Down Home Rag
Old Stack-O-Lee Blues
Everybody Loves Saturday Night
I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
Alla Turka
Savoy Blues
Where Shall I Be
Kansas City Man Blues
Captain Morgan
Sons of the Brave
L'Oiseau Bleu
- Trumpet – Bob Wallis
- Clarinet – Doug Richford
- Trombone – Avo Avison
- Banjo – Hugh Rainey
- Bass – Drag Kirby
- Drums – Kenny Buckner
- Percussion – Pete Gresham
I love this album, unconditionally and beyond rationale. There are very few like it for me: it shares a corner of my musical soul with very few others; among them Acker Bilk's The Seven Ages of Acker and Sidney Bechet's recordings with Ernie Caceres. In other words, for me it's beyond criticism, or really discussing in any technical sense. Somehow, a young Bob Wallis managed to get beautifully colored sound and soul from this group of very raucous players. This is not refined jazz, nor is it intellectual--it's rough, loud, rowdy, visceral, and at times very basic. But the tone of each player, the enthusiasm, and the depth of joy has rarely been matched. Everything they touch turns to gold--even the cheesy, nearly cringe-worthy opening quote of Mozart in "Alla Turka", which is redeemed into a winking nod by the subsequent impassioned outcries of Doug Richford's clarinet and driving, sinister riffing in the brass. Some of the standards, particularly "Old Stack-O-Lee Blues" and "Kansas City Man Blues" are among the finest versions recorded--blunt, strong, obvious, original, they stare you down like a gunfighter and make for some of the best, most straightforward utterances in the Trad Jazz canon.
An American jazz clarinetist can live a lifetime without hearing the name of Doug Richford, and that's a crying shame, because this album, while a small sample size, is enough to recommend. His playing, while not technically dazzling, is inspired and extremely soulful. Speaking personally, when I first stumbled across this record a few years ago, I thought I'd listen to it once or twice and then put it away in the archives for reference, but I found Richford's clarinet addictive. Soon I was recommending other musicians listen to his solos on "Alla Turka" and the finale of the album, the beautiful clarinet feature "L'Oiseau Bleu." The whole album has become a steady part of my listening diet.
Central to the band, of course, is the charismatic trumpet and voice of Bob Wallis. Like so many of the great British Trad cornet and trumpet players, Wallis is a pleasure to listen to, with a balanced, golden sound--and his drive as a player and leader yields an exceptionally balanced result, with a band identity that never lets up. Some Trad bands can sound like grab bags stylistically, but not Wallis's Storyville Jazz Men. Whether utilizing Caribbean-tinged beats or gutbucket blues, the same drive and personality dominates.
Don't expect genteel introspection from this set, but get it for the soul. For clarinetists, the solos by Doug Richford are certainly not to be missed.
