The style may have been considered way out of date in 1966, but pianist
Art Hodes and his sextet happily jam their way through a variety of Dixieland songs.
Hodes is joined by clarinetist
Tony Parenti, trumpeter Larry Conger, trombonist Charlie Bornemann, bassist Johnny Haynes, and drummer
Cliff Leeman. The original LP had eight numbers (including "Cake Walkin' Babies From Home," "Willie the Weeper," and "California Here I Come") while the 1999 CD reissue adds two alternate takes -- an alternate closing part to "Shake That Thing" and two additional cuts ("Parenti Blues" and "Bye Bye Blues").
Hodes and
Parenti are in excellent form, while Conger plays well enough to make one wonder why he never gained much fame. A fine Dixieland set. ~ Scott Yanow