With a title such as this one, it is impossible for the music to quite live up to the billing. However the performances (released for the first time on this Jazzology CD) are often quite special. On the first of two volumes (the second set was recorded at a different concert two months later), cornetist
Wild Bill Davison
, clarinetist
Albert Nicholas
and trombonist
George Brunies
(with the assistance of pianist
Joe Sullivan
, bassist
Pops Foster
and drummer
Baby Dodds
) form a very potent frontline on three songs.
Brunies
and
Davison
also have individual features, veteran blues singer
Bertha "Chippie" Hill
takes a vocal, trumpeter
Muggsy Spanier
leads a group (with,
, pianist
Art Hodes
and clarinetist
Cecil Scott
) on two songs and trumpeter-vocalist
Hot Lips Page
heads a hard-charging septet with clarinetist
Tony Parenti
. With all of those classic players, the music (not too surprisingly) is very enjoyable and spirited. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow