Jazz Me Blues – 1964
Eddie Condon
Some hard-driving Dixieland
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Eddie Condon led hot all-star jazz bands for 40 years, normally playing rhythm guitar and never taking solos.
For this 1964 telecast, Condon stands in front of the group, but is peripheral to the music.
More significant are the solos by trombonist Cutty Cutshall and bassist Al Hall, a heated tradeoff between trumpeter Billy Butterfield and cornetist Wild Bill Davison, and the colorful playing of drummer George Wettling.
Also in the band are trombonist Vic Dickenson, clarinetist Edmond Hall, and pianist Willie “The Lion” Smith.
Their version of the Dixieland standard “Jazz Me Blues” (which was made famous by cornetist Bix Beiderbecke in the 1920s), while not flawless, is full of rousing playing.
-Scott Yanow
Ella Fitzgerald