CD1
1. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
2. South Rampart Street Parade
3. The Lonesome Road
4. Sixty-Nine Blues
5. Creole Love Call
6. 'Deed I Do
7. African Queen
8. When You're Smiling
9. Squeeze Me
10. It's All Right with Me
11. Old Fashioned Love
12. Jubileum Blues
13. Buddy's Habit
14. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
CD2
1. Ice Cream
2. Memphis Blues
3. Take Your Pick
4. Just a Closer Walk with Thee
5. Tennessee Waltz Rock
6. March of the Indians
7. Marina
8. I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of my Jelly Roll
9. Black and Tan Fantasy
10. Tiger Rag
11. You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer
12. High Society
13. The Song is Ended
14. Pavilion Rock
15. The Glory of Love
16. St Louis Blues
Collective personnel
Wybe Burna - Trumpet, vocals
Wim Kolstee - Trombone, piano
Jan Morks - Clarinet
Joop Schrier - Piano
Arie Ligthart - Banjo, guitar
Bob van Oven - Bass
Martien Beenen - Drums, trumpet
Neva Raphaello - Vocals
Dim Kesber - Clarinet, soprano sax
Peter Schilperoort - Baritone sax, clarinet
Dick Kaart - Trombone
Oscar Klein - Trumpet
Lake Records are usefully working their way through the recordings of the Dutch Swing College Band, and have now reached the late 1950s with this double album. The DSC must be one of the longest-running trad bands in the world, having been formed in 1945 and, as far as I know, still going strong.
The first CD is a concert recorded in April 1958 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At this time the band was led by pianist Joop Schrier, and it was a tight little outfit which played an interesting mixture of Dixieland favourites, jazz standards and even such originals as Schrier's Jubileum Blues. The band's eclecticism is shown by their inclusion of Sandy Brown's African Queen
Wybe Burna was a strong lead trumpeter and Wim Kolstee supplied a thrusting tailgate style of trombone, but the star for me is clarinettist Jan Morks, who displayed his versatility by sounding like numerous different clarinettists according to the tune being played: all the way from chalumeau to top-of-the-range. In the ensembles he provided the necessary athletic twinkle but in solos he could encompass numerous different styles. In South Rampart Street Parade, he contributes a high-flying solo, but his tone is darker on Creole Love Call before wailing with passion. On African Queen, he emulates the tune's composer, Sandy Brown, while his solo in Squeeze Me reaches the heights without squeaking. His feature on It's All Right With Me displays his wide range and well-constructed playing at a demandingly fast tempo. Buddy's Habit is also up-tempo but Jan negotiates it with no sense of strain. Neva Raphaello adds vocals to tracks 3, 6, 8 and 11, reminding me of Ottilie Patterson in her delivery.
The second CD consists of studio recordings from 1959, which are unaccountably not given in chronological order. The ambiguous personnel details are difficult to negotiate, so I have amalgamated them in the listings above. By this time, founder member Peter Schilperoort had returned to the band, which continues its eclectic approach, including the original March of the Indians by bassist Bob van Oven and even a rocking version of Tennessee Waltz. This CD lacks some of the excitement of the live recordings on the previous disc. The CD opens with Wybe Burna doing a vocal on Ice Cream with different lyrics from what listeners may be used to. Memphis Blues benefits from a clear lead by trumpeter Oscar Klein and an outspoken trombone solo by Dick Kaart.
Take Your Pick is a feature for the banjo of Arie Ligthart, whose dexterity makes him sound like a couple of banjoists, giving us melody and harmony at the same time. Just a Closer Walk with Thee spotlights the dual clarinets of Peter Schilperoort and Jan Morks. Black and Tan Fantasy is rather heavy-handed: I know it's a sort of funeral march but the clarinet (Jan Morks or Dim Kesber?) demonstrates how it can be handled lightly. The clarinet (definitely Jan Morks this time) is also radiant in the poignant You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer, backed simply by guitar, bass and drums.
The last four tracks on this CD are bonuses from a quartet led by Dim Kesber on soprano sax. He plays with almost as much vibrato as Sidney Bechet but with the same sort of lyricism. Ecclecticxism is again in evidence - from the jazz standard The Song is You to the blues-based original Pavilion Rock, and from a fairly fast The Glory of Love to the Latin tinge of St Louis Blues.
All these recordings evince the DSC Band's devotion to traditional styles without their being constrained by tradition.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Lake LACD 292
