The Tremble Kids All-Stars: Play Chicago Jazz!

It says on the label that the Tremble Kids play "100 percent approved Eddie Condon Jazz." Well, I'm certainly in no position to question that claim. What I can tell you is that the Tremble Kids group has been around in some form or other since 1951 and numbers in its ranks some of Europe's foremost interpreters of Chicago-style trad Jazz - fellows like clarinetist Werner Keller, pianist Henri Chaix and drummer Charly Antolini. Trumpeter Oscar Klein, another Tremble Kids regular, was replaced on this '97 recording date by Peter Lange with no discernible loss of cohesion (on the contrary, Lange is such a strong soloist that we can't imagine even Klein having fared much better). The others in the group - trombonist Walter Leibundgut, guitarist Peter Schmidt and bassist Vincenz Kummer - also acquit themselves well in this program 13 traditional favorites. The rhythm section kicks hard and soloists are nimble and eloquent. The result may not be, as the jacket proclaims, "Fantastic! Outstanding! Incredible!," but it's a fairly impressive session of Chicago-style Jazz by an accomplished group of European all-stars.

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