SATCHMO and the Dukes of Dixieland

Satchmo

and the Dukes of Dixieland

Leisure Jazz 0 4900-91052-2

Louis Armstrong, trumpet; Frank Assunto, trumpet; Jim Beebe, trombone, Jerry Fuller, clarinet Jim Atlas, bass; Barrett Deams, drums; (pianist not listed).

We kick off with Some Day You'll Be Sorry and straight away your feeling good and comfortable. It's late summer 1959, the Dukes are performing at the Preview Lounge in Chicago and the great man sat in. He does quite a lot of singing too - featuring on nine of the fourteen tracks. His inimitable style adds punch to an already mature outfit - an extra trumpet in no way affects the balance of the front line but rather enhances its effectiveness. New Orleans was a nicely judged performance and Bourbon Street Parade bowled along with a confident swagger - some delightful riffs were evident in South - from both trumpets. Dixie was an interesting anomaly; played in straight, clipped four beats in a bar, each front instrument taking it in turns to play the head as though it was a demonstration to High School students. The Sheik of Araby was simply enjoyable without making any demands That's A Plenty raised the stakes again while Lime House Blues gave us some vintage Armstrong. With the pace still rising a finish in style came with Sweet Georgia Brown. Imagine in years to come, your grandchildren are on your knee and you are listening to a hundred-year-old digitally-enhanced gramophone record of the great man. "Hear that Louis Armstrong," you will say, "he sat in with us one night." The stuff that dreams are made of.

by Ferdinand Maylin

Available at Jazz Now Direct CD Store.

Editor: The Dukes of Dixieland will be appearing at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Elkhart Indiana June 21-23, 2002

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