Continued: CD Reviews

The records from these little Midwestern companies (only OKeh and Columbia were even halfway big time) made an incalculable impact on American music and became the golden measure by which much of 1920s jazz was scaled. They contain startling and surprising moments like Armstrong's unerring solos, the famous Oliver-Morton two-corner breaks, Johnny Dodds' waxing of the traditional clarinet obbligato in "High Society," the trick chimes effects in "Chimes Blues" and the equivalent bell-like solos in "Riverside Blues," not to mention stirring passages like the cornet solos and breaks in "Dippermouth Blues" and the exquisite trombone writhings in "Snake Rag."

These pioneer recordings served as templates and prologues to the decade of New Orleans-fueled music ahead of them. It is great to find them in a sonic resuscitation that will carry them on through the 21st century! Available from Off the Record, PO Box 64, Thurmont, MD 21788 or www.amazon.com. Or contact jassbone@hotmail.com for further details.

DR. MICHAEL WHITE: BLUE CRESCENT (Basin Street Records BSR 0504-2) 64:27 min.
Comme Ci, Comme Ca; Blue Crescent; St. Louis Blues; Crescent City Calypso; Katrina; Sunday Morning; Dark Sunshine; King of the Second Line; He Leads Me On This Journey; London Canal Breakdown; Majestic Strut; Algeria; Ooh La La (Danse Creole); Will the Circle Be Unbroken.

Reviewed by Tom Jacobsen

It has been four years since Michael White's last recording (Dancing in the Sky, also on the Basin Street label), and much has gone on in his life since that time. Most noteworthy, of course, was the disaster of Katrina, which ruined his Gentilly home and all of its irreplaceable contents. It was clearly a life-altering experience for him, yet he hastens to point out in the liner notes to this album that this is not intended to be "another trendy Katrina CD." At the same time, it is also clear that several original compositions here ("Katrina," "Dark Sunshine," and "London Canal Breakdown") were inspired by the catastrophe.

White's last album was the product of his residency at an artist's retreat facility in suburban New Orleans, A Studio in the Woods. Most of the material presented in the present CD, released this past June, is a result of a second residency at that facility (in December, 2007). With the exception of two numbers -- "St. Louis Blues" and the traditional hymn "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" -- all of the tunes are originals composed by White during that second residency.

The band that you hear on this recording consists of most of the members of his Liberty Jazz Band -- Gregg Stafford, trumpet, vocals; Lucien Barbarin, trombone; Steve Pistorius, piano; Detroit Brooks, banjo, guitar, vocal; Roland Guerin, bass -- as well as several talented guests: Nicholas Payton, trumpet (seven tracks); Dwayne Burns, trumpet (two tracks); Jason Marsalis, drums (eight tracks); Shannon Powell, drums (six tracks); and Troy Davis, percussion (three tracks). White is, of course, heard on all tracks, including the opener which features a rare vocal -- in French, no less -- by the clarinetist. He also plays with a smaller combination (quartet) on five of the tracks.

As his last CD clearly revealed, White has a talent for creating what he calls "original traditional jazz songs," a phenomenon we are encountering more and more lately among New Orleans musicians. There is considerable variety in these numbers, from blues and dirges to ballads, hymns and dance hall numbers, and they reflect a variety of influences, from classic and revival-style jazz to brass bands and the Caribbean.

There is much to like here, and, of course, I have my favorites. "Majestic Strut" is a slow blues with an early Ellington feel and some wonderful muted playing by Payton and Barbarin. "Dark Sunshine" is a minor blues bringing to mind Johnny Wiggs' "Congo Square" or Joe Marsala's "Hot String Beans." White writes that it is a piece that "ponders the ironies, confusion, and a host of emotions that hover over current Crescent City life." Rather more dramatic is the opening of "Katrina," with its rush of flood waters that morphs into a somber dirge punctuated by a series of moving solos by Payton, White, Barbarin and Brooks (on banjo) played over the "constant death knell of the muted snare drum as we recall the faces and scenes of victims and relive the awesome devastation."

The album has a lively and upbeat side as well. It opens with a rousing number in the New Orleans revival style with White presenting his original French lyrics. "King of the Second Line" is a spirited brass band piece with a Stafford vocal. It was inspired by the late Doc Paulin, one of White's early mentors. The Caribbean is the obvious source for "Crescent City Calypso," while White's clarinet on the opening (and closing) of "Algeria" smacks of the Balkans or the eastern Mediterranean with an interlude that hints both of klezmer and a raggy two-beat style. Needless to say, there is a good deal of diversity in this music. It is a good reflection of Michael White's continued growth as both clarinetist and composer. I am pleased to recommend it without hesitation.

This recording is available from Basin Street Records, 5500 Prytania Street #110, New Orleans, LA 70115. See also www.basinstreetrecords.com.

November 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

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