Search - Kid Ory :: Creole Jazz Band 1944-45

The stuff of legends

John C. Graham | toronto, ontario Canada | 11/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the band that was put together to play during intermission for Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre on the CBS radio network. Jimmie Noone was the original clarinettist chosen to participate. He died unexpectedly and was replaced by Omer Simeon. Darnell Howard then replaces Simeon for the eight titles from 1945. Minor Hall replaces Alton Redd on drums for all but four of the numbers. Mutt Carey is the trumpet player and plays hot whether open or muted. This is his definitive recording. Buster Wilson is on piano, Bud Scott on guitar, and Ed Garland handles the bass chores. Ory, of course, is on trombone and smears, slides, and tailgates in the same way he did back in the twenties when he recorded with Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. Ory was an innovator, a giant in the history of jazz music.

Nesuhi Ertegun, who later co-founded Atlantic records, was so enamoured with this band that he recorded them in a state of the art studio and started his own Crescent label to release the recordings.

The sound quality is really superb and the musicians were clearly inspired. There are Ory originals, traditionals, and songs of the day all treated in the inimmitable Ory way. His Creole Jazz Band was to undergo personnel changes right through the fifties, yet the sound and attack of the band never changed. There were wonderful recordings for the Good Time Jazz label as well as a few for Verve.

This may be the Kid Ory recording that is essential for your collection. Great tunes, great recording, and it is the stuff of legends."

Wonderful New Orleans Style Recording

Jack Young | San Marino, CA United States | 12/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The previous review gives most of the facts.



If you are looking for a "desert island" new orleans recording, look no further. This album conveys the drive, spirit, joy and beauty of the style as well or better as any other recording. The forward motion and inventiveness of the best jazz recordings is captured here. Undoubtedly the best Kid Ory album ever made. The tunes are surprisingly beautifully done. Omer Simeon, on clarinet, has never sounded better. He matchs his great work with Jelly Roll Morton about 15 years prior. I have listened to this album dozens of times and it still sounds new and fresh every time."