No surprises here. Nothing fancy. Nothing cute. just straight-ahead, ensemble-dominated New Orleans music by six latter-day afficionados paying tribute to such masters as Bunk Johnson, George Lewis and "King" Oliver. One might wonder why anyone would bother to record theumpteenth version of You always hurt the One you love, Pallet on the Floor or Maryland, my Maryland. The answer is simple: besides being great classics of the New Orleans idiom, the mostly well-trodden tunes on this album provide Norrie Cox and his confederates a vehicle for demonstrating a fresh, individual approach to the music that manages to sound authentic without being a slavish copy.

British-born Norrie Cox, who deserves the gratitude of all New Orleans jazz fans for his devotion to teaching the style to his young students in the U.S., has clearly listened to a lot of great Crescent City clarinettists but manages to project a truly personal sound. Of course, there is a lot of George Lewis in there, along with some Dodds, Nicholas and Raymond Burke - and, to my ear, a bit of the "English" tone of Sammy Rimington. It's a good mix, intelligently blended, never forced or frantic. No breathtaking soloist, Cox is a consummate ensemble player who well understands the role of the clarinet in a New Orleans front line.

Charlie DeVore, a longtime veteran of the Hall Brothers Jazz Band who studied with the legendary Professor Manuel Manetta in New Orleans, plays his leads with a fat, clear tone and a relaxed swing, never overblowing, always leaving plenty of space for the other horns. He pays tribute to Bunk - nine of the 11 tunes on this CD are associated with the Johnson band - without ever falling into the clone-trap that has gobbled up the personalities of so many other revival musicians. His determination to remain his own man is well illustrated by the unmistakable midwestern accent on his tongue-in-cheek Move the Body Over vocal.

Trombonist jim Klippert grew up steeped in the Dixieland sound of Detroit's Rubber City Retreads, led by his father, clarinettist Mo Klippert. But if this humble reviewer has any claim to have made a contribution to perpetuating New Orleans-style music, it was by lending Jim a stack of Jim Robinson records while we were fellow students at Harvard University in the early 70s. He took to the sound with his characteristic exuberance and, within weeks, was knocking off Big Jim solos with my old Black Eagle Jazz Band. Many years have gone by since then, and when I hear Klippert's playing on this record, I am amazed by the way he has retained Robinson's warmth, swing and humor at the core of a style that is now pure Jim Klippert. Jim's fervor and enthusiasm for the music are perhaps best captured on this album by his lead-in and solo on the up-tempo hymn Royal Telephone - not to mention his rousing, revival-tent vocal.

The rhythm section, drummer "Doggie" Berg, bassman Bill Evans and banjo/guitarist Mike Carrell, lay down a no-nonsense four-four beat that provides bedrock of support for the front line in the true New Orleans tradition. Not much chance here for them to shine on solos, but Carrell's charming guitar chorus on Raymond Burke's City of a million Dreams is a treat.

In sum, this is an honest, well-recorded and eminently listenable revival session. It's not likely to make you want to throw away your Bunk, Oliver and Lewis originals - but it will make you glad that there are still musicians like these six who care enough about this music in the 1990s to keep playing it, and playing it right.