Corky Stomp
LP Ace of Hearts AH-105
Today it’s more Kansas City jazz on a nice Ace of Hearts Lp that I bought in 1966. The record company Brunswick sent out two men in 1929 to look for talent in the city. The two were Jack Kapp, later to become the boss of Decca, and Dick Voynow who had once been the pianist in The Wolverines. They chose to record a big band under the leadership of Andy Kirk, a tuba player.
Since the regular pianist did not show up Kirk asked the wife of his alto sax player John Williams to take over and the rest is history. Mary Lou Williams became a regular member and one of few important female instrumentalists in the jazz history. She also did arrangements and composed several of the tunes that were recorded.
The Clouds of Joy is a very tight unit, playing a mixture of pure jazz numbers and popular songs. I have chosen an attractive tune composed by Andy Kirk and Mary Lou Williams in which we hear Williams take a lightly swinging piano solo and where trumpet player Gene Prince also is featured to great advantage.