.
On this number as well as on the others where he is present, Louis Armstrong is the driving force, not to say that he is stealing the show. For me as a cornet player, it was a very good lesson to copy his choruses and play them in “hommage” to him, probably the greatest jazzman ever.
Eva Taylor is also very good. On those acoustic recordings we don’t hear so much of the warmth of her voice, but instead she shows a lot of intensity and passion in her singing.
At the time I was surprised to learn that it’s not Sidney Bechet but Buster Bailey who plays the theme on soprano sax here.
Today I also enjoy listening to banjo player Buddy Christian. He has a steady beat and also very good tremolo strokes that he uses to great advantage in this recording.