The sleeve notes say "Given such sounds ... we might well have imagined ourselves sitting on the floor in front of the occupants of those straight-backed chairs of Preservation Hall in its heyday, circa 1970". Well, I go along with that. It is a very good example of that dance hall sound, but look at the personnel for the band and it is almost a forgone conclusion that it is going to be good. This recording is for anyone who is interested in New Orleans music today, not played necessarily by local born men but by musicians with international reputations. The recording took place at The Glendora Ballroom, Chicago Ridge, Illinois, for the Illiana Club of Traditional Jazz, on the 21 October, 2001. It was a live concert, and the atmosphere of what must have been a great evening comes through.

Some of the names on this CD will be known to the readers of 'Just Jazz' and some may not be. The Englishman in the band, and its leader, is Norrie Cox. It is one of those names I seem to have always known. In the late 50s he led the San Jacinto Stompers playing around London, so I presume I must have heard him then. As a mechanical engineer he was able to work in the States and emigrated there in 1966. A good player with a pleasant tone and a feel for ensemble playing.

Charlie DeVore is an exceptional cornet player and a very funny man. I heard him first on LP playing with the influential Hall Brothers' Stompers and then met him in Ascona, Switzerland, where he was playing with The Centennial Band. Two trumpets, Charlie and Cuff Billett, need I say more.

Charlie is one of those American musicians who have paid their dues and produce accomplished music. He and drummer Don Berg have been lifelong friends and learnt their music first hand. 1957 found them both sitting-in with Kid Thomas and Punch Miller, only to be arrested and thrown in jail on racial grounds. Legends did not spring up for them after this unpleasant event unlike our own beloved Ken C, but whatever they learnt in 1950s New Orleans has stood them in good stead for all these years. Don Berg plays like one of the old timers all the way through this recording, steady and, at times, exciting. Who could ask for more?

Jim Klippert plays trombone in the manner of Jim Robinson and is a delight to hear. A Harvard graduate in the 70s, Jim heard Punch Miller and John Handy and has been a devotee of the real stuff ever since, and it shows in his playing.

On this recording you will hear the fine banjo of Mike Carrell. He never plays right up on the beat, and has mastered that 'New Orleans Sound', portrayed by the masters and yet so elusive to many players.

Bill Evans, from St. Paul, one of the nice guys in the music world, plays his usual competent and steady bass, showing that old-style bass playing isn't a simple matter of slapping strings against the fingerboard. He is also a fine trombone player, and if you are in New Orleans at Festival time you will probably meet Bill at Fritzels, or one of the other bars, playing bass or trombone, or maybe on the streets with a Parade Band.

Then there is Butch Thompson, surely the best of the piano players, and authority in every sense of the word on the music and also a fine clarinet player. He, too, was with The Hall Brothers' Stompers and appeared for some years on the Home Prairie Show on USA radio, with the major American writer, Garrison Keillor. (If you haven't read 'Lake Wobegon Days', treat yourself.) Keillor was on the BBC programme 'Desert Island Discs' and he chose a recording of Butch Thompson, great to hear a bit of the real stuff on nationwide BBC.

The Music. Predictable enough play list, all played in the dance hall style and all of equal quality. A fast Weary Blues, Mabel's Dream with the parts played and yet not sounding that over-rehearsed approach that many bands get. She Looks Like Helen Brown is nice, and, as a bonus, Butch does three solo numbers that make the record worth getting for that alone.

Buy the CD and enjoy.

Derek J. Winters