Bugle Call Rag/Ole Miss Rag - Sidney Bechet, Meyers, Billy
The great soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet performed in many contexts during his career, and some of the most significant are represented on this excellent compilation. The pianist-songwriter Clarence Will... more »iams not only gave Bechet plenty of solo room but also joined him with Louis Armstrong, thus linking the two most gifted New Orleans soloists ever. The results are spectacular, with Bechet even sounding fantastic playing a bass "sarrusophone." His long creative partnership with cornetist Tommy Ladnier graces four inspired tracks from 1932 by the New Orleans Footwarmers as well as Mezz Mezzrow's elegiac "Really the Blues," recorded in 1938. The same profound and exalted expression colors the rendition of Gershwin's "Summertime," a jazz "hit" from 1939 that launched the Blue Note label. The later recordings include meetings with a who's who of traditional jazz piano, including Jelly Roll Morton, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Earl Hines, and Meade Lux Lewis. This is a first-rate introduction to one of the essential figures of jazz history. --Stuart Broomer« less
The great soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet performed in many contexts during his career, and some of the most significant are represented on this excellent compilation. The pianist-songwriter Clarence Williams not only gave Bechet plenty of solo room but also joined him with Louis Armstrong, thus linking the two most gifted New Orleans soloists ever. The results are spectacular, with Bechet even sounding fantastic playing a bass "sarrusophone." His long creative partnership with cornetist Tommy Ladnier graces four inspired tracks from 1932 by the New Orleans Footwarmers as well as Mezz Mezzrow's elegiac "Really the Blues," recorded in 1938. The same profound and exalted expression colors the rendition of Gershwin's "Summertime," a jazz "hit" from 1939 that launched the Blue Note label. The later recordings include meetings with a who's who of traditional jazz piano, including Jelly Roll Morton, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Earl Hines, and Meade Lux Lewis. This is a first-rate introduction to one of the essential figures of jazz history. --Stuart Broomer
"Just one pedantic correction to Stuart Broomer's fine commentary: it's the contrabass sarrusophone, not the bass, which Bechet plays on "Mandy, Make Up Your Mind". The sarrusophone is made of brass and played with a double-reed (sometimes single-reed mouthpiece), thus is sort of like a really skinny saxophone. The contrabass is pitched a full octave lower than the baritone saxophone!"