Precious Lord
CD CBS Records MK 44996
I listen to a compilation with a band that was assembled by Alan Jaffe and well recorded at Sea Sant Studios in New Orleans at different sessions between 1976 and 1988. The home of the group was, as the name says, Preservation Hall, where veteran musicians performed and exhibited their timeless music skills. The band also toured all over the USA, and in many other countries.
As they come through on this CD, they are good representatives of the revival, though the usual bass playing is replaced by Jaffe’s tuba.
The frontline instruments are well taken care of in the hands of Percy and Willie Humphrey, trumpet and clarinet, and Frank Demond on trombone. Narvin Kimball on banjo is good both in accompaniment and solos. Though there are many well-known and well-executed instrumental numbers on the disc, I am especially touched by this vocal rendition by the band’s pianist and singer, James Edward “Sing” Miller. On this number, the drummer Josiah Frazier is replaced by Frank Parker.