Dave Rickert
April 2001

Combing the Catalog
Archive <& /articles/verv_archive.tmp &>

By David Rickert

Like polka music at Oktoberfest, Dixieland music is forever doomed to be associated with certain occasions such as Mardi Gras. Despite providing the building blocks for all jazz to come, today Dixieland appeals only to a very narrow field of music listeners and, taken from a New Orleans context, is not something with which most people chose to occupy their time. However, a small group of ambitious musicians throughout the years have kept the torch alive, despite the almost certainty of a life of poverty and obscurity. The next generation of New Orleans musicians pulled Dixieland up from the gutters, dressed it up in a suit and tie, and taught it some manners, proving that this earthy, whiskey-soaked music could be elegant if presented in the proper context.

One such person is Pete Fountain, who can attest to the fact that playing traditional Dixieland music is a tough way to earn a living (he and Al Hirt once had to work as exterminators to pay the bills). Fountain eventually met with some success as a featured performer on the Lawrence Welk show and continues to this day to play traditional Dixieland in his own theme restaurant in New Orleans. In this series from Verve, Fountain has selected four CD's worth of what he considers the best of Dixieland, at least as represented by what little of it Norman Granz and others recorded for the labels represented here. The selections cover a wide range of artists from pioneers who helped define the New Orleans sound to younger upstarts who continued to work within the genre.

Pete Fountain Presents the Best of Dixieland: Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
2001

For starters, one can be forgiven for thinking that a "Best of Dixieland" album with Louis Armstrong features crackly and tinny early recordings from the 20s and 30s. What this CD features instead is mostly live recordings from the 50s, when Louis was no longer a youthful innovator but rather an established star. During this time he formed his All-Stars (filled with magistrates like Jack Teagarden, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, and Earl Hines) and was revisiting the tunes of his early days with a fresh approach, relaxing the beat and swinging a bit more. It's hard to argue against someone who can play as well and as consistently as Louis, and the sidemen make sure that there's always something interesting going on behind him while giving him plenty of room to shine. One of many highlights is a hauntingly beautiful rendition of "Dear Old Southland" featuring Louis accompanied only by piano; it is startlingly intimate and friendly, as if he was inviting you to join him for a fine glass of Dom Perignon by candlelight. A few older recordings are represented, but seem stiff compared to the modern sensibility and pristine recordings of the newer material. A pretty rendition of "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" featuring a syrupy orchestra stretches the Dixieland connection a bit, but merits inclusion since it was Louis' theme song. Armstrong always considered himself an entertainer as well as a musician and this compilation shows the best of both. Overall this is prime Louis Armstrong and as an introduction to his body of work, it's not a bad start; those who enjoy these recordings can eagerly look forward to complete reissues from Verve later this year, especially the monumental Musical Autobiography from which several of these selections were taken.

Pete Fountain Presents the Best of Dixieland: Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain
2001

Louis Armstrong was one of the first Dixieland greats and Fountain is correct in giving him his own CD. Although Pete Fountain is certainly knowledgeable about Dixieland, his own CD is surprisingly the least interesting of the bunch. The first few songs are earnest and lively renditions of Dixieland chestnuts, injected with spicy trumpet playing and saucy trombone. Fountain obviously has a passion for the music, which is rendered as authentically as possible; he solos enthusiastically and confidently, never straying far from the style as if he's constantly afraid of offending one of his idols with a lackluster performance. These first early songs are enjoyable enough, but after Fountain's stint on the Lawrence Welk Show the schmaltz set in and everything grinds to a halt. The latter half of this record features the post-Welk Mardi Gras Strutters, who are about as hot-blooded as a game of bridge and only marginally more interesting. Songs like "Basin Street Blues" and "The Mardi Gras Walking Club" feature the same vapid nostalgia that one associates with....well, the Lawrence Welk Show. The latter song, festooned with a backing choir, is especially hard on the ears. As Fountain himself admits, sometimes champagne and Jack Daniels don't mix, and this television exposure may have benefited his career while harming the music.

Pete Fountain Presents the Best of Dixieland: Al Hirt
Al Hirt
2001

Things are markedly better on the Al Hirt disc; he serves as a worthy foil to Fountain and keeps matters firmly grounded in traditional Dixieland where both artist work remarkably well. Calling this a compilation isn't really accurate; this is a straight reissue of an entire session. However, the whole CD benefits from a unified approach that the other disks, which feature multiple groups, don't quite achieve. Both Fountain and Hirt share the same approach to the music and make these traditional Dixieland anthems sound minty fresh, as if they just composed them. Although at times the music veers away from traditional Dixieland towards what unknowledgeable people expect Dixieland to sound like, in general this is a very good record.

Pete Fountain Presents the Best of Dixieland: The Best of Dixieland
Various Artists
2001

The merely curious or timid will probably want to start with this CD; it is the most comprehensive and also the best. Fitting the best of Dixieland on one disk is like trying to write the history of Western Civilization on the back of a cash register receipt, but Fountain has come up with an angle to make it manageable by spotlighting his main influences throughout the years. As a result, clarinetists are the main focus and while you may not always recognize the name of the man behind the licorice stick, you will certainly recognize many of the others (Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines). What makes these selections unique is that Fountain has chosen mainly slow ballads over uptempo barnraisers; you won't find a song with "stomp" or "rag" in the title here, but you will find plenty with "blues". Not surprisingly, the highlights of this CD are the earliest recorded songs (some culled from as early as the twenties) when these musicians were at the apex of carving out a distinct musical style. Every recording has received a crisp remastering and sounds incredibly rich as if it was recorded forty years ago (the only exception is the Johnny Dodd's selection, which struggles to be heard over surface noise). The gems are numerous; Bob Crosby, who was one of the few who tried to apply the Dixieland sensibility to a full big band, earns two slots here with the melancholy "My Inspiration" and "Dogtown Blues". We also hear Sidney Bechet's wobbly clarinet in tandem with Louis' bold trumpet on one selection and Edmond Hall and Teddy Wilson's extraordinary "Show Piece", which seasons "Sing, Sing, Sing" with Cajun spice. The obscure Omer Simeon squeaks through a track with Earl Hines that holds its own with the rest. The CD finishes off with the sultry, film noiresque "Meet Me in Chicago" by Jack Maheu and a "Body and Soul" in which Barney Bigard wrenches every bit of pathos out of the tune that he can. Like all good compilations, this one can stand well enough on it's own while also encouraging the listener to pursue more recordings by some of the featured artists. As a brief course in Dixieland and for those who want to acquire recordings by the greats with better sound than most, this is a must have. Fountain has spearheaded a series that serves as a worthwhile document of the music he loves.

The Best of Dixieland: Louis Armstrong
Tracks:Back O' Town Blues, Basin Street Blues, Canal Street Blues, New Orleans Function: Free As A Bird/Oh, Didn't He Ramble, Dear Old Southland, High Society, Mahogany Hall Stomp, Muskrat Ramble, Panama, That's A Plenty, Tin Roof Blues, Way Down Yonder in New Orleans, Weary Blues, When It's Sleepytime Down South, When the Saints Go Marching In.
Personnel:Louis Armstrong with various artists

The Best of Dixieland: Pete Fountain
Tracks:Mahogany Hall Stomp, Tin Roof Blues, My Inspiration, Bye-Bye Bill Bailey, High Society, Struttin' With Some Barbecue, Dixie Jubilee, South Rampart Street Parade, Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet, The Second Line, Basin Street Blues, The Darktown Strutters' Ball, Marching Round the Mountain, Over the Waves, Careless Love, Walking Through New Orleans, Sugar Bowl Parade, Farewell Blues, Washington and Lee Swing, The Mardi Gras Walking Club.
Personnel:Pete Fountain and various artists.

The Best of Dixieland: Al Hirt
Tracks:The Original Dixieland One-Step, Tin Roof Blues, Royal Garden Blues, Panama, Blue and Broken Hearted, Wolverine Blues, Washington and Lee Swing, I'm Going Home, Jazz Me Blues, Night and Day, South Rampart Street Parade, Sugar.
Personnel:Al Hirt, trumpet; Pete Fountain, clarinet, sax; Bob Havens, trombone; Roy Zimmerman, piano; Bob Coquille, bass; Paul Edwards, drums.

The Best of Dixieland
Tracks:Basin Street Blues, My Inspiration, Dogtown Blues, Perdido Street Blues, Take My Hand, Precious Lord, Wild Man Blues, Love Is Just Around the Corner, Memories of You, Dame Blanche, Sweet Lorraine, Show Piece, Beau Koo jack, Meet Me in Chicago, Rose Room, Body and Soul.
Personnel:includes Kenny Davern, Irving Fazola, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds, Pee Wee Russell, Edmond Hall, Eddie Miller, Jimmie Noone, Omer Simeon, Jack Maheu, Albert Nicholas, Barney Bigard.

Verve on the web: http://www.vervemusicgroup.com