New Orleans Archives - Paul – and some of that Jazz

From the Record Shelves #262 – It’s Tight Jim – Today I listen to a Paramount record that is surprisingly good considering that it’s not among the most famous ones. Trombonist Preston Jackson plays very well and is the composer of the tune, which has one part (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #254 – Under a Blanket of Blue – I recently found an LP with Connie Boswell (1907–1976) and the so-called “Original Memphis Five” with Billy Butterfield in place of Phil Napoleon. Connie was still good in the 1950s, but the music didn’t turn me on (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #238 – Sing On – Today I will not say much myself; instead I give the word to Richard Hadlock, who wrote the liner notes in 1986: “New Orleans jazz, music which strikes many listeners as ingenuously blithe and sportive, is, for its players, a life and (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #234 – Melancholy – There’s a special atmosphere in this fine recording featuring Johnny Dodds and Louis Armstrong. This is April 1927, and the couple plus drummer Baby Dodds recorded the tune again only a few weeks later (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #186 – Bogalousa Strut – I will not even try to put words to the magic of this band from New Orleans. You just have to listen and hear nine people working in the same direction with a perfect tempo. Cornet player Sam Morgan had been leading bands (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #183 – My Old Kentucky Home – I will not call this recording great, and I don’t think that it was intended to be either. It’s just entertainment for the moment, music to put you in a good mood (and as such it is great!) by some of the guys (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #170 – The Co-Ed – It’s interesting to reflect over how quickly the musicians and the bands influenced each other within the fast developing early jazz idiom. Here we have a group from New Orleans that under the name Crescent City Jazzers (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #123 – Maryland, My Maryland. Ted Lewis used to ask the audience: “Is Everybody happy?” I guess that the answer was “yes”. Momentarily happy, because they had in front of them an entertainer with a good band that could spread joy around (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #115 – High Society. I have an extensive double CD with the Six and Seven-Eight String Band, but today I play the LP that that was my first encounter with this classic New Orleans group. When you read the line-up of the band (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #108 – It’s Murder. There’s a lot of good jazz with New Orleans roots here, by Johnny Dodds, Red Allen and Lil Armstrong as leaders. And it’s the last mentioned with her “Swing Orchestra” that I choose to listen to today (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #102 – Have Your Chill, I’ll Be Here When Your Fever Rises. I think that this was the first record with Louis Armstrong that I bought. Meanwhile, you could turn on the radio and hear his hit Hello Dolly. But it was this early version (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #95 – Don’t Give Me Sympathy. According to Edmond Hall himself, this nice little song was one that they often sang and played at home when he was small, and it stems from the 1890s. Home was in Reserve, Louisiana but Edmond (…) read more and listenread more and listen