1. When Johnny Comes Marching Home
2. Moon River
3. All the Way
4. Gigi
5. The Last Time I Saw Paris
6. Learnin' the Blues
7. Dame Blanche
8. Never On Sunday
9. Time after Time
10. Secret Love
11. The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
12. High Hopes
13. Announcement by Louis Lorillard
14. That's A Plenty
15. Stars Fell On Alabama / I Can't Get Started
16. Riverboat Shuffle
17. High Society
18. Royal Garden Blues
19. Rockin' Chair / Body And Soul
20. When The Saints Go Marchin' In
Jack Teagarden – Trombone, vocals
Bobby Hackett – Cornet (tracks 1-12, 18-20)
Bob Wilber – Clarinet (tracks 1-12)
Bud Freeman – Tenor sax (tracks 1-12)
Hank Jones or Gene Schroeder – Piano (tracks 1-12)
George Duvivier – Bass (tracks 1-12)
George Wettling or Ed Shaughnessy – Drums (tracks 1-12)
Don Goldie – Trumpet, vocals (tracks 14-20)
Henry Cuesta – Clarinet (tracks 14-20)
Don Ewell – Piano (tracks 14-20)
Stan Puls – Bass (tracks 14-20)
Ronnie Greb – Drums (tracks 14-20)
This is a reissue on CD of the LP Teagarden!!! which was recorded in 1962. The last eight tracks are bonuses, recorded at the Newport Jazz
Festival in 1959. Both sessions are led by the affable Jack Teagarden, who also adds vocals to eight tracks in his distinctive Texas drawl.
As you would expect, the groups play typical Dixieland favourites like That’s a Plenty and High Society but, rather surprisingly, many of
the songs are popular hits like Moon River and Never on Sunday. These are delivered with conviction, although it sometimes feels strange
to hear a Dixieland group playing pop songs.
The album begins with When Johnny Comes Marching Home, a lively opener which shows the ensemble at its swinging best. The band delivers Moon River in sentimental style. As with most of the other pop songs, the band stays close to the melody. The sweetest sound is Bud Freeman’s
tenor sax, with its radiant vibrato. Bobby Hackett supplies a fine solo to All the Way, and he shares the lyrical theme of Gigi with Jack
Teagarden. Dame Blanche is a Frenchified feature for Bob Wilber. In The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, Teagarden sounds uncomfortable
having to sing “ooh, ooh, ooh”, but his eloquent trombone makes up for it.
The Newport Jazz Festival session includes more Dixieland warhorses and fewer pop songs. The tracks are generally longer than those on the first session,
so the soloists have more space to express themselves. These include the traditional piano style of Don Ewell, the versatile trumpet of Don Goldie, and of
course the mellow trombone of Jack Teagarden: the man who showed that the trombone could be sweet, not cumbersome. Jack’s feature inStars Fell on Alabama is an object-lesson in ballad playing. Bobby Hackett arrives as a guest for the last three tracks, and his solo on Body and Soul is moving, but his solo on Royal Garden Blues is precarious.
Although pop songs make up most of the first session on this CD, they remind one of the high quality which many popular songs had at that time. And both
sessions offer cheerful swinging jazz from some of Dixieland’s best voices.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk
CD Reviews
Solar 4569935
