This CD, which does not duplicate any of the performances out on other
American Music
releases, has some of the selections that trumpeter
Bunk Johnson
and his sextet recorded during five sessions in August and May of 1944 and May of 1945. In general,
Bunk,
who could be quite erratic, was better than his group (clarinetist
George Lewis,
trombonist
Jim Robinson,
banjoist
Lawrence Marrero,
bassist
Alcide Pavageau
and drummer
Baby Dodds
) and one can understand his impatience with the players.
Lewis
is not always in-tune, and
Dodds'
colorful playing can be distracting. However, the band's joyful ensembles are quite appealing and this melodic music will be difficult for New Orleans revival fans to resist. Among the hotter numbers (which include two vocals by
Ed "Noon" Johnson
and one from
Myrtle Jones
) are
"Milneberg Joys,"
"Shine,"
"Lady Be Good,"
"The Sheik of Araby"
and
"Willie the Weeper."
~ Scott Yanow