Pete Fountain * New Orleans to Los Angeles * Southland Records (S-LP 215) * 1956

Side One 

1. Farewell Blues
2. At the Jazz Band Ball
3. March of the Bob Cats
4. Jazz Me Blues


Side Two (*)
1. Cherry
2. Struttin' With Some Bar-B-Q
3. Home
4. Song of the Wanderer


Pete Fountain - clarinet
Al Hirt - trumpet
Eddie Miller - tenor Sax
Ray Bauduc - drums
Abe Lincoln - trombone
Morty Corb - bass
Stan Wrightsman - piano

(*) Pete Fountain And His Three Coins

Pete Fountain - clarinet
Roy Zimmerman - piano
Phil Darios - string bass/tuba
Johnny Edwards - drums

This is a relatively obscure, yet important record for Pete Fountain fans. Side One features his work in 1956 with Al Hirt's band. The four tracks recorded here by Southland Records (a local New Orleans label) were recycled six years later by Coral Records for the Pete Fountain/Al Hirt Bourbon Street album. There are significant differences, however. Anyone listening carefully to the Coral record can discern an edit to Abe Lincoln's opening trombone break in 'Farewell Blues.' The Southland original reveals that there were in fact three original breaks--an extra ten seconds of music that Coral cut for some unknown reason. The Coral edit is very puzzling, as the LP they ultimately released wasn't anywhere near full. Another difference, to my ears, is the quality of the reproductions. The Southland disc is mellower and deeper sounding--the Coral a bit high in treble and more shrill. This might just be a reflection of my copies and turntable set-up, but audiophiles will want to check the Southland recording out.

The four numbers themselves, especially the tunes dating all the way back to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings -- 'Farewell Blues', 'At the Jazz Band Ball', and 'Jazz Me Blues' -- are simply among the finest versions of these tunes on record. Al Hirt is in great form, blasting but with tonal depth, and carving lines that seem both contemporary and firmly planted in the New Orleans tradition. Pete was the perfect compliment to him, with his smooth refreshing clarinet sound and graceful lines. Abe Lincoln and Eddie Miller solo strongly, and most importantly, no one steps on anyone else's line. This is New Orleans style done at an exceptional level, and we can only imagine what a super-group like this might have accomplished if they'd wanted to systematically record the repertoire together (like the Dukes of Dixieland of that era were doing).

The flip side of this interesting LP features relatively rare recordings of Pete, which Dr. Edmond Souchon's liner notes declare to be the first by Fountain as a leader. I have been told (by those who know better than I could) that these recordings were made prior to Pete Fountain's exclusive deal with Leblanc clarinets--and to that end, even the cover photo seems to depict a Selmer in his hands. I'm not sure how many other recordings feature Pete on a Selmer, but some Fountain aficionado's say they prefer his work pre-Leblanc. For whatever it's worth, Pete told me that he loved the sound of Selmers, but the keywork bothered him--he preferred the sturdier keys of a Leblanc.

'Cherry', 'Struttin' with some Bar-B-Q', and 'Home' are all essential recordings for Fountain fans--typically beautiful in sound and execution. 'Song of the Wanderer',  however, might be the biggest surprise, as it features Pete on Tenor Saxophone! His style on the cut is that of a fledgling Eddie Miller or Bud Freeman, and his soloing very much in the New Orleans style, devoid of any modern jazz influence. His control of the instrument and his tone are good, and his intonation solid, so either he'd spent quite a bit of time with the instrument, or had a natural talent for the sax. It's interesting to think what he would have done on tenor, had he continued. My guess is that he missed the extended range of the clarinet. I'm undoubtedly biased, but I really think of the woodwinds the clarinet is king in New Orleans style. This number is very interesting to hear, though, if only to see the scope of Pete's talent.

All in all, an important and enjoyable album from Pete's early years.

    

Presenting Pete Fountain With Al Hirt * Bourbon Street * Coral Records (CRL 757389) * 1962

Side A

Farewell Blues (*)
St. James Infirmary
March of the Bob Cats (*)
March Through the Streets of Their City

Side B

At the Jazz Band Ball (*)
Blues on Bourbon Street (**)
Jazz Me Blues (*)
Lazy River

Pete Fountain, clarinet
Al Hirt, trumpet (*)
Eddie Miller, tenor sax (*)
Abe Lincoln, trombone (*)
Stan Wrightsman, piano
Bobby Gibbons, guitar

Morty Corb, bass
Ray Bauduc, drums (*)
Jack Sperling, drums 
Godfrey Hirsch, vibes (**)
Dave West, piano (**)
Lowell Miller,  bass (**)
Paul Guma, guitar (**)


Bourbon Street is the companion piece to another Coral record released in the same year of 1962: Pete Fountain & Al Hirt: The New Orleans Scene. It's laid out identically to The New Orleans Scene, alternating between a full New Orleans band featuring both Fountain and Hirt, and Pete's smaller night club gigging ensemble of the early '60s. It's interesting that Coral didn't release all the Al Hirt sides on one of the discs, and all of the smaller groups on another, as the small combo tunes seem to me clearly the stronger ones on The New Orleans Scene. The level of excellence on this Bourbon Street album is consistent, though, with the full Dixieland contingent swinging hard and well.

Highlights of this album include excellent versions of 'Farewell Blues' and 'At the Jazz Band Ball' -- warhorses from the repertoires of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and the Original Dixieland Jass Band, too often covered by bands with an exaggerated nostalgia even in the late '50s and early '60s. Hirt and Fountain tear into them like they were written yesterday, with a freshness and that subtle insistence common to all great music--that sense that the performers have a need to play the music. Perhaps only Eddie Condon's bands played these numbers as well, though I'd give the nod to Hirt and Fountain, for the simple reason that Condon never recorded them with a clarinetist so strong as Pete.

Pete's small combo recording of 'St James Infirmary' is, to my mind, one of the finest versions of the tune recorded. The mood is thoroughly 'modern'...not meaning that the harmonies or melodic style were influenced by modern jazz, particularly, but that the sound and space is once again entirely without nostalgia--a mournful strength runs through Pete's classic solo, with the ensemble murmuring assent. This is one of those performances that ought to make all clarinetists pause and think about the repertoire for the clarinet, even in terms of classical music. How many composers could write such a perfect statement? Such a heartfelt movement of music? Pete carves his own musical path, with assurance and maturity here. To my mind, this music won't ever go out of style any more than Brahms will.

On Side B we're treated to a Fountain/Dant original, 'Blues on Bourbon Street', which incorporates wisps of 'The Saints' and seems an after hours gamble through the Quarter in the wee hours after closing time. 'Jazz Me Blues' reinforces the authority of the Hirt/Fountain band to interpret the earliest jazz tunes, and Pete continues his seemingly endless variations on Sidney Arodin's 'Lazy River.'

Leonard Feather's liner notes are of interest to musicology, highlighting what probably ought to be better understood--the importance of the two poles of jazz in mid-century--52nd Street and Bourbon Street.

This is an essential album.