Dis Ol' Train
Sing You Sinners
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Down By the Riverside
Let Me Walk Closer to Thee
Side B
Yes Indeed
Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet
If I Go to the Promised Land
I Talk to the King (Fountain, Dant, & Wrightsman)
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
Pete Fountain * Clarinet
Dick Cathcart * Trumpet
Plas Johnson * Tenor Sax
Godfrey Hirsch * Vibes
Stanley Wrightsman * Piano
Bobby Gibbons * Guitar
Morty Corb * Bass
Jack Sperling * Drums
Gwen Johnson * soprano voice
The Jubilee Singers * Vocals/Chorus
In many ways, this album feels like a precursor to Pat Metheny's Americana inspired projects: they seem to explore the juncture between 'jazz' and other 'roots' music, investigating what broader orchestration might be used to express the type of optimism and warmth of the American heartland--specifically the Midwestern America of the 1950s and 60s. To some, these projects are anathema: they're branded as 'commercial,' 'illegitimate', a straying from purist jazz, whatever that might be.
The musical situation is complicated by the reality that this was indeed a commercial venture. Every professionally marketed recording is, of course--but in particular these forays of Pete Fountain and Bud Dant were certainly made with the hopes of capturing the mood of a large percentage of the listening public. The present album was no exception--it included a then recent Ray Charles hit--'Yes Indeed'--even hinting in Sam Rowland's liner notes that a "single of this title would be a smash hit!"
Growing up in the Northeast, slightly past the era when this album was produced, I initially found this album outside of my tastes--in an almost identical manner that I find Metheny tunes like 'Every Summer Night' difficult to enter emotionally. There seemed something a little too bubbly and optimistic about it for me. Living in the Midwest for the last 23 years, however, has changed my perception of this music in a good way. Honestly, I never really understood the attraction to the Nashville or Memphis sounds (which influenced Pete Fountain from an early age, and found their way into many of his records) until spending years among the landscapes and people of Southern Indiana and Kentucky (not quite Tennessee, but I guess close enough to 'get it'). I found that often what we from the coasts are dismissive of--what we call unsophisticated or naive--is really heartfelt gratitude, and a unique expression of beauty not to be found in other music. Not all of Pete's records in this style strike me as having that level of beauty, but this one does--to me it's one of the best examples of this type of Americana.
The opening number-- 'Dis Ol' Train'--hits with heartland ambiance full-force, Jubilee Singers and all. If you wonder whether this album is for you, it's front loaded to help decide! Even when I was most resisted to the aesthetic, I had to admit that when Pete and Jack Sperling broke in, I was amazed at the pure joy--it's an absolutely breathtaking moment of clarinet, drums, chorus--and if we're honest, what moment is like it in music history? It's kind of, well, strangely...unique. The rest of the album unfolds with similar interest.
The title track is a cover of an earlier record by the English classical soloist Reginald Kell. When I met him in 1990, Pete told me that of all the classical clarinetists of the past, he admired Kell the most, and didn't listen to many others. He preferred Kell for his big sound and expressiveness, which he felt more akin to New Orleans jazz players. The concept seems to have been to build an album around 'Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet', the title of which was an obvious reference to the spiritual 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' (also included). All of the other numbers are spirituals, some in small combo setting, some with big band, some with the whole contingent including the Jubilee Singers. Highlights for me are 'Dis Ol' Train' for reasons mentioned above, 'Sing You Sinners' (Pete with Quintet), and a 5/4 clarinet and Big Band version of 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.' As with all of these Fountain/Dant concept albums, the pacing, symbolism, and choice of tunes is first rate, the album flowing seamlessly from beginning to end.
Perhaps the final chapter in my long, slow, awakening to this type of music came when I was playing a duo gig a few years back with a pianist I'd never met before the job itself. We were hired to play New Orleans style music, and he was recommended to me. In between sets we talked about our favorite recordings and he brought up this album. In fact, he said with great sincerity and emotion that it was his favorite album of all time. I was shocked--this couldn't be true, could it? A professional jazz pianist preferring this over everything else? But it was. He even had a digitally remastered CD of it, the likes of which I'd never seen or heard. His quiet devotion to this album made me take it more seriously, and I've listened to it with more open ears, mind, and heart since.
So there you have it. Is this 'jazz'? Well, sure. Some of it. Is it likely to please a jazz audience? That depends on how receptive the listener is to this type of Americana. In my opinion, we'd better be open to this sort of expression, though, and perhaps try to tap into it creatively ourselves. To push it away only diminishes our musical world.
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| Detail from my copy of the original LP, showing the stamp of WHLD in Niagara Falls. There's something nostalgic about imagining this LP played over the airwaves. (Eric Seddon Collection) |
