A Monday Date
LP Ace of Hearts AH 84
Earl Hines wrote the tune and recorded it the same year, 1928, with Louis Armstrong, and that’s an unbeatable version. But this is not bad either; there is a lot to enjoy: Earl’s own piano solo, the demonstration of impeccable clarinet technique by the band leader Jimmie Noone. And above all, there is the interplay between Noone and Doc Poston on alto and the back-up from Bud Scott, banjo; Lawson Buford, tuba; and Johnny Wells on drums.
The band played regularly at the Apex Club in Chicago, and since they played for dancing there, they may not have had too many numbers in this tempo in their repertoire, but it’s good to hear a group that is able to do it naturally and with such facility.
This is a classic from a record that I’ve had for maybe 60 years.