Search - George Lewis, Don Eweel :: Reunion

Fine Revivalist Jazz

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 02/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"George Lewis is one of the most widely recorded of all the New Orleans jazzmen to emerge in the 1940s, and one of the most inconsistent. This recording comes from late in his career, in 1966, and finds him in inspired form. He is playing as part of a quartet, with Jim Robinson on trombone, Cie Frazier on drums, and the great Don Ewell on piano.This is not sophisticated or profound jazz, but all four performers are in wonderful form: Ewell is predictably magnificent, his playing combining elements of Morton, stride and touches of Hines, and driving the ensemble along beautifully. Frazier is in inspired form, confirming his poisition as a drummer on a par with Baby Dodds and Zutty Singleton. And Lewis and Robinson swing like crazy: listen to the group as they start to jazz up "The Waltz You Saved For Me". I defy anyone to listen to that track, to "Toot Toot Tootsie" and "Yes, Yes, Yes in Your Eyes", and not to start tapping their feet. Fans of any of the performers should get this disc. Anyone else, who wants to hear fine New Orleans style performances of relatively unhackneyed material played by masters of the genre, should try it: they won't be disappointed."