02/06/2007
Comfort Food
Certain music never disappoints, and reassures me that there's a reason to live. Much as I love rap (and funk and soul and everything else I listen to so much of), old jazz - Dixieland, trad, whatever the term - delights me to the depths of my soul in a way that little else does. While the Mound City Blue Blowers could legitimately be considered a novelty act because of the spirited kazoo solos (stop cringing and bear with me, okay?), I think this stuff rocks.
I've got a link to the band doing a hot version of the old standard "Red Sails In The Sunset," a number that was ubiquitous back when the worst thing most couples could do was get a little rowdy whilst necking on the couch in the front parlor.
Check the artful "show" drumming by Ray Bauduc, trumpet solo by Yank Lawson, and vocal by guitarist Nappy Lamare. Other recordings by these guys feature Coleman Hawkins, Bunny Berrigan, Eddie Condon and Dave Tough. And as soon as I get the time to browse the web a bit more, I'll add links to all those names.