FROM THE RUE ROYALE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 940, 16 August 1957, Page 19

FROM THE RUE ROYALE

Tony Almerico’s Dixieland All Stars PERSONNEL: Almerico (trumpet), Fountain (clarinet), Delaney (trombone), Picone (tenor), Federico (guitar), Loyacano (bass), Castaing (drums), and Zimmerman (piano). , Guest Stars; Luening (trumpet), Spitelera (clarinet), and Dekemel (bugle). Announcer and Master of Ceremonies: Pinky Vidacovich. Recorded June 10, 1956, Tony Almerico’s All Stars, a mixture of seasoned New Orleans men and the town’s vigorous younger generation, have been a fixture at the Parisian Room on the Rue Royale for years. What you hear in this programme is exactly what you might hear if you were to walk into the Parisian Room, for it is an on-the-spot recording of an actual performance. The tunes the All Stars play are familiar standards which are forever associated with New Orleans jazz. Almerico is one of the veterans of the New Orleans musical scene, and he’ follows in the Louis Armstrong tradition as a trumpet player who sings. His authoritative lead trumpet is in constant evidence and he vocalises on "When You're Smiling," the pick of the dozen items. Pete Fountain’s rich mellow-toned clarinet, Jack Delaney’s teagarden-styled trombone and especially Nino Picone’s Eddie Miller-inspired tenor saxophone are a pleasure to listen to also. Vidacovich is a mine of information and there is little that he does not tell you throughout the performance about the musicians and their music. So fér you Dixieland fans, here are 49 minutes of the real McCoy with all inhibitions sacrificed. It’s a pity, however, that RCA, who released the disc, saw fit to subject listeners to silence before and after every announcement. This spoils the continuity and detracts from the presentation of an otherwise excellent session, First Playing: Station 2YD, August 29, 9.0 p.m. Ray Bryant Trio PERSONNEL; Ray Bryant (piano), Wyatt: Reuther (bass), and Osie Johnson (drums), with Candido (bongoes). Items: "Night in Tunisia,’ "Goodbye," "Philadelphia Bound" and "Pawn Ticket," Philadelphia pianist Ray Bryant reflects the Bud Powell approach to his instrument, showing up on most tracks as a etrictly nercussive $

pianist who hits the keyboard rather than plays it. "Bound’ is quite good on repeated hearing. This track reminds me _ of early Peterson discings with excitement set up by the three musicians working as one man. Full. marks to "Goodbye" with its unusual chord injections and sequences, Played simply with a trace of Erroll Garner, Bryant’s ideas are interesting, although he seldom strays _ far from the lovely melody.

First Playing: Station 2YD, August 22, 9.46 p.m Jazz at Cal-Tech with Bud Shank ERSONNEL: Bud Shank (alto, flute), Bob Cooper (tenor, oboe), Claude Williamson (piano), Don Prell (bass), and Chuck Flores (drums). Recorded at the California Institute of Technology on January 19, 1956. "When Lights Are Low," highlighting the Bud Shank alto, opens the show. A stimulating bass figure introduces "Old Devil Moon" and continues as background. The Charlie Parker influence is revealed in Bud’s second jazz chorus, but this is not a suitable composition for instrumental treatment alone-it’s essentially a vocal number (compare Mel Torme). Shank demonstrates his virtuosity on the flute in "The Nearness of You" as a soloist and with oboe accompaniment. Such instrumentation in jazz, however, must go down in jazz history as nothing more than a not-so-successful experiment. Highlight of the session is Bob Cooper’s swinging tenor in "How Long" and "Tea for Two." Cooper plays with feeling and expression in "How Long"; and in "Tea," which is a "ball," displays the Hawkins influence, especially | in the coda. "Lullaby of Birdland" features flute and oboe again and can not rate as my favourite version of this jazz standard. I question Flores’s good taste in "Somebody Loves Me," which acts as a showcase for Williamson, who proves himself a versatile pianist. The session closes with "Moonlight in Vermont," with its early suggestion of double tempo, and "The King," an old Count Basie tune based on "I Got Rhythm" and "Honeysuckle Rose." This programme does not impress me overmuch. The musicians seldom let themselves go, but when they do, as on "Tea," fine jazz results. Restraint, in this case, spoiled the product. First Playing: Station 2YD, August 22, 9.0 p.m, Repeat Playings . "Listener" Station Date Programme Review TYA Aug. 19 Jess Stacy May 10 « 19 Al Cohn Saxes 6-22 « 22, Hampton-Tatum-Rich ,, 10 w 22 Session at Midnight 40 n 29 Brubeck at Newport w 24 » 29 Al Belletto eae | 1YD nw 26 Johnny Smith Aug. 2 3YA » 19% Julius Wechter(2) July 19 w 23 Joe Burton pS « 23 Peanuts Hucko Rees | » 26 Billy Maxted me » 30 Jerry Fielding April 26 4YA ,, 19 Armstrong-Condon-Newport June 21 » 21 Julius Wechter (1) ,, 7 » 26 JA.T.P 5 A.T.P. u « 28 Grieg McRitchie April 12 « 28 Bobby Enevoldsen ,, 12 -Ray Harris