Often the success of a New Orleans jazz session depends on the quality of the trumpeter. For this enjoyable LP, the underrated
Johnny Wiggs leads the ensembles and his subtle yet driving lead makes the date quite noteworthy. Trombonist
Jim Robinson (who sings on "Bye and Bye") is the nominal leader, and as usual, he adds plenty of color to the ensembles. The rest of the group is quite strong too: clarinetist
Raymond Burke, pianist
Bob Greene,
Allan Jaffe on tuba and drummer Yoichi Kimura. The consistently excellent material mixes obscurities such as the title cut, "St. Peter Street Breakdown" and "Postman's Lament" with such standards as "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet" and "2:19 Blues." This LP (which deserves to be reissued on CD) is well worth searching for by New Orleans jazz collectors.